© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-0167/NooraniSteve Cherival (left), 8, and Richard Cherival, 5, play with a board puzzle from a UNICEF Early Childhood Development kit at the Lakay Don Bosco Centre, a residential care facility for children in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.

By Roshan Khadivi

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 17 February 2010 – The first day of school in a UNICEF tent classroom was a happy day for Yolanda Senatus, 9 – and a far cry from the tragic day she had experienced just a month earlier.

“I like to draw, sing and play with my friends. I am so happy today,” said Yolanda, who lost both her home and her school in the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January.

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© Chris Hondros/Getty Images - Boy pours water on his head in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Nearly half the Haitian population are under the age of 18.

By Pi James

NEW YORK, USA, 21 January 2010 – The death toll from the 12 January earthquake in Haiti continues to rise, despite the worldwide humanitarian efforts underway. With nearly half of the Haitian population under the age of 18, children have been significantly affected by this crisis.

Nine-year-old Marie Yolene Milord speaks with a Haitian volunteer at a field hospital at the MINUSTAH
© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-0052

“I don’t know how, perhaps in tents or the open-air…but even in wartime, schools must function…For the mental health of the population, the children and students need to go back to normal life. They will have hot meals and psychological treatment at schools.” -Joel Jean-Pierre, Minister of Education, Haiti

The following are links highlighting education response and information on the crisis in Haiti.