Two weeks after an earthquake and tsunami struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, the government has decided to call off the search for victims -- citing concerns about the spread of disease. The goal now is to focus on the next phase: rebuilding. Tens of thousands of people -- many of them children -- have no home to return to and desperately need help. Our correspondent Miro Lu has this story.

It's 7 a.m. The women are busy preparing breakfast and getting themselves ready. This community of 60 people have been living under one single tent since they survived the September 28th earthquake that claimed more than 2000 lives. Like most of the 78,000 people who have been displaced by the 7.5 magnitude earthquake and the tsunami and the liquefaction that followed, Derma has lost her house and all her belongings, but she's just glad that everyone is still alive in her family.

DERMA PALU RESIDENT "My family are all secure, but my niece died. There are 2 children who died from my relatives' side. All gone. Our house was dragged about 1 km from the original position to the west. All is lost. Home. A house is what we really need. Because we don't know where to go."

Derma's home was in Petobo, one of the worst-hit neighbourhoods in Palu. Indonesia's National Board of Disaster Management has said debris will be cleared and the site will eventually be turned into Parks and monuments. 

MIRO LU PALU CITY "While the parents are busy finding resources to rebuild their lives, the children in Palu have been left behind. Volunteers have set up a temporary school, for the kids to learn and to play. They've gone through so much at such a young age, we wouldn't know for sure what kind of impact the nightmarish experience will have on them till much later." 

Puput and Aulia are sisters. When the earthquake struck, they were home alone without parents.

They had to run for their life while protecting their younger siblings. For nine hours, the 11-year-old and the 10-year-old walked in the dark in deep mud, looking for their parents.

PUPUT & AULIA "My Sister was crying, I took her and ran."

"I was holding my third sister. I told my third sister to stand on the edge of the land."

"I got into the mud, then I handed her over to someone. The height of the mud was up to my shoulders. I said 'Uncle, may I ask for your help, please take away my sister'."

The girls eventually got to a safe place near the airport and found their parents. They said they miss home but they like the temporary school at the shelter where they can play, learn how to draw and listen to fairy tales. Miro Lu, for CGTN at Palu City.