'Hold play therapy sessions for young typhoon victims'

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has issued a memorandum calling on daycare workers to conduct play therapy sessions to children affected by recent typhoons.

“This is to promote the welfare of the children specifically the victims of typhoons Pedring and Quiel, while they are in the evacuation centers,” DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman said in a statement.

Soliman said the Supervised Neighborhood Play Program (SNP) is a neighborhood community-based early childhood care development (ECCD) for children six years and below.

It utilizes play as an approach in providing early stimulation activities that are developmentally appropriate for each target areas of children in the community, she said.

Soliman said DSWD Field Office II issued the memorandum to the 67 evacuation centers in the four provinces in Region 2.

“In times of disasters, the SNP program through the initiative of the daycare workers and SNP workers serves as a means for the children aged zero to six to strengthen and sustain their interest in various enrichment activities even if they are inside the evacuation centers.” DSWD Region 2 Director Arnel Garcia said.

“Since Region 2 is a child-friendly region, we encourage our social workers and daycare workers to conduct supervised neighborhood play in all evacuation centers to promote the well-being of children, as well as lessen their trauma as a result of the calamity they have experienced,” Garcia added.

Nida Cinco, one of the daycare workers who conducted SNP in an evacuation center in Barangay Dadda, Amulung, Cagayan, said she provides early childhood enrichment activities during disasters to children through a variety of play activities, games guided exercise and other learning opportunities.

“For five days, I taught different songs, simple poems, storytelling, and games to 16 children inside the evacuation center. These simple activities can be implemented by their parents when they go back to their homes after the flooding,” Cinco said.