Children living in Gaza face a number of challenges 鈥� and their mental health is a top concern.
That鈥檚 according to Janti Soeripto, president and chief executive officer of , a Fairfield-based humanitarian aid organization. She visited Gaza in March.
Soeripto joined 海角换妻鈥檚 鈥淲here We Live鈥� to discuss the most pressing issues facing children in the Gaza region.
One year into the Israel-Hamas war, conditions in Gaza have worsened. Soeripto said that in the community she visited, there was just one toilet for 600 people.
In addition to the lack of food, clean water and other basic necessities, some parents have mounting concerns about the trauma their children have endured.
Soeripto recalled her conversation with one mother.
鈥淲hat I actually need the most is mental health support,鈥� the mother told Soeripto. 鈥淲hen I look at my children, they鈥檙e so traumatized, I would prioritize mental health support over food security.鈥�
During times of international conflict, distributes household essentials, provides fuel and water, delivers mental health and psychosocial support services for children, sets up temporary learning spaces and identifies the most at-risk children for child protective services.
However, Soeripto told 鈥淲here We Live鈥� that frequent bombardments have made it increasingly difficult for her team to deliver aid to the Gaza region. Soeripto calls education 鈥� or more simply, a place for children to gather and learn 鈥� 鈥渓ife saving.鈥�
鈥淭his is about giving kids a sense of normalcy, to be in a space with their classmates, with their peers, to play,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t also allows us an opportunity to bring in some counseling, some trauma experts.鈥�
However, the constant threat of danger has made it difficult to create 鈥渟afe spaces鈥� in Gaza.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 no guarantee of safety or deconfliction of those places, we sometimes hesitate to bring children together because we don鈥檛 want to put them at even more risk,鈥� Soeripto said.
Soeripto said that the current conditions in Gaza constitute a violation of children鈥檚 rights.
In 1924, the League of Nations enshrined the . The international document acknowledges childrens鈥� internationally-recognized right to development, assistance, relief and protection.
The declaration was drafted by Eglantyne Jebb, the founder of Save the Children.
鈥淚ronically, this month, it's been 100 years that those rights were actually enshrined,鈥� Soeripto said. 鈥淲e're sort of pointedly celebrating that or memorializing that because it's clearly so obvious that the rights are trampled on still in many, many places in the world, not just in Gaza.鈥�
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