Baby Pandas are moved to a safe place
In transit - Giant panda was being transferred.
Feeding Pandas after the earthquake
New and safe Panda house
The original Panda houses are collapsed.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
How Pandas were moved to a Safe Place during the earthquake
Baby Pandas are moved to a safe place
In transit - Giant panda was being transferred.
Feeding Pandas after the earthquake
New and safe Panda house
The original Panda houses are collapsed.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Wall Street Journal Reports After Quake, Many Inquiries From Chinese About Adoptions
After Quake, Many Inquiries From Chinese About Adoptions
Geoffrey A. Fowler and Juliet Ye report on the fate of survivors.
Already, the survivors of China’s earthquake are putting together their own makeshift families. In the Jiuzhou Stadium in Chengdu, where thousands are being housed, volunteer Melody Zhang says she met a “nice-looking” one made up of a mother, a father, a grandfather and two children—from four different families.
“They just naturally took care of each other,” says Ms. Zhang, the associate director of adoption agency Children’s Hope International, who has been delivering supplies in Sichuan province.
As the focus of the earthquake relief effort in Sichuan turns to aiding survivors, China is witnessing an outpouring of requests by other Chinese to adopt children orphaned by the disaster. The provincial Sichuan Internal Affairs Bureau has set up an adoption hotline and says it has received hundreds of enquires from elsewhere in the country. So many people were trying to call it on Friday that the hotline almost always gave a busy signal.
The government tried to calm some of the eagerness on Friday by announcing on state-run news media that it would start making permanent arrangements for orphaned children only once reconstruction begins. “Everything will be done strictly in accordance with the adoption law,” said a spokeswoman for the State Internal Affairs Bureau who identified herself as Ms. Gan.
The government hasn’t yet offered any estimates of the number of children orphaned by the quake. Ms. Gan said that “quite a few” children had been found at least temporarily without their parents, but needed time to find them. Inside the Jiuzhou Stadium, people post information about missing family members on a bulletin board.
The sad reality is that there may not be very many orphans, officials say, because many of the estimated 50,000 dead are children. The earthquake came during school hours on a Monday—and demolished many schools.
Orphans who have survived the earthquake need not only physical but also mental support, Ms. Zhang says. One four-year-old girl she met, Shen Xiaoyu, had managed to climb out of the rubble of her day care center on her own, but now refused to speak to anybody at the Mianyang Central Hospital. Ms. Zhang says her colleagues are working on a program to train volunteers in counseling children for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Authorities aren’t showing any signs that they will make it easier for foreign families to adopt the children, after implementing tough new adoption rules last year. China’s amended rules bar foreigners who are single, obese, over 50 years old or currently taking psychiatric medications. In the last decade, well over 50,000 Chinese children have been adopted by foreign families, many of them American, in a process that can take years.
China’s rationale for the policy change was that the government could not meet the demand of prospective foreign families. Birthrates are falling in China, and economic growth has led to fewer parents abandoning their children due to poverty.
Now, the Sichuan earthquake has brought an outpouring of aid and sympathy from inside China.
One of those potential adoptive parents is Li Chuanxi, a 45-year-old survivor of China’s last giant earthquake, in his hometown of Tangshan, in 1976. “I could not move my eyes off the TV every day, waiting for the latest information on the Wenchuan earthquake,” he says. “I can’t help crying whenever I see the kids’ miserable faces.”
He says he discussed the matter with his wife, and they want to adopt two or three kids, if they are allowed. “My apartment is big enough for newcomers to the family,” he says. They have a 19-year-old daughter.
The State Internal Affairs Bureau says so far there is more demand for orphans to adopt than there is need. “We would have no difficulty at all sending every child here to families in China,” Ms. Gan said.
Geoffrey A. Fowler and Juliet Ye report on the fate of survivors.
Already, the survivors of China’s earthquake are putting together their own makeshift families. In the Jiuzhou Stadium in Chengdu, where thousands are being housed, volunteer Melody Zhang says she met a “nice-looking” one made up of a mother, a father, a grandfather and two children—from four different families.
