海角大神

The 9- and 10-year-olds, all wearing matching sweater vests and cardigans, are sitting in a semicircle inside the A Favor del Ni帽o primary school, talking. The subject is bravery.

鈥淎 lot has changed in our personal lives, and if you want to cry, that doesn鈥檛 make you any less brave,鈥� their instructor tells them on a recent Thursday morning. 鈥淓ven adults have been crying over this.鈥澨�

Ten days prior, a 7.1 earthquake rocked Mexico, leveling some 40 buildings here in the capital, including one primary school, and killing more than 330 people nationwide. Most of the city鈥檚 roughly听9,000 public and private schools听remain closed, and officials say it could take up to two weeks before they鈥檙e given the all clear.听听

Many students 鈥� and parents 鈥� are eager for schools to reopen. But there鈥檚 a catch: The quake hit at 1:14 p.m. on a Tuesday, while kids were in class. So while reopening schools represents a welcome return to routine, it also means a return to ground zero. In response, educators, principals, parents, and NGOs across Mexico City are exchanging materials on how to talk about the quake with their children, how to assuage fears 鈥� and how to get back to work.

鈥淲e knew that once kids returned [to school], their last memory here would be the quake,鈥� says Noe Gonzalez, the co-director of A Favor del Ni帽o primary school.听Some 146 students evacuated from the 1940s-era building into a small concrete plaza on Sept. 19, then out a gate and up a hill to street level, trying to keep their balance as the ground undulated beneath their tiny feet.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to close that emotional loop,鈥� Mr. Gonzalez says of revisiting the quake on the first day back to school.

Restoring a sense of safety

Therapists' tents that have popped up in parks and at the sites where buildings collapsed speak to one way people are trying to do that, with counselors and psychologists essentially putting out their shingle and offering free services.

Ana Luisa, a domestic worker, watches her 6-year-old daughter Ana Maria coloring on large sheets of paper beside a therapist tent in Parque Espa帽a, on a recent afternoon. She asked not to use her full name because she uses her employer鈥檚 address to enroll Ana Maria in a better public primary school. She ran to the school the moment the earth stopped shaking on the 19th and found her safe, but the days that followed have been tough.

鈥淪he won鈥檛 go to the bathroom by herself, she won鈥檛 go into any room by herself,鈥� she says two days after the quake. Ana Luisa messaged her daughter鈥檚 teacher on Facebook for advice. 鈥淪he told me to keep the news off when Ana Maria鈥檚 in the room and to avoid streets where buildings fell,鈥� she says.

鈥淪ometimes I worry the quake broke my daughter, too,鈥� she says, wiping her forearm across her teary eyes.听

Still, says Dora Giusti, the chief of protection with UNICEF in Mexico, children are particularly resilient and adults can help children tap that inherent capacity for recovery when processing the events of that day. The organization has been working with teachers in the southern states of Chiapas and Oaxaca, where an 8.1 quake hit Sept. 7, to prepare them for the return of students. They鈥檙e also sharing materials on social media and with the government to help teachers and kids to deal with the disaster.

A key activity UNICEF encourages is helping kids design a plan for future earthquakes. 鈥淚t helps them feel cared for, safe, and prepared,鈥� Ms. Giusti says.听

At Al Favor del Ni帽o, the courtyard is filled with laughter and happy screams during recess on the first day back. Kids kick rubber balls, gather around board games, and a few are busy tying their sweaters together in what appears to be an elaborate game of make-believe.听

鈥淚鈥檓 so happy to be back,鈥� says 10-year-old Carolina Garcia Guerrero. 鈥淚 think that, even though my house isn鈥檛 in a bad state, I feel safer here at school,鈥� she says. It鈥檚 鈥渂ecause my friends are here.鈥�

The quake hit on the 32nd anniversary of Mexico鈥檚 1985 temblor, which left thousands dead and flattened hundreds of buildings. 鈥淚n some ways, it was a good day for an earthquake,鈥� says Susana Vargas, a fifth-grade teacher. The entire school went through an earthquake drill earlier that morning.

鈥淵es, there were some students crying and panicking, but I was so proud to see that they knew exactly what to do,鈥� she says, describing how they had their hands on their heads, protecting their necks, and were calm as they marched up the hill to their final evacuation point.听

Before reopening the school, the staff here came together to talk about their own experiences with the quake. 鈥淪ome teachers cried, they expressed their fears. Then we started sharing material,鈥� says Gonzalez, one of the school鈥檚 co-directors.听

That included a book, adapted from Chile, where quakes are also a regular occurrence. Some classrooms showed videos about the science behind temblors and Mexico鈥檚 susceptibility to them. The fifth-graders listened to a song about disasters and hope, and picked out their favorite lines to share with the group.

鈥淎nd you will see how this world changes, when without fear you open your door at last, and keep your light on, however small,鈥� one popular lyric read.听

A group of third-graders gathered after recess to receive letters of support and encouragement sent by children from across South America, also part of the Teach for All education network of which this Ense帽a Por Mexico school is part.

One student is overjoyed as she unscrolls a rolled-up letter, revealing a flag and the words 鈥�Fuerza Mexico,鈥� or Stay Strong, Mexico. 鈥淥hh, que lindo, [how beautiful],鈥� a little boy cries out while unfurling his note.

Angela, whose face is framed by hot pink glasses and missing front teeth that reveal her age, says that the cards were written 鈥渟o that we won鈥檛 feel sad or scared.鈥� Asked if it鈥檚 helped, she says yes.

鈥淒on鈥檛 worry, everything will be OK,鈥� says 9-year-old Emiliano Garcia Barrera,听sharing his advice for other kids who might experience something similar. 鈥淪ooner or later, your fear will pass,鈥� he says, noting that he was very scared, but didn鈥檛 cry.

鈥淚t won鈥檛 last all your life. And if you can make jokes and laugh, it will help you a lot.鈥