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Operation Blessing Earthquake Relief - Sichuan, ChinaReal-time updates on OB's relief efforts |
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April 23 The photo exhibition "Little Chen's Village and the Big Quake" will be heldThe photo exhibition "Little Chen's Village and the Big Quake" will be held from May 7-12 in the Beijing Planning Exhibit Hall. The exhibition depicts how one village rose from the rubble of the devastating Sichuan earthquake.
April 16 Aprile 16th--New home built upFrom Mianyang in Sichuan province
For longer-term recovery and development, OperationBlessing China began to serve the needs of villagers fromYaojin in Mianyang County, Sichuan Province. Our mission was clear: to rebuild homes for each of the 54 families.
With government partnerships and approvals in place,we broke ground on the new homes in September 2008.The families themselves have worked tirelessly alongside construction and NGO professionals to build quality homesthat meet high safety standards for a quake region.
The homes were finished in March 2009 allowing these farmers to focus their attention on farming and rebuilding their lives. March 05 Mar-5 New Yaojin Village in a Driver’s EyesFrom Mianyang in Sichuan provice
Chen Shenjian, aged 55, is a peasant in Yaojin Village. Before the earthquake, like other villagers in Yaojin he owned a happy big family. Mr. Chen was an experienced lorry driver and his wife, Du Shihui, was a housewife, who took care of the field work as well as her two grand-daughters. One month before the earthquake, Mr. Chen’s daughter, Chen Hehua left her two daughters, of which the younger one was only 5 months old, under her mother’s care and she joined her husband working in Xinjiang province, where the young couple had been working for years. Through families’ industrious work, the Chen family had built 2 storage building and the whole family had lived happily and with a sound economy.
When the earthquake happened on May 12th, 2008, Mr. Chen was driving his lorry in other place and his eldest grand-daughter was in school. In his home, Madam Chen was taking care of her baby granddaughter. Suddenly, the earth began to shake violently. Madam Chen was doing laundry in the courtyard. In that most critical moment, Madam Chen, instead of running to the open out area, rushed back into the house and held the baby up then dashed out of the building. Barely did they get out of the door, the building collapsed with a big crush sound. The falling bricks hit on Madam Chen’s body and she fainted after a sharp pain. When other villagers came to help them out of the relics, Madam Chen knew that her left leg had fractured into three pieces. As Madam Chen protected her granddaughter in her arms, the little fellow had only a little bruise on her head.
After the earthquake, Mr. Chen’s daughter and her husband returned home. Madam Chen received emergency medical treatment and then she was picked back home. The whole family lived in a temporary shelter. At the sight of his wounded wife and relics of their once beautiful buildings, Mr. Chen was sad, but with a slight sense of good luck. “We survived from the disaster and we should boldly face the life.” Mr. Chen used the word to encourage his family. But one question hounded the whole family: “Where is our HOPE for the new life.”
Three month after the earthquake, Mr. Chen, together with other villagers, knew that Operation Blessing was going to help Yaojin village to rebuild houses and villagers just needed to contribute their labors. At the beginning, like most other villagers, Mr. Chen doubted this news and thought it was a joke. But gradually when the crane of 7 meters was set up in the old village center, he realized that it was real and such a big blessing was falling on their village. Villagers signed up to participate in the construction crew, so did Mr. Chen’s daughter and son-in-law.
Yaojin Construction began and it ran fast and smoothly. Mr. Chen stuck with his old business as a lorry driver. As he drove around, the more he witnessed the miserable situation in other disastrous area, the more he felt lucky because Operation Blessing was helping them out of the difficulties. When he delivered material to other construction site, he felt also very proud, as the construction in Yaojin village was developing faster and quality is super good. The fact that OB donated big money in helping them for reconstruction won him plenty of envies, so he felt also happy and contented.
Sometimes Mr. Chen took 2 or 3 days for travelling. But every time he came back to Yaojin village, he could observe the difference happened in his village. He told these changes to his wife. Have been lying on bed since the earthquake, Madam Chen told him in return. OB came to visit her and brought her gifts when Mr. Chen was working. Deeply touched by OB’s help, the old couple reiterated to their children to work hard. Only with their diligence work, they can pay back OB’s help. Occasionally, Mr. Chen delivered material to Yaojin site. He was so serious to his work. He told other people. “We are building our own houses. We can’t be careless to the material. For all the supports from OB, even for one cent, we have to use it very well.”
The new houses for Yaojin villagers are to be completed very quickly. Madam Chen’s leg is going to be recovered very soon too. Not for so long, Mr. Chen family and other villagers can move into their new houses. Although the trauma from the earthquake can still be seen in the their bodies or minds, Yaojin people are glad because they have found HOPE with their new life. Thanks OB for bring it. December 19 Dec 19-Rebuilding Shattered House DreamsFrom Mianyang in Sichuan provice
The Earthquake on May 12, 2008 destroyed countless houses and thousands of people became homeless. One of the villages we served is Yao Jin Village under Mian Yang City, Sichuan Province. Our mission is to rebuild an entire village of 55 homes completely destroyed by the earthquake.