“They just naturally took care of each other,” says Ms. Zhang, the associate director of adoption agency Children’s Hope International, who has been delivering supplies in Sichuan province.
As the focus of the earthquake relief effort in Sichuan turns to aiding survivors, China is witnessing an outpouring of requests by other Chinese to adopt children orphaned by the disaster. The provincial Sichuan Internal Affairs Bureau has set up an adoption hotline and says it has received hundreds of enquires from elsewhere in the country. So many people were trying to call it on Friday that the hotline almost always gave a busy signal.
The government tried to calm some of the eagerness on Friday by announcing on state-run news media that it would start making permanent arrangements for orphaned children only once reconstruction begins. “Everything will be done strictly in accordance with the adoption law,” said a spokeswoman for the State Internal Affairs Bureau who identified herself as Ms. Gan.
The government hasn’t yet offered any estimates of the number of children orphaned by the quake. Ms. Gan said that “quite a few” children had been found at least temporarily without their parents, but needed time to find them. Inside the Jiuzhou Stadium, people post information about missing family members on a bulletin board.
The sad reality is that there may not be very many orphans, officials say, because many of the estimated 50,000 dead are children. The earthquake came during school hours on a Monday—and demolished many schools.
Orphans who have survived the earthquake need not only physical but also mental support, Ms. Zhang says. One four-year-old girl she met, Shen Xiaoyu, had managed to climb out of the rubble of her day care center on her own, but now refused to speak to anybody at the Mianyang Central Hospital. Ms. Zhang says her colleagues are working on a program to train volunteers in counseling children for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Authorities aren’t showing any signs that they will make it easier for foreign families to adopt the children, after implementing tough new adoption rules last year. China’s amended rules bar foreigners who are single, obese, over 50 years old or currently taking psychiatric medications. In the last decade, well over 50,000 Chinese children have been adopted by foreign families, many of them American, in a process that can take years.
China’s rationale for the policy change was that the government could not meet the demand of prospective foreign families. Birthrates are falling in China, and economic growth has led to fewer parents abandoning their children due to poverty.
Now, the Sichuan earthquake has brought an outpouring of aid and sympathy from inside China.
One of those potential adoptive parents is Li Chuanxi, a 45-year-old survivor of China’s last giant earthquake, in his hometown of Tangshan, in 1976. “I could not move my eyes off the TV every day, waiting for the latest information on the Wenchuan earthquake,” he says. “I can’t help crying whenever I see the kids’ miserable faces.”
He says he discussed the matter with his wife, and they want to adopt two or three kids, if they are allowed. “My apartment is big enough for newcomers to the family,” he says. They have a 19-year-old daughter.
The State Internal Affairs Bureau says so far there is more demand for orphans to adopt than there is need. “We would have no difficulty at all sending every child here to families in China,” Ms. Gan said.
Popular Chinese Restaurant to Donate Proceeds for Earthquake Victimes
Gladney Center has set up an earthquake relief fund and is collecting donations to help vitims of the recent devastating earthquake in China. Many Gladney families responded enthusiatically. Some families even help with fundraisers. The following is a family tells how she helps with fundraiser. -- Editor
I was able to get a popular Chinese Restaurant to donate 10% of their proceeds for 2 nights (5/27 & 5/28) towards the China Initiative fund for the Earthquake victims. The 10% will be on takeout and dine-in.
I sent out an email to my local adoption support group, my friends, my kids' classmates families, teachers, etc about dining at that restaurant for those 2 nights. Needless to say, word is definitely getting around.
I received an overwhelming response from people who are going to show up with their families and friends on those 2 days for to support this. It's a win/win for everyone. The restaurant will get an influx of patrons on a Tuesday & Wednesday nights (their normally quiet nights), the people will get a great meal - and, when they pay their bill, 10% goes to the initiative, and we'll get a nice donation towards your fund to help the victims of this tragic event. Bringing Mary Rose with me to talk to the restaurant owners, definitely helped to convince them. We are very excited about this - and wanted to share, in case other families wanted to try the same thing !
