SOS Child-Friendly Space provides support for Ayesha in Nepal
Ten-year-old Ayesha is enjoying a few moments of laughter as she plays with building blocks in the SOS Child Friendly Space in Hasiddhi a town in the Laltipur district of the Kathmandu Valley.
It is obvious talking to her that the earthquake has affected her. The sound of loud vehicles outside makes Ayesha tense.
Ayesha’s home was just five minutes away from her current location, but in the earthquake it was reduced to a pile of concrete. All the other houses in the neighbourhood also collapsed in the earthquake.
She recalls: “When the earthquake came, we came out of our house. It felt very dangerous. I ran into the field alone. After some time my mother and father also came out holding my brother and we went to the grounds of Harisiddhi Party Palace [a banquet hall]’ The family has been staying there since.
Her family is hopeful that their house will be rebuilt one day and that they will come back, but Ayesha’s father says that it will take months to reconstruct the house. Ayesha’s mother wove carpets at a factory before the earthquake, but it has now closed. Finding the money to rebuild, therefore, will be difficult.
Ayesha’s school is closed too, though teachers are saying it will open in a few days, However, as most of Ayesha’s friends have left the area for further refuge, Ayesha is not quite looking forward to it as she usually is.
Despite these difficulties, Ayesha’s family is thankful for the SOS Child Friendly Space that she and her brother go to during the day. Here, meals are provided and she is able to play with other children in an effort to take her mind off of her situation. The space offers this support every day to 50-60 children from the neighbourhood who are staying in relief camps. The community has provided the room, and the local Healthcare Management Committee and kindergarten teachers have volunteered their services here.