Initially, after restoring the village’s water supply, constructing new latrine and shower facilities and clearing thousands of tons of debris, Operation Blessing began working on home construction at the end of September, 2008.
Relying on the help of OB, the new village is quickly taking shape and rising up from its former ruins.
The home construction is expected to finish before the Chinese Lunar New Year on Jan. 26, 2009. By then, Operation Blessing will help to fulfill the House Dreams of Yaojin Villagers. Note: Operation Blessing China set up a new website about Sichuan rebuilding, please log on: July 05 Jun 4th -- visiting the school projectFrom Mianyang in Sichuan
We visited the school project bright and early this morning to be with the children as they went through their morning exercises. It was great, the "drill sergeant" had the kids fall in line at 7:00am, sharp. They then went running up the road in groups and came back puffing and panting about 5 minutes later. When all the groups returned from their morning jog they mad a big circle and a teacher came forward shouting out names. The names were of those children who had made a noted effort on making their bed and tidying their living space. After each name the children clapped and cheered. They then watched a martial art demonstration from some college volunteers. The children loved it and were obviously very impressed as they were constantly applauding and laughing. When we spoke with one of the volunteers (picture of Bill shaking his hand) he told us that he was a university physics major who had come to help at the school after the quake. "We are here to show love to the children and help them become happy again" he said. Seeing the smiles of the children in the school, it is hard to imagine that only a few weeks ago they went through unimaginable trauma, most of them lost classmates in the quake.
Jul 3th -- with construction experts from Wantong in Yaojin villageFrom Mianyang in Sichuan
Today we were in Yaojin with two construction experts from one of China's largest property development companies. An Architect and Engineer from the Vantone Company toured the village with us and immediately started to sketch rough plans for homes. Kevin, the architect, is a graduate from China's most prestigious architectural university and it was a pleasure to watch him at work. Within just a few minutes he had sketched out a site plan and house design that looked amazing. The Vantone team have very kindly offered to draw us up some blueprints using professional CAD computer programs. This type of service is very valuable, after all, these guys build some of the worlds most impressive skyscrapers. The villagers of Yaojin probably have no idea at this point at how fantastic an opportunity it is to have the Vantone team working on their house designs!
In the afternoon we met with the vice chairman of the local township who is in charge of coordinating the whole reconstruction project for the area around Yaojin. For us to pull this project off we need the full cooperation of the local government and we certainly have favor with them. He told us that all villages have been asked to prepare a preliminary reconstruction plan that is to be submitted by July 10th. This is basically for villages to let the government know if they intend to stay in their village and if so, where they want to construct. The Vantone team will allow us to go one step further, not only have we cleared Yaojin of debris, by July 10th we will have detailed plans for the type of house we want to build! The government official told us that any new home will have to withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake, the Vantone engineer, Alex Ma, said "not a problem". We are taking Yaojin light years ahead of where any other village in the region currently stands. But we will be making the Vantone plans available to the local government so that any other village that might want to use the model can tap into the valuable expertise of these experts. At this point the government has still not given official clearance for the reconstruction of permanent buildings but that is expected on August 10th. This will mark 3 months since the quake, at which time the chances of any further aftershocks are supposed to have subsided.
July 02 Jul 1st -- families with migrant workers in Yaojin villageFrom Mianyang in Sichuan
We were busy interviewing families again today. Last week we took pictures of all the families in the village. When we cross referenced the photos with the list of family members it was clear that there were quite a few villagers missing from the photos. As we have been conducting the interviews it is becoming clear that life for the villagers of Yaojin wasn't easy even before the quake. Many family members are working far away from the village in other provinces as migrant workers.
The migrant workers from Yaojin mostly work in factories. Some work in textiles, others in plastics, one couple actually work in a chopstick factory. In the interviews they have been describing their living conditions during these jobs. Some families live in dormitories with hundreds of other workers. A woman told me how she and her husband lived in a tiny room in a basement with no windows while they worked 12 hours a day in a fabric factory. This kind of conditions are no place for a child to grow up. And country children are not allowed to attend city schools. therefore many of children in Yaojin are living with either one parent or their grandparents if both parents are away working. It has been sad to hear about this phenomenon form the families as we talk to them. If a father is away working in a factory we have been asking the question; "How often can he come home"? The most common answer is "Once a year".
There are two main reasons we are hearing as to why villagers are forced to seek this type of labor; because they want to pay for their child's education or because they are paying off the debt from constructing their home. Imagine the pain at seeing your home, your pride and joy, fall to the ground after years of working away from your family in terrible conditions to pay for it.
Most of the villagers in other provinces were working on factory floors when they heard the news. Yaojin is only a few miles from the town of Beichuan, and the radio was broadcasting the news that Beichuan was completely flattened. After the quake there were no telephone communications in Yaojin for many days so for some workers it was an agonizing time of not knowing whether or not their family was still alive. One woman said her husband had to take a train for 46 hours to reach Yaojin. He arrived 4 days after the quake. When he saw his wife and child the whole family broke down in tears.
