At 12:30pm on Wednesday, November 14th, Karen went to pick up her two children at school as she usually does. Karen was thinking about the surprise birthday party she was planning for her eldest son Nicolas who was turning 11 the next day. She was going to celebrate his birthday at home, with her husband and two children, and invite her brother, his wife and their daughter.

"Just before I reached the school, everything started to shake. I was very nervous. All I wanted to do was to pick up my daughter at kindergarten and then rush to my son's school and pick him up. When the earthquake became stronger, it was just terrible. I have never experienced anything like that before. I saw how pieces of cement fell and dirt was flying everywhere making it difficult for me to see anything. When I got to school I couldn't find my children. The windows were shattering and I suddenly fell to the floor. It was like being in a movie. I just wanted to see my children. I finally found them in the school yard", says this young mother.

Karen lives in Tocopilla, 1300 kilometers north of Santiago and one of the cities most affected by the 7.7 earthquake last Wednesday November 14th.

More than 15 thousand people lost everything. "When I got home I could not open the door. The walls had fallen. The bathroom was completely destroyed. The pipes were all broken and water was running throughout the house. There was nothing we could do. The roof had caved in and we could not enter the house", remembers Karen.

The only room that was not damaged was the children's bedroom where the family sleeps now. They no longer have a bathroom and the kitchen is about to collapse. Firefighters have already tagged the house for demolishment because it is so dangerous to live in there. But Karen, like many others, does not want to leave her home and go to a shelter. She is afraid that the few belongings they were able to save will be stolen. They cannot bear that the beautiful house they built is destroyed. "This was...my house. It was so hard for us to buy the things in our house. Our house was so beautiful and we did it all for nothing...for this." Karen's greatest concern is for her children: "The children were so traumatized they cannot sleep. They scream at night. I have to sleep with them huddled in bed with me. My daughter was so scared that she screamed every time the earth shakes. We had constant replicas throughout the night. My son Nicolas said he was looking forward to celebrating his birthday with his family. He asked me, "Mom, next month is Christmas. What are we going to do without our home?"

Children in Need of Psychological Support World Vision Chile arrived in Tocopilla on the same day of the earthquake in order to provide aid for the victims. We handed out blankets, tents and food. World Vision is now focusing its work on building "Child-friendly spaces for children who were affected by the earthquake". Maria Shield, Manager of Children's Ministry for World Vision Chile explains that "WV became involved to provide psychological aid to the children after the disaster".

Two projects, especially designed for children, were implemented in order to reduce the possible post-traumatic sequelae in children living in Tocopilla. According to Maria, this support has two objectives: to provide community psychological intervention directed at setting up a routine for children in a safe and stable environment through educational and recreational activities and to build community capacity and prevent sequelae produced by the trauma related to the disaster with the help of a group of specialists who are evaluating the children.

"You are the only ones who come to help us. These children are desperate for help. They are the ones who have been most affected", concludes Karen.