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WASHINGTON, Jun 16 (OneWorld) - The greatest effect of China's Wenchuan Earthquake may not be on Sichuan Province's buildings, but rather, its children. Local and international groups have launched several initiatives to help meet the needs of many of the estimated 3 million children affected by the earthquake.

"Children have very different needs after a disaster," said Wyndham James of Save the Children, an international nonprofit working in the United States and around the world. "[Children] need to be protected from further harm, to be kept healthy and to return to school as soon as possible."

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recently finished its second assessment mission in the affected Chinese region, noting particularly the destruction the earthquake visited upon local schools. "The most recent data indicate that nearly 7,000 schools were completely destroyed," UNICEF said. "Another 3,000 were damaged during the quake. Most of the students in the province are now attending class in temporary structures. Some of them have been relocated from their rural homes to do so."

UNICEF stressed that more needed to be done to help children cope with the trauma and return to school. "Additional resources should be applied towards school emergency preparedness and the training of teachers and school professionals to deal with the stress of child survivors of the disaster," the UN agency said.

James, of Save the Children, commended the Chinese government's focus on children's needs but counseled continued vigilance. "So far the government [of China] has shown a good understanding of the issues facing children and we hope that this will continue as the response moves from relief to rehabilitation."

James' group has set up five secure areas where children can play safely with other children while their parents begin to rebuild their lives. More than 500 children have benefited from the child-friendly spaces Save the Children has created in Mianzhu and An counties in the month since the earthquake struck, and the group plans to set up 10 more child-friendly spaces throughout the region.

Mercy Corps, which has worked to build "secure, productive, and just communities" in over 100 countries, is focusing on the psychological needs of the region's children.

"Mercy Corps is launching two youth psychosocial programs," the group announced last week. The first, called "Comfort for Kids," combines a basic trauma training workshop with a workbook that will help children talk about their earthquake experience "in a safe environment moderated by an adult caregiver."

"The concept behind the workbook," said Mercy Corps' program director Griffen Samples, an expert in post-traumatic activities for children, "is that, before kids can begin to heal, they need to tell their story. This program has worked with kids in post-trauma environments around the world."

Another Mercy Corps program, called "Moving Forward," "uses sports and games to facilitate discussions and help children regain communication, self-esteem, resiliency, and trust. Team building is a critical component of the healing process," added Mercy Corps.

The group has also seen overwhelming demand for its workshops that train caregivers in how to help children cope with post-trauma situations. "This week's training was originally planned as a training for 10-20 professionals," the group said last Wednesday, "but the demand was so great that more than twice as many people crowded into a sweltering classroom, elbow-to-elbow with others, for the duration of the full-day workshop. Sichuan University and other local organizations have requested that Mercy Corps expand its training programs to help meet the overwhelming need for post-trauma expertise."

In recent statements, both UNICEF and Mercy Corps echoed Save the Children's appreciation for the efforts of the Chinese government.

"We are glad to see that the government has put a priority on getting children back to school. This will be a great help in getting them back to a sense of normalcy," said UNICEF Representative Dr. Yin Yin Nwe.

And according to Mercy Corps, "the Chinese government recognizes the need for mental health services to individuals suffering quake-related trauma, and Mercy Corps is helping meet local officials' calls for additional trauma support."

The Chinese government's response hasn't been without its critics, however. Reporters without Borders, a government watchdog group working for journalistic freedom, has been particularly concerned with apparent crackdowns against journalists that have expressed criticisms of the government in the wake of the disaster.

The group highlighted the recent kidnapping of Huang Qi, who runs a human rights Web site. "The abduction of Huang and his two companions one month to the day after the Sichuan earthquake shows that the crackdown on press freedom activists continues," Reporters without Borders said. "We urge the authorities to conduct an investigation to find out where they are, and to free them at once."

Huang's kidnapping also came just one day after the arrest of retired university professor Zheng Hongling, who had recently published articles critical of the government's response to the earthquake.

"We also voice our support for Zheng, who was just using her right to free expression when she wrote three articles criticizing the way the authorities in Mianyang, the city where she lives, handled earthquake relief operations. We call for her immediate release as well," said Reporters without Borders, which also condemned the Chinese government's move to expel 10 foreign journalists who were preparing a story about a school destroyed by the earthquake.

OneWorld TV: Kids' Guide to Surviving an Earthquake (in Mandarin)

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