Save Havens – The Impacts of Child Friendly Spaces
Waheeda age 11lives with her mother in Makholpur, a remote village of District Shikarpur, Sindh.
She is an only child who lost her father in a road accident during the flooding. Her mother now
works as a domestic servant in the house of a local landlord to support her two person family
Unprecedented flooding in Pakistan triggered by heavy
monsoon rains beginning July 27, 2010 ploughed a swathe of
destruction more than 1000 kilometers (600 miles) long from
northwestern Pakistan, through Punjab farmlands all the way
down to the Sindh Province in a matter of two weeks. At least
880,000 people were evacuated from lowlying areas of the Indus river basin in
Sindh to higher grounds. Waheeda and
her mother were among them.
Waheeda says, “My father was a labourer who died while
crossing a road at the time when flood water was entering
Makholpur. He was trying to save us by shifting us to a safe place. I was devastated at the news of
his death because I was very close to him. He always tried to fulfil all our needs in spite of limited
resources. After his death, we shifted to camps of Shikarpur city with our other relatives.”
It was here that Waheeda first met Save the Children staff members who were mobilizing in flood
affected communities to raise awareness about Child Friendly Spaces (CFS). They convinced
Waheeda’s mother to send her daughter to CFS.
Waheeda says, “On August 7, 2010, I started going to CFS. I thought it would be a school where
teachers will beat us and ask us to study. But there was quite a different environment. Children were
playing and swinging. After some time, I felt much better and secure. The staff of CFS was very
kind; they provided me books, drawing material and toys. Now I am a regular visitor of CFS”.
Waheeda’s mother says, “I can observe a positive change in my daughter. She was traumatized after
the death of her father because she’s very young. Now I feel that she is a normal child her age who
enjoys drawing and making new friends. I am very grateful. She has told me stories of her activities
in CFS. I think Save the Children has brought a revolution in our lives when we were feeling
helpless.”