Save the Children assists with in-processing

Photo By Staff Sgt. Clara Harty | A wall of art created by Afghan children is on display in the processing center waiting area at Fort Bliss’ Doña Ana Complex in New Mexico, Sept. 13, 2021. Afghan children are given arts and crafts supplies to draw so the Save the Children staff can hang their completed projects on the walls of the tent. The Department of Defense, through U.S. Northern Command, and in support of the Department of Homeland Security, is providing transportation, temporary housing, medical screening, and general support for at least 50,000 Afghan evacuees at suitable facilities, in permanent or temporary structures, as quickly as possible. This initiative provides Afghan personnel essential support at secure locations outside Afghanistan.  

FORT BLISS, TEXAS, UNITED STATES

09.13.2021

Story by Spc. Clara Harty 

Operation Allies Welcome - Operation Allies Refuge   

FORT BLISS, Texas – When Afghan evacuees and their families arrive at Fort Bliss’ Doña Ana Complex in New Mexico, Save the Children provides entertainment while their parents go through initial processing.
Barbara Ammirati, Save the Children deputy director for Child Protection and Emergency, manages the community center at Doña Ana Complex.
Save the Children is an international non-profit organization and the world’s first international charity for children.
“Save the children works around the world in about 120 countries,” says Ammirati. “Both in long term programs and in emergency situations.”
According to savethechildren.org, the organization has been helping in Afghanistan for over 40 years, but the emergency response team that Ammirati sits on began in the United States after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“In this response, in this mass care setting, children have an opportunity to find some sense of normalcy,” says Ammirati. “They can understand the process and cope in really stressful situations.”
While the children play with building blocks, color, and do puzzles, their parents can focus on in-processing, while still having close access to their children.
“For a parent to feel like they can’t control the environment around them for the children is really hard,” says Ammirati. “But the children are resilient.”
For the children and families who either go through a disaster, crisis, or travel long distances to escape violence, this is often the first interaction the kids will have with American society.
“Giving them this support and comfort helps the children bounce back,” says Ammirati. “It’s easily recognizable. You can see the look on their faces when they see things they know.”
Ammirati explains that being a child is their job and they should be allowed to do so. The organization also has a mother-baby area where mothers or caregivers can find a private section to decompress.
“We create child friendly spaces and mother-baby areas and get them the supplies and equipment they need,” says Ammirati. “They receive comfort kits, which include a diaper bag with any necessary supplies they may need.”

• Date Taken: 09.13.2021
• Date Posted: 09.14.2021 17:08
• Story ID: 405136
• Location: FORT BLISS, TEXAS, US