© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-0754/Roger LeMoyne
Children locate countries on an inflatable globe, during class in a tent set up on the grounds at an orphanage, in the city of Jacmel.
By Pi James
NEW YORK, USA, 6 January 2011 – UNICEF podcast moderator Amy Costello spoke with Carlos Vasquez, architect and UNICEF Education Specialist, and Tania McBride, UNICEF Communication Specialist for Haiti, to find out how the educational system is managing to move forward one year post-earthquake.
Ms. McBride, who recently returned from three weeks in Haiti, said the children she spoke with who had moved from school tents into semi-permanent structures seemed “really happy to be back at school”.
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“One interesting thing about this,” Mr. Vasquez added, “is the fact that, believe it or not, children were afraid of going back to schools that were made out of bricks or reinforced concrete because they associate collapse with a certain type of construction.”
“That was also part of our initial design concerns when we were thinking about the semi-permanent schools,” Mr. Vasquez continued, “If you are able to pick on how children perceive space and how do they perceive the disaster, if you’re paying attention as an architect, you should be able to integrate their concerns into your design process.”
Psychosocial issues
Ms. McBride noted that while many children were now back in the classroom, many were still suffering deeper psychosocial problems.
“On the surface of it the children seem very happy at school, learning, playing with their friends, interacting with their teachers, but one particular mother [I spoke with] told me that her children weren’t actually doing so well,” Ms. McBride said.
“Her youngest daughter, who was about five,” Ms. McBride continued, “didn’t sleep well at night, they didn’t like to be separated from her for too long, and she, as a parent, didn’t like to be separated from her children.”
Mr. Vasquez said going forward it is “fundamental that as an organization, as political institutions, we all agree on certain basic things that would enhance the security of the school environment both from an humanitarian perspective and from a disaster risk reduction perspective.”