Christchurch earthquake 2011

Our New Zealand Journey of Hope programme is helping children and their families in Canterbury rebuild their lives.

Following the series of earthquakes that hit Christchurch in 2010 and 2011, New Zealanders helped us raise over $300,000 for affected children and their families.

Since then, Save the Children New Zealand has established a successful resilience-building programme for earthquake-affected children called the Journey of Hope.

Our Journey of Hope is run by skilled local psychologists and therapists and this is the first time we have implemented a post-emergency programme in New Zealand.

Although other trauma recovery programmes have been running, this is the only resilience-building programme designed specifically for children affected by the Christchurch earthquakes that Save the Children New Zealand is aware of.

To date, over 500 children and families have completed the Journey of Hope, which is run through local partners, including Barnardos, Plunket, ADRA and Te Puna Whaiora.

Unfortunately, many children have reported still feeling the psychological after-effects of living through a large-scale natural disaster. These include a fear of sleeping or being alone, constantly worrying about family members and feeling unable to talk about how they feel.

Click here to watch a video about the Journey of Hope.

If you’re in Christchurch, stressed and need help, or if you just want more information about our programme, contact us on 0800 167 168, or email  Christchurch@SavetheChildren.org.nz  with your name, address and phone number. A member of our local Christchurch team will be in touch in 1-2 working days.

Download the Journey of Hope pamphlet.

Read more about the Journey of Hope and our local partners here