The focused destruction of entire communities leaves thousands of children without water, food, or shelter. The situation is grave. Extended Impact on the Children Children are being left alone in temporary shelters while their parents return to work, an unfortunate necessity that current conditions mandate if families want to begin their lives anew. It is difficult to direct the children's focus away from the trauma the earthquake has produced, and there is a definite need for their psychological well-being. There are 180 schools that are damaged by the January earthquake alone, some uninhabitable.
School is suspended.
An estimated 300,000 children are out of school because schools were either damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. Save the Children is responding quickly by building temporary schools and early childhood education centers. The damaged wells and water systems that have resulted from the quake, as well as water source contamination due to the lack of latrines and poor hygiene, threaten to worsen this situation. This, in conjunction with the massive need here, may leave El Salvador in ruins indefinitely. Other sources of aid must be sought to begin mending the country.