WELLINGTON, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Children in 15 New Zealand's Canterbury and Kaikoura schools living with the legacy of earthquakes will first have additional people to support their wellbeing, Health Minister David Clark said on Monday.
Seven mental health professionals, counsellors and community workers began working in schools in east and west Christchurch on Monday on the first stage of the government's initiative "Stronger for Tomorrow."
The initiative will "allow us to focus on supporting the wellbeing and positive mental health of children who, along with their families, have been impacted by earthquakes," Clark said in a statement, referring to the three major quakes that struck Canterbury in 2010, 2011, and 2016.
This first stage is the beginning of a three-year 28 million-NZ dollar (19.7 million-U.S. dollar) program to have a mental health support worker available to all primary and intermediate age school children in Canterbury and Kaikoura, a town in northeastern Canterbury, he said.
"It is important to identify and support people and their family when problems arise," the minister said, adding that the initiative follows the principles of prevention and early intervention.
By June 2019, program support will be available to all primary and intermediate school aged children across Greater Christchurch, the Hurunui and Kaikoura, Clark said.
