Kumamoto Earthquake, children have nowhere to go - Refugees huddle in evacuation centers, parents at their wit's end It has been over a month since the Kumamoto earthquake occurred. In the evacuation centers, there are not enough spaces for children. As a result, some of them are playing games in the corners of the evacuation centers. Their parents are worried about their children's circumstances. Kumamoto City has opened 66 evacuation centers. The total number of people taking shelter there is about 49,000. About 30% of them are children. However, there are not enough spaces for the children to play. At an evacuation center in Minami-ku, Kumamoto City, there are about 330 people, including about 70 children. The only space for the children to play is a small corner on the first floor. About 10 children are playing games such as "Monster Hunter" on a portable game console there. A mother in her 30s said, "I have no idea how to keep my child entertained." She added, "My child has been playing games all day. I do not know what to do." Another mother in her 40s said, "My child has been watching TV and playing games all day. I am worried that he is not getting enough exercise." The mother said that her child had been going to kindergarten. She added, "My child used to go to kindergarten. I wish we could go back to normal life as soon as possible." The city is trying to solve the problem. It has set up a temporary nursery in a kindergarten in Minami-ku. The nursery started on April 25 and will end on May 31. The city plans to open more temporary nurseries in the future. However, it is not clear if it will be able to solve the problem.
We haven't written up this one. The Asahi Shimbun has the full story — the link below goes straight to it.