Quite a few workers came back to the village in the first few weeks to be with family and check on their homes. A good number of workers have had to return to their jobs (or loose them). Quite a few workers have decided to stay in Yaojin and work towards rebuilding the village. Almost every family in the village has someone working in a far off place in order for the family to prosper. Without that income each family would live as subsistence farmers and find it very difficult to build homes, have their kids educated etc.
Hearing about the plight of these migrant workers from Yaojin made us realize that without any external help it would be impossible for them to rebuild their homes for years and years. Some people's years of hard work and investment has been wiped out in a minute. There is so much more work to do before Yaojin is restored but good thing is OB is here working with these villagers, our presence is a true lifeline.
We visited Yongmin and Hedao today, the water systems are functioning perfectly. June 28 June 25th-- water system in Yongmin complete successfullyFrom Mianyang in Sichuan
Our water system in Yongmin is a complete success. We have managed to run a water line 765 yards from a mountain spring into the camp of 300 people. The water runs into two large metal storage tanks at either end of the camp. The villagers were overjoyed and already using the water in every imaginable application. Women were busy washing clothes outside their temporary homes, before they had to haul the laundry to the spring, wash it, then haul it back. The water system has ended hours of lugging water. Previously, each family had to carry large water containers back and forth every day. Now that time can be spent in more productive ways, like cleaning up their village and rebuilding their lives. The water pressure is unbelievable, we watched as a boy held the outlet of one of the water pipes over his mothers cup. She wanted a drink and it was his job to fill it. When he turned the valve the water came shooting out and sprayed us all, it was great (That pipe is now hooked up to a tank). The village leader was thrilled and thanked us profusely, we have now provided a latrine and a much needed water solution. One of our water tanks was placed in what will become the camp kitchen. It was beautiful up in the mountains today, giant butterflies the size of birds flew around us as we spoke with the villagers. As we left the village Mr Xu said "I never realized how good it feels to help people". This is his first experience working in the humanitarian field and he was touched by the villager's gratefulness. June 27 June 24th --get water system for yongming villageFrom Mianyang in Sichuan
This morning we went to the hardware market in Mianyang to purchase all the necessary components for the water system in Yongmin. The system requires 700 meters of piping and two large metal water tanks as well as all sorts of fittings and valves. We crammed all the parts in our two vehicles and headed up into the mountains to deliver the system to the village. The villagers were ecstatic when we arrived, the chief came and shook our hands vigorously. As we unloaded the cars the villagers gathered around and began expressing their glee, tomorrow they will have water in the camp! But first things first, a team was set to work digging trenches for the water pipe. The project is quite simple to implement but will have a huge impact on the community.
We visited another village with a population of almost 2000 people, like the village we visited yesterday, they need a shower facility. We told them to have a meeting and call us when they are ready to show us a possible location. These villages are all willing to put in the hard work of construction if we help them with some of the materials needed such as piping and cement. The village was in bad shape, 95% of the homes had been destroyed and 7 people were killed by the quake. As we walked around it was really noticeable how different the recovery progress was in this village compared to Yaojin. There are so many villages in need and simply not enough help to go around. It has been several weeks since the quake hit and we noticed that grass had started to grow out of the rubble in one place.
In Yaojin there is very little chance of grass growing since our excavator was hard at work digging a colossal hole! We are preparing to do a huge landfill with the useless debris. The rubble will then be recovered with dirt and the land used for crops. The topography of the village is changing so fast that it is almost confusing arriving there each day. One day there will be a telegraph pole in one spot and the next will be gone or there will be a pig sty or pile of rubble and then it will suddenly disappear as the machines plough through. In just a few days the village will be earily empty, a blank canvas. we are visiting several sites tomorrow to obtain quotes for pre fab housing solutions.
the gear stick in the Great Wall snapped off again today!
June 20th-- OB in GansuFrom OB Northwest team
Jun 18, loading with 600 tents and the disaster relief kits and other disaster relief materials, we set out to Longnan and Wenxian. It took us four hours to arrive at Tianshui City, for we had to load another 15 packs of medicines along with us. From Lanzhou to Tianshui it was still raining, and we had little worried if the weather would influence the project. In the next morning, the rain stopped and we kept on driving to Longnan. We knew there would be still another four hour from Tianshui to Longnan. About noon, the lorry carrying with the disaster relief materials got to Longnan first. As our vehicle arrived, we met with the lorry at Longnan Bureau of Civil Affairs. Transferred the material list to Longnan CCF and the Bureau of Civil Affairs, we should have visited a village in Wudu District of Longnan. However, the heavy rain had caused landslides mud-rock flows in most villages. For the damaged roads, we could not get to the disaster destroyed villages in Wudu District. Discussed with CCF and the Bureau of Civil Affairs, we decided to take the disaster relief materials to Wenxian.