Cathy - a Gladney China Mom
I was able to get a popular Chinese Restaurant to donate 10% of their proceeds for 2 nights (5/27 & 5/28) towards the China Initiative fund for the Earthquake victims. The 10% will be on takeout and dine-in.
I sent out an email to my local adoption support group, my friends, my kids' classmates families, teachers, etc about dining at that restaurant for those 2 nights. Needless to say, word is definitely getting around.
I received an overwhelming response from people who are going to show up with their families and friends on those 2 days for to support this. It's a win/win for everyone. The restaurant will get an influx of patrons on a Tuesday & Wednesday nights (their normally quiet nights), the people will get a great meal - and, when they pay their bill, 10% goes to the initiative, and we'll get a nice donation towards your fund to help the victims of this tragic event. Bringing Mary Rose with me to talk to the restaurant owners, definitely helped to convince them. We are very excited about this - and wanted to share, in case other families wanted to try the same thing !
Cathy - a Gladney China Mom
FCC Chinese Culture Day 2008
Gladney attended the FCC Chinese Culture Day this past Saturday, May 17th 2008. The Gladney NY office donated 500 books, including children's books and books about Chinese Culture, to the event to be given away in the raffle. Gongzhan was in attendance and was able to see many of our Gladney families and volunteers. It was a wonderful event and Gladney is happy that we were able to be a part of it!
On the Stage
Raffle
Books Gladney donated to Raffle
Gongzhan volunteers to interpret for the Clown.
Half the Sky Earthquake Update - May 18-19
It’s Monday afternoon here in China. As I write this, the entire country just held 3 minutes of silence to commence a 3 day period of national mourning. It began at 2:28 pm, marking the very moment the massive quake struck in Wenchuan County, Sichuan. Flags flew at half-staff, the people wore white flowers and, heads bowed, held hands. Across the country, horns and sirens wailed in grief. There are 32,477 people confirmed dead, more than 35,000 still missing.
Sadly and predictably, we are getting more information about children newly orphaned. We are now bringing together people and resources to prepare and train caregivers to help children through the next difficult phase of recovery. Unlike emergency relief (not our specialty but we're learning fast!), this is an area where HTS does have great expertise to offer. We will give all we can to these children who have many hard days ahead of them. I will be sharing our plans as they evolve.
Meanwhile, we continue to focus our attention on the most urgent needs of affected children – children in institutions and children orphaned or displaced by the disaster.
What follows is our most recent news. I’ve posted a few photos on our website: http://halfthesky.org/work/earthquake08.php and will update as more arrive.
Ziyang Social Welfare Institution – Building sustained severe damage. They care for 48 children, 20 of them under four years-old. They request50 cribs and cots, bandages, 10 milk pots, children’s clothes, 100 sets of bedding, bowls, spoons, chopsticks, toys and stationary supplies.
Deyang and Nanchong Social Welfare Institutions both have received notification that they should prepare immediately to receive newly orphaned children. All the children are living in tents. HTS will provide additional tents, beds and other requested items.
Guangyuan SWI – The children remain in tents. They were notified that they will be receiving several newly orphaned children (perhaps 50-60)very soon.
Shifang saw many of its schools destroyed, hundreds of children and their teachers buried. They sent us this heartbreaking story during the rescue efforts at Hongbai Primary School:“‘We found him!’ Teacher Zhang Huibing’s body was finally discovered,frozen in a posture of pushing against the door frame. According to the students saved by him, when the earthquake happened, Teacher Zhang was on the platform of the classroom on the second floor, which was very near the door. He yelled to the students, ‘Run outside! Hurry!’ And he somehow held the door frame up with both arms as the children ran out, one by one.Just as all the students were safely evacuated, the building collapsed on him. Teacher Zhang, who was only 30 years-old, had a four-year-old child of his own.”
