North Port-au-Prince, America Haiti

South America
Tent Sch
o ol

ut Ru bble O of the
Tent Schools
In the days after the earthquake, groups like UNICEF, Save the Children, and Plan International helped schools that were damaged or destroyed set up tents so their students had somewhere to go for classes. They also set up tent schools near camps for people who had lost their homes. When it rained, the tent schools flooded and children had to go home. But on good days, the schools were full.
School-in-a-Box
UNICEF also delivered hundreds of School-in-a-Box kits. Each kit contains everything a teacher needs to set up a classroom. There is even a can of special paint that can be used to turn the box lid into a blackboard. Each kit has enough supplies for forty students to get back to school, at least temporarily.

A Little Laughter
Knowing that the kids were dealing with a lot of strong emotions, teachers wanted to make sure the tent schools were a fun and safe place. Besides having standard classes like reading, math, and French, they played games and sang songs. Teachers also encouraged students to talk about their feelings so that they could start healing.
UNICEF sends the kits all over the world to help kids get back to school after disasters like tsunamis and earthquakes. They also send kits to places where wars keep kids from getting to school.

Some Sense of Normal

About half of the schools in and around the capital city, Port-au-Prince, were damaged or destroyed in the earthquake. Going to school, seeing friends, and having a routine is really important for kids after a disaster. It makes life feel closer to normal for a few hours a day. But how do you get kids back to school when the world around them is in chaos? When you cant even think about rebuilding until tons of debris have been cleared? You set up a temporary school, and you do it as fast as possible.

hat if you woke up one morning and found that the world around you was completely different? That your house, your neighborhood, your family, and your friends were all gone? Thats what thousands of kids in Haiti faced on January 12, 2010, when a powerful earthquake took their world and turned it upside down. The severe earthquake collapsed buildings as if they were made of cards. Streets disappeared under rubble. By the end of that day, more than 200,000 people had died. Life on the island slammed to a halt.

Fact: More than 1,400

schools were destroyed in the earthquake in Haiti.

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