After another four hours' driving, we finally arrived in Wenxian. Contacted with the local Women's Federation, we planned to distribute the materials in two townships. The Women's Federation and the chiefs of the townships would cooperate with us.
Jun 20, early in the morning, guiding by the Women's Federation and the chief of Shi Jiba Township, we set out to the villages in the mountains. The road to the villages was seriously rugged and dangerous. Landslides and mudslides always happen in this area. Driving on the road, we still could find many debris and rocks fell down from the mountains several days before. It made the lorry very hard to go through the road. This area lives with Han Chinese and Tibetans. The Tibetans here are called White Horse Tibetans. When we arrived at the Tibetan village, the people here were passionate and they stood at the entrance of the village, beating gongs and drums to welcome us. When we unloaded the materials, the villagers came up over to express their gratitude and happiness. At once, with organizing of the chief, the villagers signed their names and every household was given a tent, a disaster relief kit and other materials. Because the villagers lived scattered in the high mountains, we couldn't spend longer time in one village, and moved on to another village in no time. When we finished in the third village in the mountain area, it was almost four in the afternoon. Again, we found the black clouds gathered above our head. The chief and the villagers could not keep us even they invited us to have tea with great passion. The weather warned us to drive down the mountains, otherwise we probably would meet the landslides or mud flows. The traffic here really took us plenty of time. We distributed the materials to 378 households. The villagers thought the life kit and the tent were very useful to them. They just reaped the wheat. For the humid and rainy climate, the villagers were worried the foodstuff would go moldy and become rotten. Now they got the tent, and they could protect the foodstuff with it.
As we were busying with the project in the mountain, our coworker accompanied with the township chief went to another village so that our team could have enough time to distribute the materials. This village was a small one, with 60 households. After sending the goods to this village, our coworker sent 24 packs of medicines to the clinic of Shi Jiba Township.
When we got to the foot of the mountains, we went to the last village-Deng Caoba Village of Shifang Township. There were 180 households of the village, and the people here just met with a serious landslide caused by a heavy rainstorm in Jun 13. Many facilities, constructions, crops and roads were destroyed. After the quake, the landslide disaster seemed to be another hit for the people. Afraid of the rains and landslips, the villagers were busy in the fields. Just a few villagers came to the township government when they heard our arrival. We talked to the chief of the village and planed to distribute the materials tomorrow, for it was too late as well.
Jun 20, it was unlucky. Even we got up early and got ready to set out to Deng Caobao Village, it had been raining. It seemed that we could do nothing today. It was raining harder. To avoid the landslips possibly happened on the way back to Lanzhou, we had to choose leaving. The chiefs of Shifang Township promised they would distribute the materials, and they expected OB would come again to help them.
June 21 June 19th -- help a cleft lip and palate kidFrom Chengdu in Sichuan
“I always dreamed about the day when I will be normal…I am happy that I can have surgery. I want to show my grandma first after I leave the hospital.”
Jiangzhong, is a 14-year-old boy from Tongluo village. When Operation Blessing China went to Mianzhu to distribute emergency relief items immediately after the earthquake, an old lady there clasped one of our volunteer’s hands and said “You are all good people. Please help my grandson.” We followed her home and found her grandson, Jiangzhong, who has cleft lip and cleft palate.
Operation Blessing China decided to help this child undergo surgery. We contacted several hospitals and eventually chose Huaxi Dental Hospital. When we told them Jiangzhong’s situation, they said except for some additional fees for examinations, they will do the surgery for free. We were all very excited to hear such good news.
The following week, we contacted Jiangzhong’s father to pick them up and send them to Chengdu city. “Our house collapsed in the earthquake. We have nothing left,” Jiangzhong’s father shared with us on our way to the hospital. It is his first time to leave the village. “ Thank you for helping us.”
Jiangzhong is a bright boy but doesn’t talk much. His school had collapsed in the earthquake so he has had nothing to do for a month already and does not know when he can return to leading a normal life. When we asked if he is excited about this trip to Chengdu, he smiled and nodded his head.
Huaxi Hospital arranged a bed for Jiangzhong when we dropped him off at the hospital. We then left our contact number and headed back to Mianyang. There is still a lot work that needs to be done there. However, I am looking forward to visiting him when we return to Chengdu. We believe that we will see a healthy boy and a very happy grandmother!
June 14 June 11th-- to solve the water problemFrom Mianyang city in Sichuan
No water! Imagine not being able to take a shower for weeks. We only had one day where we were unable to shower, as the water was cut off in Mianyang City due to the releasing of the quake dam on Tuesday. The government had instructed the water system to be shut, in precaution of the possibility of contamination from the dam water that flowed through Beichuan.
In days like this, where we are out from morning until evening in the heat, a good wash is always something to look forward to. We couldn’t imagine not having access to running water for days!