As I mentioned in my last note, Mianyang has become a major refugee center. Of the more than 20,000 refugees in the city’s Jiuzhou Stadium,“scores” of them are young children. We are told, but this is not confirmed, that the entire center area of the stadium is reserved for toddlers and infants. Most are said to be from Dujiangyang, Beichuan andMianzhu. Ma Lang is on her way to Mianyang now, so we will learn more soon.
Many children who have lost or become separated from their families are being brought to Chengdu, but not yet to the Chengdu Children’s WelfareInstitution. Some have been taken to the Sichuan Children’s Center (anafter-school and weekend activity center for children.)
About 30 children, from Yingxiu and Dujiangyang, were taken a Chengdu city park, the Qingyang Sports Center, which has been converted to a refugee camp. Some children have been united with family members. We’re told that some from the media are actively trying to reunite families. Most of the children in this camp who survived were in their teens. They told us that many younger children in their town did not survive because those in the primary schools and kindergartens were napping when the quake hit and could not run.
The youngest camp resident was 16 days-old. The military police made a special effort to bring her and her very young mother down to the camp from Yingxiu. The baby was only 11 days-old when her daddy perished in the earthquake.
Perhaps today's most heartbreaking story was about some of the 70 injured children who’d been carried down from the affected areas to Huaxi Hospital. Most of the children were reunited with parents or relatives;some were even well enough to leave the hospital after treatment. But a few children remained alone and unclaimed.They were required to sign their own consent forms so that the doctors could amputate their limbs to save their lives.
Half the Sky spent much of the weekend purchasing requested supplies and shelter, organizing distribution and continuing to assess needs. In addition to the much-needed and wonderfully generous monetary donations from our amazing community of supporters, we have been flooded with offers of in-country help from from volunteers.As you can imagine, many requested items are getting harder and harder to come by. Just today we doubled our refugee tent order to 200 – all that was available immediately – and already have requests for more. Shoppers in Chengdu have begun filling a no-longer-habitable room at the Chengdu CWI (Children’s Welfare Institution) with everyday goods destined for hard-hit areas. Others around China are working on fulfilling our giant shopping list. Some are flying in to Chengdu, hand-carrying items from our medical wish-list. Our wonderful friends at Gung-Ho Films, a Beijing-based film production services company, are offering logistics support, including shopping, shipping and door-to-tent delivery!
I can’t really express how moved we are by your generosity and your trust in Half the Sky to ensure that the children benefit from your gifts. Today 3 more HTS Beijing staffers and 2 Gung-Ho staff traveled to Chengduto help facilitate our relief efforts. We all feel privileged to be able to help.
Sadly and predictably, we are getting more information about children newly orphaned. We are now bringing together people and resources to prepare and train caregivers to help children through the next difficult phase of recovery. Unlike emergency relief (not our specialty but we're learning fast!), this is an area where HTS does have great expertise to offer. We will give all we can to these children who have many hard days ahead of them. I will be sharing our plans as they evolve.
Meanwhile, we continue to focus our attention on the most urgent needs of affected children – children in institutions and children orphaned or displaced by the disaster.
What follows is our most recent news. I’ve posted a few photos on our website: http://halfthesky.org/work/earthquake08.php and will update as more arrive.
Ziyang Social Welfare Institution – Building sustained severe damage. They care for 48 children, 20 of them under four years-old. They request50 cribs and cots, bandages, 10 milk pots, children’s clothes, 100 sets of bedding, bowls, spoons, chopsticks, toys and stationary supplies.
Deyang and Nanchong Social Welfare Institutions both have received notification that they should prepare immediately to receive newly orphaned children. All the children are living in tents. HTS will provide additional tents, beds and other requested items.
Guangyuan SWI – The children remain in tents. They were notified that they will be receiving several newly orphaned children (perhaps 50-60)very soon.
