The Philippines, particularly those affected by the Taal Volcano eruption, is on the minds of the people at everyone’s favorite neighborhood. On their official Facebook page, Sesame Street posted an artwork and message for Filipinos. It reads: “During tough times, support from caring adults can offer children comfort and reassurance. Today, our hearts go out to all who are affected from the Taal volcano eruption in the Philippines.”
The post also cited a link of  video resources on talking to your child about emergencies and scary news. The featured video shows Granny Bird comforting Big Bird because he cannot be in his nest and do the things he used to do because of a “big storm”. Granny Bird says: “When there’s an emergency, it can cause big changes and that can be hard on kids and birds”. Granny Bird told Big Bird that there are still so much they can do together like play, tell stories or sing.
Taal Volcano is still on Alert Level 4 and affected families (comprised of an estimated 460,000 people) living in areas at risk within a 14km radius of the main crater of the volcano, are still housed in various evacuation centers all over Calabarzon and Metro Manila. An estimated 21,000 children have also been evacuated from their homes, according to a report from the Save the Children Philippines, an organization taking care of the welfare of children during disasters or emergencies.
The unique needs of children are also being prioritized by those providing relief goods. The public are also urged to donate items useful to babies and children including breastmilk, diapers, hygiene essentials, age-appropriate food, or even toys among others. Some well-meaning groups/companies have also set up portable play areas for the children in evacuation centers to help ease the trauma that they might be experiencing from the emergency situation.
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