Just when we thought that things will be completed according to schedule, something unexpected turns up. Yesterday saw us return to inspect the water cistern at Yaojin which we realized had a large crack (due to the quake) that was as wide as 4 inches. The leakage resulted in the low water pressure at the newly built bath house. Once we supply cement to seal the crack, the solar panel for the bath house can be installed. Soon, soon, will the villagers have a shower...
We also transported the generator out from Yaojin Village (which now has electricity) to Hedao Village, to resolve their water issue. The Hedao Village has 3 clusters of around 400 villagers with only 1 source of water for their drinking, cooking and bathing. Without electricity, the pump for the well can’t function and has created a great inconvenience to 2 of the clusters, having to walk to several kilometres to fetch water.
So excited were the villagers with the revival of their source of water that the word had spread out across the mountainside by that evening. It was encouraging to see that by doing a simple act of replacing their lack of electricity with a generator, we were able to provide water again to over 100 people in the 1st cluster. The 2nd cluster however, is waiting to have their water tank fixed first before they can tap into the same water well.
It’s been one month since the earthquake and the pains of that day still remains fresh for a number of the villagers. The 9-year-old girl in the picture had lost her mother in the earthquake, she was crushed. Her father is alive but has to work in the city to support his family. Her brother is also separated from her and she is currently being looked after by her aunty in Hedao Village. It almost seems surreal sometimes, that an event as big as the May 12th earthquake had caused the worlds of so many to have changed overnight.
June 12 June 10th--clearing rubble and carrying waterFrom Mianyang city in Sichuan
The last 2 days have been an adventure of sorts and a lesson about heavy machinery for clearing rubble! After visiting several yards in Mianyang city, we were able to seal a deal with a construction equipment company, or so we thought…before we knew it, the company retracted its agreement but referred us to someone else. Making another round of calls, we finally found another contractor; and another; and another…the same scenario repeated itself throughout the day. It felt like a wild goose chase and each new referral was a red herring. Finally and thankfully, before the end of the day, we did secure one machine whose owner agreed to deliver it that evening and start work early the next day.
After the bath house project started, we had already began discussions with the villagers and now the local government on clearing the rubble in Yaojin Village to enable the villagers to get back on to their feet. They were keen to salvage their personal belongings and recycle materials. A meeting with the local government was arranged that very day to better understand the plans for the township and to work alongside the government in making progress for the villagers.
Moving further up to Yongming Village, we passed by a crowd who were filling in their water containers. It’s quite a meeting spot to be at, wherever the water supply is! As we stopped to chat, one of the girls asked if we could help deliver their containers to her village, the next one down from Yongming. Loading the back of our truck with the containers, we detoured to Hedao Village, a couple of kilometers away.
There we discovered hidden in the mountains, more villages that have not been receiving as much attention as the other villages more accessible by road. Without running water and electricity, the villagers have had to return to very simple ways of living - searching for sticks and dry wood (if it doesn’t rain!) to cook their meals; water has to be fetched from neighbouring villages and takes several hours if they walk.
And finally, good news is that our Great Wall truck is fixed! It has been breaking down frequently, to the frustration of everyone.
June 09 June 8th -- Dragon Boat Festival holiday after earthquakeFrom Mianyang city in Sichuan
Dragon Boat Festival holiday saw many of the villagers’ relatives from closeby towns come to visit. As we returned to inspect the progress of the bath house in Yaojin Village, we noticed many new faces around today. Despite it being a public holiday, the villagers’ do not stop working. And as we chatted with the Village’s deputy head about the rebuilding work and plan for the coming week, we realized that he had personally taken the first step to offer his bricks for the construction of the communal facilities.
Most of the houses in the village had collapsed and majority of the owners were planning to recycle their bricks, cement slabs and iron rods for their future homes (in fact, iron is able to be sold at fairly good prices at the moment). However, with the motive of setting up a communal facility, the heads of the village had to overcome the first hurdle, and they did that by taking the initiative in offering the bricks from the rubbles of their own houses.
The coming days will be looking to finishing up the bath house and the villagers having their first proper bath in weeks!
Taken on an unexpected adventure, 2 little girls, intrigued by Naomi, invited us to visit their homes outside the cluster we were working in. The 2 sisters, aged 5 and 11 excitedly led us through the fields, amongst the growth of maize and over fallen houses to finally reach their makeshift tent shelters. They generously gave each of us a peach and salted duck’s egg to celebrate Dragon Boat Festival!
We were also delighted to see that Yongmin Village had already begun work on the digging of its public toilets and collection of bricks for the facilities. June 07 June 6th-- a day in Yongming countryFrom Mianyang city in Sichuan
With an aim to see more villages today and in the next few days, we ventured back through the mountains up into Yongming Village where we visited the previous day. Today, we held a brief meeting with the party leader of the town, to enquire further about their water source situation. Soon after, we arranged with the party leader to send out several villagers up into the hill where their current source of water came from, to inspect for any other sources of water in the mountains since the earthquake.
Scott makes a sketch on the ground of where to scout for water sources.
While they were trekking up one side of the mountain, the Operation Blessing China team went further down the mountain to the neighbouring village to inspect another water source.
