Playgroup for bushfire affected children in New South Wales

13 November 2019

Save the Children to provide supported playgroup for bushfire affected children in New South Wales

Save the Children will set up a ‘child friendly space’ to help dozens of children affected by the devastating bushfires in New South Wales.

The aid agency will establish the supported playgroup at the evacuation centre in Taree from today, where hundreds of people are receiving support.

“This child friendly space gives children who’ve experienced the distress and uncertainty of the bushfires a safe space where they can play, socialize and simply be children, forgetting about what they have been through,” Save the Children’s Executive Director of Australian Services, Matt Gardiner said.

“Importantly it also gives parents and caregivers the freedom to go and organize their affairs like insurance and accommodation with the knowledge that their children are being cared for in a safe and supportive environment.”

Save the Children will run the child friendly space until at least Thursday.

“Experiencing a disaster like a bushfire and the uncertainty that comes with it is an incredibly stressful thing for a child to go through. Save the Children sets up child friendly spaces when emergencies strike all over the world and they are an incredible support for parents and children facing disaster,” Mr Gardiner said.

“The bushfires in Queensland and New South Wales have been catastrophic and Save the Children stands ready to do whatever is needed to support affected children.”

Save the Children has been working in Australia since 1919 and has responded to several emergencies this year including following Cyclone Trevor in the Northern Territory, the Tasmanian bushfires and the Townsville floods in Queensland.

ENDS

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