Sichuan Earthquake Update

Source from: Cries for help among dead, By Fu Jing, 2008-05-16

Posted with agreement of the journalist with China Daily

SHIFANG, Sichuan province: Feng Peipei promised days ago that she would celebrate her mother’s 36th birthday, which fell yesterday. It is a promise the 14-year-old girl will never be able to keep.

Yesterday morning, Yi Chuanying saw the remains of her daughter being pulled out from a collapsed three-story school in Hongbai town in the city of Shifang.

“You promised we would be together for my birthday today, and for yours next month,” Yi, a divorced migrant worker who flew from Shenzhen in Guangdong province to the disaster site, cried. “You also promised to give me a belated Mothers’ Day gift. “But why did you break your promise, my dear daughter?”

The mountainous town of Hongbai is one of the worst-hit areas in Monday’s quake that struck Sichuan province. Life-detecting devices have found that most of the 700-odd students from the town’s primary and middle schools have no chance of survival, rescuers have said. “Today, some remains have even started to emit terrible smells. Hope of survivors is dim,” rescue team leader Wen Hongbin said.

For more information, please go to

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2008-05/16/content_6689006.htm

Guardian’s photographer Dan Chung took these photos at Niufei village, Pingwu County

Collection of photos of the disaster relief and rescue

The access of the epicentre of the earthquake had been blocked by landslide and bad weather for two days, until Chinese army and armed police reached it on foot and by helicopter on Wednesday (14 May) morning.

Full report from Xinhua News Agency

The death toll caused by the Sichuan earthquake is reported to be 15,000 already. The number is still rising. A lot of school children were amongst those tragically killed when their school buildings collapsed.

We have spoken to the local authorities and understand that water, clothes, medicine, and food are URGENTLY needed.

To help children and orphanages in the disaster area, Mother Bridge of Love (MBL) is making an urgent appeal to all our friends and colleagues to make a donation to support the disaster relief efforts. Your generous help would be much appreciated.

Last year, we donated money to the flood-hit area of Sichuan. The money we raised through Edinburgh Marathon was used to Tongjiang to build up a collapsed school kitchen in helping children back to school earlier.

100 % of donations received will once again be sent to Sichuan to provide much needed assistance to children. Our focus will be helping children and women to recover from physical (food, water, and medical care immediately) and physiological damage (Counseling in a later stage).

The donation will be sent to the local schools and mothers and carers directly through our local advisory volunteers. The money will be used to buy the most urgently needed goods and rescue the children still underneath the debris. We will report back the progress from the front line.

Please make a donation . This can be done quickly and easily online by supporting our Edinburgh Marathon Runners to raise funds for the disaster relief. Please go to the website: http://www.justgiving.com/rbsjames

For any other form of support you could provide, please contact WENDY WU (CEO) at headoffice@motherbridge.org 020 70340686