Shifang saw many of its schools destroyed, hundreds of children and their teachers buried. They sent us this heartbreaking story during the rescue efforts at Hongbai Primary School:“‘We found him!’ Teacher Zhang Huibing’s body was finally discovered,frozen in a posture of pushing against the door frame. According to the students saved by him, when the earthquake happened, Teacher Zhang was on the platform of the classroom on the second floor, which was very near the door. He yelled to the students, ‘Run outside! Hurry!’ And he somehow held the door frame up with both arms as the children ran out, one by one.Just as all the students were safely evacuated, the building collapsed on him. Teacher Zhang, who was only 30 years-old, had a four-year-old child of his own.”
As I mentioned in my last note, Mianyang has become a major refugee center. Of the more than 20,000 refugees in the city’s Jiuzhou Stadium,“scores” of them are young children. We are told, but this is not confirmed, that the entire center area of the stadium is reserved for toddlers and infants. Most are said to be from Dujiangyang, Beichuan andMianzhu. Ma Lang is on her way to Mianyang now, so we will learn more soon.
Many children who have lost or become separated from their families are being brought to Chengdu, but not yet to the Chengdu Children’s WelfareInstitution. Some have been taken to the Sichuan Children’s Center (anafter-school and weekend activity center for children.)
About 30 children, from Yingxiu and Dujiangyang, were taken a Chengdu city park, the Qingyang Sports Center, which has been converted to a refugee camp. Some children have been united with family members. We’re told that some from the media are actively trying to reunite families. Most of the children in this camp who survived were in their teens. They told us that many younger children in their town did not survive because those in the primary schools and kindergartens were napping when the quake hit and could not run.
The youngest camp resident was 16 days-old. The military police made a special effort to bring her and her very young mother down to the camp from Yingxiu. The baby was only 11 days-old when her daddy perished in the earthquake.
Perhaps today's most heartbreaking story was about some of the 70 injured children who’d been carried down from the affected areas to Huaxi Hospital. Most of the children were reunited with parents or relatives;some were even well enough to leave the hospital after treatment. But a few children remained alone and unclaimed.They were required to sign their own consent forms so that the doctors could amputate their limbs to save their lives.
Half the Sky spent much of the weekend purchasing requested supplies and shelter, organizing distribution and continuing to assess needs. In addition to the much-needed and wonderfully generous monetary donations from our amazing community of supporters, we have been flooded with offers of in-country help from from volunteers.As you can imagine, many requested items are getting harder and harder to come by. Just today we doubled our refugee tent order to 200 – all that was available immediately – and already have requests for more. Shoppers in Chengdu have begun filling a no-longer-habitable room at the Chengdu CWI (Children’s Welfare Institution) with everyday goods destined for hard-hit areas. Others around China are working on fulfilling our giant shopping list. Some are flying in to Chengdu, hand-carrying items from our medical wish-list. Our wonderful friends at Gung-Ho Films, a Beijing-based film production services company, are offering logistics support, including shopping, shipping and door-to-tent delivery!
I can’t really express how moved we are by your generosity and your trust in Half the Sky to ensure that the children benefit from your gifts. Today 3 more HTS Beijing staffers and 2 Gung-Ho staff traveled to Chengduto help facilitate our relief efforts. We all feel privileged to be able to help.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
At the FCC Cultural Day in NY
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Half the Sky Earthquake Update as of May 17
Dear Friends,
Children in the institutions are all still well. We have now reached every affected institution, with the exception of AbaTibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture where the orphanage is said to house 52 children. We will let you know as soon as we make contact. It turns out the Mianzhu SWI, which we’d had trouble reaching, was leveled in the quake. There was one fatality, an elderly resident. Thankfully, all of the children were in community foster care and all are fine.
As of today (Saturday) there were 28,881 people confirmed dead. There were a very small number of live rescues, but the teams have not given up hope. Cities like Mianyang have become refugee centers. 20,000 homeless who have come on foot from nearby towns are living in the local stadium; many more thousands have no place to go. 4.7 million homes have been destroyed. 169,000 people are injured.
