Sichuan Earthquake Update

Update from Sichuan

A policy memorandum published today by Ministry of Civil Affairs and Sichuan Provincial Government has highlighted the principles regarding the care of earthquake orphans. The priority is given to children’s relatives and parents who lost their children in the earthquake.

In short term, orphans and children with missing parents must be taken care by the local government, in separation with other victims. While in the process of identifying their parents, the authority must arrange the children to be taken care by social welfare organisation, temporary foster families or boarding schools in other areas of Sichuan with better conditions, or other provinces.

In long term, the momorandum has highlighted several principles in terms of child adoption and fostering. The priority will be given to children’s relatives, with the support of local government. If relatives can not be found, or are not able to support the child, those families who lost their children in the earthquake will be given the priority to adopt an orphan. The orphans can also be fostered by other families in China who are willing to help. The memorandum stresses that consent must be sought from the child if he or she is over 10 years old before being adopted or fostered. Some orphans may be taken by orphanages.

Wendy Wu

CEO, Mother Bridge of Love

04 June 2008

Kids adopted from China raise cash for quake

Children adopted from China are moved by the scenes of Sichuan earthquake and started to raise fund for the quake victims. Several organisations, like Half and Sky Foundation, Our Chinese Daughter Foundation, and Families with Children from China, New York Chapter, are also involved in earthquake relief fundraising.

A small body frozen in a moment, surrounded by rubble. A terrified, bleeding young girl carried on a stretcher. Sobbing mothers clutching photos of children lost to the earthquake in China.

“There for the grace of God go our daughters, and us,” said Sandi Janusch, who adopted 7-year-old Kaili from China as a baby.

Moved by images of the tragedy and pulled by an invisible red thread that — as Chinese legend holds — forever connects her to her daughter’s birth country, Janusch wanted to do something, anything, to help.

So she, Kaili and some friends baked. A lot. Together they raised $2,400 for relief efforts by making and selling gourmet fortune cookies — espresso and jasmine tea were among the specialty flavors sold eight to a decorated box — in Calgary, Canada.

Where there are Chinese girls adopted by parents halfway around the world, there are bake sales, garage sales, dance performances, memorial services and cash campaigns raising money for earthquake victims in the country that united their families.

The amounts raised are tiny in contrast to the nearly 69,000 people dead, estimated 18,000 missing and millions left homeless by the earthquake, but reaching out to their birth country is priceless to the girls and their families.

Read more here.

CSSA-UK Fundraising Performance for Students in China’s Earthquake Area, 12, May, 2008

CSSA-UK Fundraising Performance for Students in China’s Earthquake Area

http://512yiyan.cssauk.org.uk/

Date and Time: 07, June, 2008, 19:00－21:00，
Place: Old Theatre, LSE Old Building, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE

Ticket Price: 3pounds.

Seats limited.

Ticket office: 512yiyan@googlemail.com

Wings of Life charity concert for China

From Wings of Life charity concert of China organisers:

The University is to host a gala concert in aid of the people affected by the earthquake in China.

Featuring a mixture of Chinese and Western dance and music, the idea for the concert came from Chinese students studying in the University. They have, in association with the Chinese Consulate in Edinburgh and the Chinese Community in Scotland, put together in a few days a concert that would normally take at least a year to organise.

The concert will feature amongst others Yi Dong, a graduate of the University of Edinburgh and a leading exponent of the zheng - the most popular national instrument in China, and students from the Glasgow Royal Music and Drama School.

Tickets will be available at the door on the night of the event and a suggested donation of £10 for an adult and £8 for a child would be welcome.

If you are unable to attend the concert but would like to donate, you can do so via the Chinese Consulate General in Edinburgh from 9am -12pm, Monday to Friday.

The programme will start at 7.30pm and will end at approximately 8.45pm at McEwan Hall, Edinburgh on Tuesday 3rd June 2008.

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Heros - Dedicated to the brave people in Sichuan Earthquake, 2008

This set of pictures are dedicated to the brave people in Sichuan Earthquake. Passed to us by Liu Hong.

Please click the text or picture below to open the power point file.
Heros - Dedicated to the brave people in Sichuan Earthquake, 2008

Curve of Mourning, Curve of Unity

Source from http://googlechinablog.com/2008/05/blog-post_22.html. Thanks http://mobchina.blogspot.com for the english translation.

The chart was taken on the 19th June, one week after the WenChuan earthquake during the 3 minutes of silence to remember and mourn for the victims of the catastrophe. It is the data flow of the google searchin engin (in China). It is a clear sign of unity taken voluntarily by all the internet users in China showing a respect and regards for both that had lost the lives and also for all the affected victims. This is truly unprecedented.

Tingting’s Love for Children in earthquake (2)

TingTing sent one more drawing and her letter to children in Sichuan:

Cola Boy

Translate by candice zhou

Today is May 27^th. It’s about half a month since the earthquake.

Many people become “famous” in the earthquake, “Cola boy” Xue Xiao is one of them.  This 17 years old boy, who was buried in the ruins for 80 hours, is famous for the first sentence “I want to drink Cola.” when he was rescued.   Many people came to hospital to see Xue. But for him, the hurts in the earthquake would once recovered, however, the amputated right arm wound never be recovered.  His doctor said,” Xue made the agreement fingerprint of operation by his left hand, at that moment, he didn’t drop a tear.  Yesterday Xue told the journalist, “ I want to go to university.”

press “read more” button to read more….

Update from Deyang: schools and children

Psychological counselling and school rebuilding are the two big challenges local educational authorities are facing. Before the earthquake, local government has embarked on a plan of bridging the gap of quality and access between urban and rural areas by building central boarding schools for the children from remote rural areas, who can study in Town Centre Schools with better facilities and teaching resources. Now the focus is on assessing how to rebuild schools quickly. It’s likely as the first step, temporary schools will be built in the central areas.

The earthquake has left more than 4000 children orphaned or without proper parental care. There has been huge waves of sympathy from families around China. Many of them also have expressed the willingness to adopt an earthquake orphan. International adoption is not high on the agenda.

Our local correspondents and volunteers also told me the distribution of aids is not even, largely dependent on accessibility. Towns and villages along the main roads have been well covered. However villages difficult to reach need more aids. Some self-organised volunteers with better transport, knowledge and equipments are doing well in filling the gaps.

Wendy Wu

CEO, Mother Bridge of Love

27 May 2008

China preparing to drain swelling quake lake

Rescuers are preparing to dynamite the barrier of a swelling quake lake, which has posed a new threat after a devastating 8.0-magnitude temblor ravaged southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

Helicopters had airdropped professionals and materials for the operation by 7:49 a.m. Monday onto the dam of the barrier lake at Tangjiashan in Beichuan County, which was formed by landslides that blocked a local river known as Jianhe after the May 12 earthquake.

Sunday’s adverse weather hampered the operation, but the weather and visibility were fine on Monday morning, said a spokesman with the Mianyang Airport Headquarters for Quake Relief Flight Operation.

A Mig-26 helicopter had carried a large bulldozer from Leigu in the vicinity of Tangjiashan which could only be reached on foot currently.

As a backup operation, a group of armed policemen arrived on foot at the Tangjiashan lake area at 00:35 a.m. Monday and set to work immediately. They would assault the lake barrier in case bad weather and low visibility continued to hamper airdrop efforts.