Eventually, after many discussions with the party leader and the village head, we offered to provide the village cement, supplies and advice on how to rebuild their public toilet. And the village head agreed that he would organize his men to provide recyclable materials (such as bricks, concrete etc) and their time and labour. The next few days will most likely see our staff going back to this village again.
Temporary camp for the about 300 villagers, where public facilities will be built.
Moving on from the water source search, we went further down to look at the village’s temporary camp that is set up for 300 villagers. Unexpectedly, as we tried to avoid some debris and rubble on the already narrow dirt road, our 4WD tipped over into their maize field as we were trying to pass a narrow section! It was the light relief for the day (for us and for the entire village!) as the villagers came streaming out to offer their assistance. Even the military guys closeby gave a helping hand.
With everyone’s help and in no time we had the car back on all 4 wheels!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyX1Z0VElvo We also heard that today the government had announced that it would release water from the quake lakes, which had been building up to a dangerous level since May 12th. The release of the water, would flood the downstream towns and cities, including the city of Mianyang where we are based. As we were traveling back to Mianyang that evening, we were stuck at a bridge just out of Anxian town for over an hour in an attempt to cross the river. The bridge’s structure had already been weakened from the earthquake and there was concern about the force of water flowing through. Thankfully, we got back into Mianyang safe and sound, although a little worn out from a full day out.
June 5 -- two villages one dayFrom Mianyang City in Sichuan
Today saw another group head out to Mianyang from Chengdu. We have now decided to stay in Mianyang city as it’s close to our projects in the villages.
We returned to Yaojin Village to observe how the building of the new bath house is coming along – and very well indeed! The contribution of the villagers made it an efficient process
Today also saw us going out to visit 2 other villages in the vicinity in surveying their situation and needs. As we headed out to the first village, we passed through an area that was visibly damaged by the quake. We were amazed at how the earthquake could cause rocks to be thrown around like pebbles and create gaping holes in walls. One of the cars was prevented from traveling further in due to the poor condition of the roads.
The first village we saw was Yongming Village, with 760 villagers living precariously on the mountain slopes. As we spoke with the village head and assessed their water situation, we were able to better understand the effect of the earthquake and the impending flooding due to the expected rainy weather. It is very likely that there will be major landslides, an even greater risk to their lives and homes. The government has already selected a temporary safe plateau, not far from their current habitation. Here, they will probably live for the next year or so until the issue of housing is resolved and determination of whether it’s possible to return to their original location if safe or move elsewhere.
The picture down side is the underground water source that the entire village is currently relying on. There is a slight trickle flowing out of the pipe. Villagers note that since the earthquake the water has seeped elsewhere.
The second village we saw had over 90 families with many of their homes still standing but clearly unsafe with parts fallen off or large splits on the sides. Their mountain water source comes from Beichuan (one of the worst hit disaster zones) of which water is possibly contaminated. Now, they are relying on a small water well.
Village children who were very excited to see us and very welcoming. They sang and took us around to see their water well.
Many of the villagers are hit hard, as their income is halted with loss of agriculture and farming. Also, many have to repay loans borrowed for their houses, that are now destroyed. The added financial burden only adds to their already dire situation. June 4-- a day in Yaojin VillageFrom Mianyang City in Sichuan
We had 3 vehicles head out from Chengdu at 9:30am to Mianyang City, an area severely affected by the earthquake. After 3 hours on the road, Operation Blessing China and its team arrived at Yaojin Village, a small village in An Xian. It has 50 families, about 200 people. After the earthquake almost all houses had collapsed into rubble. Villagers had built makeshift shelters with tent tarps, wood and ruins from their houses. The tents were donated by Operation Blessing China.
Since the end of last week, a brand new toilet facility is built and a new water system is completed by the villagers’ hard work and Operation Blessing China’s support. They are more than grateful with the help and supplies that Operation Blessing China has brought. A lady washing vegetables by the newly built taps said, “After the earthquake we had to go up to the mountain to collect water. But now we have plenty of clean water to use. Thank you so much for your help.”
Operation Blessing China also held a meeting with all the villagers and the mayor of the village. Their hard work, willingness to get involved in the rebuilding process and strong leadership impressed us all.
Operation Blessing China today purchased cement and other materials from An Xian town. The entire village is pitching in to building the new bath house together with Operation Blessing China’s help. The mayor encouraged the villagers to use the bathroom and keep it clean. As the weather gets hotter, hygiene and sanitation is very important to avoid infection and disease.
Four of Operation Blessing China’s staff and volunteers is staying in the village and living with villagers for a couple days to finish building the bath house. June 04 May 26-June 2 --Operation Blessing China Earthquake Relief Overview
From Sichuan
As we move from emergency relief into the recovery and rebuilding stage. Operation Blessing China is looking into the future with the continuation of distribution of goods such as the warmly welcomed relief kits but will be focusing now on village reconstruction, school rebuilding and medical mobile teams.