Ma Lang tells us that although the rescue resources keep coming in, one concern is the uneven distribution of much needed goods. “Counties and townships that have been the focus in media coverage receive more resources (sometimes more than enough); while in some other areas, there is little. In Qingchuan, people are surviving on one bottle of water and two cookies per day.”
In the schools that did not collapse (almost 7,000 were destroyed), the education bureaus are working to care for displaced children. They need tents, blankets, masks, rice, noodles, oil, flashlights, disposable underwear and antiseptic wipes. Many of those items and the items are are requested by the welfare institutions are no longer available in Chengdu. With the funds you have donated, HTS has a team of volunteer shoppers scouring Chengdu and we have a network of staff and volunteers seeking out needed items throughout China.
Today, with your help, we purchased 100 large refugee tents to house children who are in need of shelter. We have arranged to purchase more later this week but want to be sure we can properly distribute first. It is not easy to find goods now or to get them where they need to go. But everyone is working together to help the children.
As you have heard, this tragic event has both killed children and created orphans. A group of new orphans has been transported to Chengdu. We expect to have more information soon.
Meanwhile, the orphanage in Chengdu experienced a magnitude 5.9 aftershock yesterday (there have been 23 major aftershocks ranging from 5-6.9 on the Richter Scale!) and is preparing, if necessary, to move the children completely out of what was considered to be the most solid building. They have requested tents, which we are providing immediately.
Here are answers to some of your questions, the best we can offer right now:
How can one donate goods? We do not have the means to facilitate bringing goods into the country or distributing them where they are needed. If you are in China and have access to the following items and have means to deliver them to the Chengdu airport, please contact me: folding cots & cribs, 100 or more blankets, 100 or more pairs of children’s shoes, 100 or more large tarpaulins, 2 cases or more of children’s antibiotics (Zithromax, Amoxycillin, Penicillin, Klarithromycin, Erythromycin, Augmentin), 2 cases or more of anti-diarrheal meds (Charcoal Tablets, Kaolin), 2 cases or more of children’s anti-cold and cough meds (Dimetapp, Actifed, Robitussin)and/or 4 cases or more of rehydration salts/liquids (Pedialyte, Gatorade,Gastrolyte, ORS, Pocari Sweat). Please understand, we appreciate your wish to send items but we are not a relief agency (though we’re starting to feel like one!) and we just don’t have the mechanism or means to move your goods where they will do good. The very best way to help is to donate funds.
How many children will we help?
We can’t yet know. There are not yet statistics that separate affected children from adults. There are not yet statistics regarding the numbers of new orphans, numbers of affected orphans, numbers of displaced children who will eventually be reunited with their families. We will provide when we can.
How can one adopt newly orphaned children?
It is too early to know how many orphans have been created by the disaster. There is also much desire among the Chinese people to provide loving homes for the children who’ve lost their parents. The government’s first priority is to take care of the children’s urgent needs – to provide them with shelter, food, medical care and a nurturing environment. Half the Sky is doing its best to support this process. There will then be efforts to reunite children with relatives. Eventually, if parents or relatives can’t be located, the children will be placed for adoption. Several hundred Chinese citizens have already submitted applications to the Sichuan Civil Affairs Bureau!
Children in the institutions are all still well. We have now reached every affected institution, with the exception of AbaTibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture where the orphanage is said to house 52 children. We will let you know as soon as we make contact. It turns out the Mianzhu SWI, which we’d had trouble reaching, was leveled in the quake. There was one fatality, an elderly resident. Thankfully, all of the children were in community foster care and all are fine.
As of today (Saturday) there were 28,881 people confirmed dead. There were a very small number of live rescues, but the teams have not given up hope. Cities like Mianyang have become refugee centers. 20,000 homeless who have come on foot from nearby towns are living in the local stadium; many more thousands have no place to go. 4.7 million homes have been destroyed. 169,000 people are injured.
