Child-Friendly Spaces Support Displaced Children in Darfur

The Central Darfur Emergency Response Rooms continue to operate a “Child-Friendly Space” for displaced children at the Al-Hamidiyah Schools Complex, with support from the Emergency Response Rooms Coordination Council, under the slogan “Play Is a Right, and Safety Is the Foundation.” The initiative aims to provide children with a safe and supportive environment while promoting their protection and psychological and social well-being.

The space allows children to participate in recreational and educational activities that help them express themselves, develop their skills, and regain a sense of normalcy amid the difficult conditions imposed by war and displacement on children and their families.

Salma Jar Al-Nabi, a child welfare activist in Central Darfur, told Mashaweer that “the initiative aims to provide a safe environment where children can express themselves, participate, and engage in activities that help them regain their childhood spirit.”

She explained that “the initiative also seeks to strengthen the role of emergency response rooms, educational personnel, and the local community in protecting children, while raising awareness that play is not a luxury but a fundamental right and an important element of a child’s development and ability to learn, interact, and participate.”

Jar Al-Nabi stressed that “protecting children, creating appropriate conditions for their development, and helping them build their future are shared responsibilities that require concerted efforts by the community and humanitarian and educational actors.”