We have just completed a temporary school structure for approximately 600 students of Dongqi Middle School, Deyang City. Half of the original school structure had collapsed and 1/4 of the student and teacher population died as a result.
Our team has also been heading out to Yaojin Village, Mianyang City, which was completely flattened due to the earthquake. Operation Blessing China has been fortunate to have had the support of a volunteer engineer and his team to aid the locals in rebuilding their own village. To all our amazement, the locals had been highly efficient and motivated to take a major role in rebuilding their village. They have taken the initiative to building their new toilets, water piping (damaged and broken from the earthquake) and bathroom. Their hopes and dreams poured into rebuilding their home.
Also, in a partnership with a volunteer mobile medical team, who is visiting needy and isolated villages yet to gain medical attention, we will be providing medicines and other forms of GIK for the villagers.
Thank you all viewers, supporters, donors and volunteers, through your huge efforts, we have been able to provide for so many disaster victims with love, hope and practical help. May 28 May 26--2:00pm Bill Horan’s China blog: May 26; day twoFrom Bill Horan
Today, the China earthquake of May 12 got up-close-and-personal. We took a team of volunteers, doctors and a truckload of food and relief supplies and drove into the mountainous region north of Chengdu, outside the city of Meinyang, and visited two tiny villages that have suffered 100% destruction. Yao Jin (yow’-gin) was a quiet agricultural village of about 70 families living in small to medium houses built of block and sometimes brick, usually painted white. The roofs were made of dark gray, slightly arched clay tiles, carefully nestled and perched between sloped wooden slats placed about a foot apart. Most of the homes in Yao Jin were quite old, but several were nearly new. The people there raise their own rice, and most families have a garden with corn, tomatoes and peppers. Some raise range fed chickens and keep a few pigs and a family dog. When the ground started to shake about 2:30 in the afternoon of May 12, falling roof tiles were the first sign that a house was about to be torn apart. As the wooden roof slats shook, spread and started to buckle, hundreds of brittle tiles slipped between the slats, and like so many dominoes, cascaded into the home below. The killer quake shook the buildings harder and rocked the ground so violently that it was impossible to stand. Villagers told me of falling over one way, getting up to run… and being pitched to the ground in the opposite direction. In one two-story house I visited, an 81 year old grandfather was napping on the couch when the quake came. The home was sturdy and built of poured concrete and block, but the concrete floor of the second story cracked and crumbled, and the house fell down. Huge slabs fell on top of the old man, snuffing the life out of him. He died pinned to the couch. The grandmother and one-year old granddaughter were visiting neighbors. They never came home and have not been found. There is no doubt that they are entombed somewhere in the rubble of the broken village. As I looked up at the still-standing wall next to the death bed couch, I noticed a large framed color wedding picture hanging on what used to be the bedroom wall of the young couple that owned the house. They survived, but lost their baby daughter and grandparents. I also found a crumpled picture of the couple and asked to have my photo taken with it. Even though I have been around the world in the aftermath of many terrible disasters, I still find it impossible to grasp the scope and reality of a calamity while watching it on TV. No matter how high the definition and gruesome the photos, it all seems somehow other-worldly. Even though I know it’s true, news bulletins streaming into my BlackBerry announcing millions of homes destroyed and tens of thousands killed, does not have real meaning to me until I stand in the wreckage and hear the story… of how just one person died. Today, as I listened to a neighbor describe an old man’s death on a couch, the China quake became oh-so real. I do, however, find great solace knowing that Operation Blessing is comforting survivors and helping them put their lives back together. Tomorrow I will write about what we are doing to help in Yao Jin and other places like that. May 23rd-25th --10:00pm 2 weeks after the earthquakeFrom Operation Blessing China’s Beijing office
Friday was a day of chaos in many ways but also a day where we had countless boxes and bags of donations come in to be packed and ready to be transported to Chengdu. We had also received 340 boxes of medicines donated from a company which was largely going to Chengdu with a portion going to Gansu, an area that is also affected by the earthquake.
Some 20 over volunteers from various backgrounds and both local Chinese and foreigners came into the office to assist in packing the disaster relief kits, baby-related items and medical supplies. We were overwhelmed by the help and the generosity of everyone. So many had taken time out to think through what they should donate and to also arrange to deliver to our office. And so many offers from the community to assist in packing or any other form of assistance.
With the support and help of everyone, we were able to have 4 shipments out over the weekend, of over 400 boxes of relief kits, medicines and other needed items. This is an amazing effort from everyone!
The photo is of our meeting room which has now turned into a temporary warehouse!
May 20 May 19-10:00pm 7 days after the earthquakeFrom Operation Blessing China’s Beijing office
Today, Operation Blessing China’s Beijing office was swamped with almost 800 disaster relief kits that were donated by various Beijing international schools and kind individuals. All the staff were tremendously encouraged and delighted to see so many different people coming into the office throughout the day, lugging boxes and bags of kits - people with a simple heartfelt desire to help and contribute. Many of the kits also included messages and drawings from children from the international schools.