Ma Lang tells us that although the rescue resources keep coming in, one concern is the uneven distribution of much needed goods. “Counties and townships that have been the focus in media coverage receive more resources (sometimes more than enough); while in some other areas, there is little. In Qingchuan, people are surviving on one bottle of water and two cookies per day.”
In the schools that did not collapse (almost 7,000 were destroyed), the education bureaus are working to care for displaced children. They need tents, blankets, masks, rice, noodles, oil, flashlights, disposable underwear and antiseptic wipes. Many of those items and the items are are requested by the welfare institutions are no longer available in Chengdu. With the funds you have donated, HTS has a team of volunteer shoppers scouring Chengdu and we have a network of staff and volunteers seeking out needed items throughout China.
Today, with your help, we purchased 100 large refugee tents to house children who are in need of shelter. We have arranged to purchase more later this week but want to be sure we can properly distribute first. It is not easy to find goods now or to get them where they need to go. But everyone is working together to help the children.
As you have heard, this tragic event has both killed children and created orphans. A group of new orphans has been transported to Chengdu. We expect to have more information soon.
Meanwhile, the orphanage in Chengdu experienced a magnitude 5.9 aftershock yesterday (there have been 23 major aftershocks ranging from 5-6.9 on the Richter Scale!) and is preparing, if necessary, to move the children completely out of what was considered to be the most solid building. They have requested tents, which we are providing immediately.
Here are answers to some of your questions, the best we can offer right now:
How can one donate goods? We do not have the means to facilitate bringing goods into the country or distributing them where they are needed. If you are in China and have access to the following items and have means to deliver them to the Chengdu airport, please contact me: folding cots & cribs, 100 or more blankets, 100 or more pairs of children’s shoes, 100 or more large tarpaulins, 2 cases or more of children’s antibiotics (Zithromax, Amoxycillin, Penicillin, Klarithromycin, Erythromycin, Augmentin), 2 cases or more of anti-diarrheal meds (Charcoal Tablets, Kaolin), 2 cases or more of children’s anti-cold and cough meds (Dimetapp, Actifed, Robitussin)and/or 4 cases or more of rehydration salts/liquids (Pedialyte, Gatorade,Gastrolyte, ORS, Pocari Sweat). Please understand, we appreciate your wish to send items but we are not a relief agency (though we’re starting to feel like one!) and we just don’t have the mechanism or means to move your goods where they will do good. The very best way to help is to donate funds.
How many children will we help?
We can’t yet know. There are not yet statistics that separate affected children from adults. There are not yet statistics regarding the numbers of new orphans, numbers of affected orphans, numbers of displaced children who will eventually be reunited with their families. We will provide when we can.
How can one adopt newly orphaned children?
It is too early to know how many orphans have been created by the disaster. There is also much desire among the Chinese people to provide loving homes for the children who’ve lost their parents. The government’s first priority is to take care of the children’s urgent needs – to provide them with shelter, food, medical care and a nurturing environment. Half the Sky is doing its best to support this process. There will then be efforts to reunite children with relatives. Eventually, if parents or relatives can’t be located, the children will be placed for adoption. Several hundred Chinese citizens have already submitted applications to the Sichuan Civil Affairs Bureau!
CNN Reports Fears Over China Lake Spark More Panic
BEICHUAN, China (CNN) -- Thousands of Chinese earthquake victims and rescuers are fleeing areas near the epicenter over fears of floods from a river blocked by landslides. The stampede of thousands of people on Saturday afternoon came as Chinese officials said the official death toll from the earthquake had risen to 28,881 people with 198,347 injured.
Landslides caused by Monday's quake had blocked the Qingzhu River in Qingchuan county, creating two lakes with fast-rising water levels, an official at the Guangyuan disaster relief center said. Officials, worried that one or both of the lakes could burst, forced the evacuation of 10 villages and townships downriver.
