MANILA, Philippines — The eruption of Mayon Volcano is affecting the mental and physical well-being of tens of thousands of students in Albay who were forced to leave their homes, an advocacy group said Sunday.
The daily lives of over 22,000 students from the Albay, Ligao, and Tabaco school divisions are disrupted as Mayon continues to spew lava and debris, and trigger rockfalls and earthquakes, Save the Children Philippines said.
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The group noted that children are uprooted from their homes and deprived of their education because the majority of the 28 emergency shelters are elementary and high school campuses.
Government officials earlier said that many of the displaced students were having classes in chapels, tents, and even under trees.
Modular instruction is now being implemented, and classes will still be conducted until the end of the academic year in July.
Save the Children Philippines added that children are showing signs of psychological distress in cramped and unsanitary evacuation centers.
“Children are most vulnerable in disasters. Their world has been upended, their sense of stability shattered. Children are experiencing difficulty sleeping due to worries and fears. They are also suffering from respiratory illnesses,” said Alberto Muyot, chief executive officer of Save the Children Philippines.
“Children require specific support, and balancing their immediate requirements with recognizing their long-term needs is imperative. We must act decisively to ensure their emotional well-being remains intact during this challenging period,” he added.
Muyot said the organization is working to establish temporary schools to “nourish the children’s minds and provide a sense of normalcy, a lifeline to hope and stability.”
Save the Children Philippines is also providing psychosocial support through art intervention activities in three evacuation centers in Camalig town.