5,000 to 8,000 schools were affected by the earthquake in Haiti. In Port-Au-Prince, 90 to 97% of the schools were destroyed, as most of the schools were built with cement blocks to withstand hurricanes, not using anti-seismic systems in the case of an earthquake. The entire national school system — already among the poorest in the world — had been shut down, although schools in much of the country were not directly affected.
In attempt to restore some type of order to children’s lives, schools opened yesterday for the first time since the quake, even though it could be a month or longer before pupils in the quake zone resume their studies. Due to this reopening, many classrooms were fuller than usual because of children relocating.
Clinics run by Doctors without Borders report that the psychological impact of the disaster is becoming more apparent- especially in the symptoms of children, which could be helped by restoring a familiar type of order into the children’s lives and giving them something other than the devastation to think about.
The country is still in need of almost every form of aid- including food, clean water, cash, and even lightweight trucks.
