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| Shelter for homeless families in Japan. Photo: Reuters, Yuriko Nakao |
March 18, 2011: In the aftermath of the series of disasters that hit the north-eastern shores of Japan, the "Children’s Village Fukuoka" has agreed to take in as many unaccompanied children as it can accommodate. The SOS Children’s Villages International network has committed to helping the Children’s Village Fukuoka if needed, so that they can care for the children until either their families have been found or a long-term solution is identified.
The Children’s Village Fukuoka has been working closely with Japanese Child Guidance Centers, a state body that ensures that children who have lost parental care receive the best alternative care solution available.
Although there is currently no way of establishing how many children have lost their families to the disaster, experts fear that the number may be very high due to the fact that most children were in school, and not with their families, when the earthquake and the tsunami struck.
The most urgently needed supplies are water, blankets, food and medical care. Junko Otani, CEO of Children’s Village Fukuoka, emphasized that one of the most pressing needs is to ensure that children who have been severely traumatized and distressed by what they have witnessed receive professional psychological care. Children who have been through such a traumatic experience need to express and process what they have seen as soon as possible to prevent long-term mental scarring.
Emergency relief efforts and damage assessments have been extremely difficult due to the sheer size of the affected areas. Today's estimates put the number of people who have lost their homes at over half a million; 100,000 of them are children.
You can help children who have been victimized by this tragedy and others around the world. Please make a donation to SOS Children's Villages now.