September 1, 2004 Omide Madar ("Mother of Hope") is a kindergarten cum day care center. With a teaching staff composed of experts in such areas as graphics and psychology, the school was attracting children aged 3-6 from mostly upper-class families of education-minded parents. It was a thriving facility taking care of 235 children when a powerful earthquake struck the southwestern Iran city of Bam in December 2003. The quake killed 110 of the children. The 47-year-old principal of the school, Fateme Tasrimi, reopened the school immediately after the quake, using temporary tents, but only five children came. She nevertheless resumed school operations and let them paint pictures on the first day after the quake. The paintings clearly showed the traumas the disaster caused to the children. The colors were darker than before, and buildings they painted were destroyed. As aftershocks continued, many children resisted entering houses out of fear. Their traumas manifested themselves in various forms in daily lives. But children were not the only injured souls. Parents who had lost their children were also in a state of shock. Even after three months since the quake, many of these bereft parents were unwilling to come close to the school or school routes. Such deep emotional wounds cannot be easily healed. Sabuze Wali, the manager of a local factory, lost his four-year-old daughter. He mustered the courage to come to the school and said, "I would like to take care of the surviving children as my own. I would like to provide aid to the school for the children." His words greatly moved and encouraged Fateme, a veteran teacher with 28 years of experience. She could forget the grim reality while she was watching the angelic faces of children. But there were no dearth of problems she had to tackle. "Now we are in the worst situation," Fateme said. "But we will face even more problems in coming months. In this region, the temperature can rise to 50 degrees in summer. I'm not sure we can continue giving classes in tents. We are also short of necessary teaching materials." The ordeal will continue for the victims of the earthquake, which ravaged the ancient city of Bam in southeastern Iran. Recovering from the enormous damage is a big challenge. (Published in EMERGENCY NURSING, September 2004 issue)