Many of our staff stayed behind after office hours packing and sorting through the kits and other goods to be ready for shipping on Tuesday morning. In total there were 45 boxes filled and strapped ready for the local residents of Sichuan. The second week post disaster will see the disaster relief kit drive continue and staff working to ensure that known needs are met. Seven days after the earthquake, aftershocks still exist, and equally, the emotions and feelings of many around us are still running high. The grief, felt by all, was intensified during the nationwide 3-minute silence. Many, in the pause of noise, hustle and bustle of life, could not avoid the feelings of sadness. However, through this disaster, we have also seen that compassion exists and the individual sincerely want to make a difference for the better. In this, there is hope and a future for all of us. May 15 May 15 - 6:30am From Chengdu, SichuanFrom Operation Blessing China General Manager Kara Waddell
My morning started around 5am with a realization that my bed shaking... I reached for a flashlight provided by the hotel just in case...a mild aftershock lasting maybe 20 seconds. I stirred, check mobile messages and emails from the night - and packed my backpack for the day. After turning in around midnight last night, I was still answering my mobile under my pillow - and the Director of Children's Hope International and representing the China Social Work Association called. We had secured a donation of nearly $200,000 USD in value of infant formula and they were going into Dujiangyan to deliver some of it to a facility housing mothers and children. They had been moved to another location and the delivery was delayed until today. Myself or an OB humanitarian worker will likely to go in tomorrow morning with this joint Red Cross / CHI / Operation Blessing effort to focus efforts on children at risk during this disaster response and go in to assess the status of children.
We're also networking to find the foster homes (like a private run orphanage) and government-run orphanages to check on the children's status. I heard last night that rescuers had reached Wenchuan and the area where a Wenchuan orphanage is we know of with 36 children, 20 who are children under 2 years old. They say that 75% of people in this area have lost their lives... we have heard nothing about the status of these young ones without parents...
The day is gray - rain is the forecast - and it's time to approach another day of responding... May 14 - Two Teams Reached Out to Mianyang and DujiangyanToday, 2 teams were sent to Mianyang and Dujiangyan. Team 1 to Mianyang was led by Tony with a herd of 14 vehicles, of which 8 were trucks filled with medicine, clothes, food, bottled water and raincoats. Team 2 to Dujiangyan was led by Paul, with 11 vehicles carrying packed with food and medical supplies, in a joint relief effort with the Red Cross and Heart-to-Heart International.
May 14 - Aid Workers Clear Shelves to Bring ReliefFrom Kara Waddell - Operation Blessing China General Manager
When I woke up this morning in Beijing, my home, I didn't expect to be rushing to the airport to be in the heart of the earthquake relief and response - Chengdu. As the morning unfolded, it was obvious that I needed to go. Operation Blessing was asked by the China Social Work Association and the Children's Hope International to leave immediately with them to launch a disaster response focus on children at risk, primarily orphans. In a disaster, children are particularly vulnerable and need special attention and often specialized medical and relief supplies - such as pediatric IVs, formula for infants, rehydration salts, etc. Children are also likely to experience post-traumatic stress - and China needs help in understanding how to deliver relief to its smallest citizens - and Operation Blessing was glad to go. And today, that meant I go.
My husband packed my bag while I said good-bye to my toddlers and called authorities to see if I could even board the plane. We were intending on traveling to Chengdu on a Chinese navy plane - and as a foreigner, that isn't an easy thing to do. I was assured I could go and given an official letter authorizing my trip - but we realized quickly hearing that over 1000 doctors and nurses were waiting to get on the same plane that perhaps we should just go on a commercial flight. We rushed to the airport with 15 bags including specialized supplies for children and the airlines waived all baggage fees for us. The flight was filled with disaster response workers, including a mountain climbing club from Beijing. They came as volunteers with all their gear and hard helmets to help dig out victims.
As we landed in Chengdu, everyone moved quickly to gather their gear and start working. As I exited the airport with other relief workers, we watched in amazement as probably 70 huge tour buses drove by quickly in a long line - guess that navy plane arrived with supplies and doctors. The night was filled with meetings, emails, mobile messages, Skype calls... supplies are running out in commercial outlets in the city. Shelves are now bare as the government, NGOs and citizenry bought up everything available. We have supplies coming and hope to participate with the Red Cross in providing aid to families tomorrow...
The death toll climbs - now over 16,000. My hotel room is one of the few in town with water and the bed is covered with official letters, China Red Cross stickers, Operation Blessing gear, camera cords, maps... and as it nears midnight, I think they need to be piled elsewhere to get a few winks. CNN is warning of an impending dam breaking which could impact 500,000 people... 18,000 people remain buried in Mianyang, our team in Mianyang tonite are likely sleeping outside in the drizzle, and I think of the mountain climbing club going to rescue people trapped in Pengzhou. Tomorrow is another day of ups and downs... I say a prayer for favor and click off CNN for the night...
Thanks for visiting!
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