After the Disaster: Facilitating Children to Talk of Their Feeling and Experiences

The Black Summer bushfires of 2019/2020 were unprecedented in their scale and impact on children, families, and communities across Australia. Experiencing a disaster of this nature can have an ongoing impact on a child’s emotional well-being and development. However, young children are often invisible in the urgent context of disasters such as bushfires and floods, and their needs can be overlooked. Recognising this gap, the Royal Far West Bushfire Recovery Program was developed to support the well-being and resilience of young children impacted by the bushfires and to reduce the likelihood of long-term adverse effects. This chapter describes the Program, its delivery and evaluation, and provides a practical example of applying the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 of good health and well-being for all ages. The impact of climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of disasters, which puts at risk the most basic of children’s rights enshrined in the Rights of the Child, including the right to life, health, education, play, and decent living conditions. To protect these rights, post-disaster interventions must support children to learn about their emotional reactions and enable them to talk about their feelings and experiences. Listening to children will facilitate the development of post-disaster policy, research, practice, and interventions that focus on and address their needs.