Earthquake in China

Collapsed perimeter wall at HanZhong City SWI, Shaanxi
Evacuated babies and nannies in tent

The recent earthquake in China’s Sichuan Province has brought terrible devastation; nearly 20,000 confirmed dead with the toll expected to exceed 50,000, hundreds of thousands injured and many thousands more buried in collapsed buildings for whom time is running out. It happened during the middle of the day, 2:28pm, when schools were in session, office buildings were full, and families had separated for the day. Tragically there were many schools that collapsed and as many as 7000 of the dead are thought to be school children.

The Chinese government has launched a massive rescue attempt, but roads are cut off, electrical power is out, and communication has not been reestablished with many areas in the remote mountains. Rain and cold weather are hampering rescue and making life for survivors, many now homeless, miserable. Equipment to clear debris, food, temporary shelter and medical aid are first priorities.

Unlike past disasters, the Chinese government is accepting international aid, though with restrictions. Donations can be made through many international agencies. There are also specialized agencies that work with children in orphanages that are on the site and have the advantage of already being established in China. Unfortunately the quake will create many more orphans for them to aid. Please include the people of China in your thoughts and prayers, those who have lost loved ones, who died in the quake, who may still clinging to life as they await rescue, and those moving mountains of debris to find them.

Lian’s SWI is in HanZhong City in southwest Shaanxi near the Sichuan border, about 250 miles from the epicenter of the quake. It is within the quake damage zone. The perimeter wall collapsed and there are cracks in the old brick building that housed the babies. They have moved the babies into tents as a precautionary measure because of aftershocks. (see pictures above)They did lose their water lines. Caring for China and the English Language Association, a Christian mission group with volunteers from England, Australia and the US, run the special needs unit where Lian received such good care. Their earthquake relief fund is found at http://www.caringforchina.org/resources/donation.htm No one at the SWI was injured but a relative of one of the staff was killed in a building collapse in HanZhong City.

Red Thread Maps has created a special map of the Children’s Welfare Institutes and Social Welfare Institutes (SWI’s are a combination of child and adult/senior care, very common in China – Lela’s SWI had many floors of senior care) in the effected area. Lian’s is found in the upper right hand corner. http://www.redthreadmaps.com/sichuan_earthquake.html

Half the Sky is an orphan aid agency that works with both Lela’s SWI in Guangdong and Lian’s in Shaanxi. The pictures from Lian’s SWI in HanZhong are from their website. You can donate to their earthquake fund at http://www.halfthesky.org/?gclid=CPakk6KGq5MCFQo2GgodMzuYng

Children’s Hope International is the agency through which we adopted Lela. They also have orphan aid programs around the world. Director Melody Zhang is in China in the earthquake zone right now bringing aid. This is the link to her blog. http://www.melodyzhangorphans.blogspot.com/ You can also donate via the blog links.

NPR had a team of reporters, Robert Siegel and Melissa Block, on the site for reports leading up to the summer Olympic when the quake struck. The blog has excellent reporting of the ongoing aid efforts and personal tragedies, and links to international charities that are providing relief, like the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders
http://www.npr.org/blogs/chengdu/
Doctors without Borders http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=2706
The NY Times has also had excellent reporting http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/earthquakes/sichuan_province_china/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier

Love Without Boundaries, another orphan aid group has updates at http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/earthquake.cfm
Donations can be made at https://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/donate.cfm?category=147&child_id=0

Families with Children from China of Greater New York (our chapter) has established an Earthquake Orphanage Relief Fund for donations to specifically help those orphanages hit hardest by the devastating earthquake. FCC-NY’s will donate 100% of all proceeds contributed to those orphanages with the greatest needs. Donate at www.fccny.org/ Please indicate ‘Earthquake Relief’ as the Donation Project. CONTRIBUTIONS BY CHECK CAN BE MAILED TO: FCC Orphanage Assistance, PO Box 237065 Ansonia Station, New York, NY 10023.

Donations (non-tax deductible) can also be made directly to the Chinese government aid effort
Donation Bank Account for Sichuan Province Earthquake Disaster Relief
Ministry of Civil Affairs, People's Republic of China
Foreign Currency (US Dollar) Bank Account
Account No.:00100252328091014
Beneficiary: Ministry of Civil Affairs
Beneficiary's Bank: Bank of China, Head Office
Bank Address:No.1 Fuxingmennei Street, Xicheng District, Beijing
SWIFT CODE:BKCHCNBJ
HOTLINE:58123111 58123222 58123611 58123612 58123617