Landslides caused by Monday's quake had blocked the Qingzhu River in Qingchuan county, creating two lakes with fast-rising water levels, an official at the Guangyuan disaster relief center said. Officials, worried that one or both of the lakes could burst, forced the evacuation of 10 villages and townships downriver.
About 30,000 people live downstream, not including the many rescuers and others who were in the area because of the quake relief effort, he said.
Journalist Diego Laje, one of those ordered to evacuate, said a stampede of thousands of people began as military officers warned them to leave a low-lying area near the river.
The official at the relief center said the one lake has an estimated 11 million cubic meters of water and the other has 1.5 million cubic meters.
Chinese government experts were considering blasting holes to allow controlled releases of the water, which was quickly rising, the official said.
A strong magnitude 6.0 aftershock shook the region near the border of Sichuan and Gansu provinces on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a preliminary report.
There was no immediate information on the impact of the aftershock.
Thousands of aftershocks have plagued the area since Monday's primary earthquake.
Elsewhere in Sichuan province, rescuers continued to search for more survivors, buoyed by news of the rescue of two men more than 110 hours after the quake.
A German tourist was pulled out alive from under rubble in Taoguan village Saturday, 114 hours after being buried, China's official news agency Xinhua reported. The man's identity remained unknown, Xinhua reported.
Xinhua also reported that soldiers dug out a 52-year-old man who was buried in ruins for 117 hours.
Xinhua said Saturday that the man had been buried under a collapsed building in Beichuan, not far from the epicenter of Monday's earthquake.
A German Foreign Ministry official said that country's government had no information about the German man or the rescue. The Xinhua report said more than 20 Chinese soldiers helped rescue the tourist Saturday morning.
The man was taken to a nearby medical center, but his condition was not immediately clear, Xinhua reported.
The discovery of the tourist added urgency to China's massive rescue operations.
"Saving lives is still the top priority," Chinese President Hu Jintao said Friday, as he arrived in the quake zone. Hu described the current situation as "the most crucial phase" of the rescue effort. "We must race against time to overcome all difficulties."
Journalist Diego Laje, one of those ordered to evacuate, said a stampede of thousands of people began as military officers warned them to leave a low-lying area near the river.
The official at the relief center said the one lake has an estimated 11 million cubic meters of water and the other has 1.5 million cubic meters.
Chinese government experts were considering blasting holes to allow controlled releases of the water, which was quickly rising, the official said.
A strong magnitude 6.0 aftershock shook the region near the border of Sichuan and Gansu provinces on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a preliminary report.
There was no immediate information on the impact of the aftershock.
Thousands of aftershocks have plagued the area since Monday's primary earthquake.
Elsewhere in Sichuan province, rescuers continued to search for more survivors, buoyed by news of the rescue of two men more than 110 hours after the quake.
A German tourist was pulled out alive from under rubble in Taoguan village Saturday, 114 hours after being buried, China's official news agency Xinhua reported. The man's identity remained unknown, Xinhua reported.
Xinhua also reported that soldiers dug out a 52-year-old man who was buried in ruins for 117 hours.
Xinhua said Saturday that the man had been buried under a collapsed building in Beichuan, not far from the epicenter of Monday's earthquake.
A German Foreign Ministry official said that country's government had no information about the German man or the rescue. The Xinhua report said more than 20 Chinese soldiers helped rescue the tourist Saturday morning.
The man was taken to a nearby medical center, but his condition was not immediately clear, Xinhua reported.
The discovery of the tourist added urgency to China's massive rescue operations.
"Saving lives is still the top priority," Chinese President Hu Jintao said Friday, as he arrived in the quake zone. Hu described the current situation as "the most crucial phase" of the rescue effort. "We must race against time to overcome all difficulties."
Friday, May 16, 2008
Update From Half The Sky
HTS Director, Child Development, Ma Lang has arrived in Chengdu and sends
this note:
I am deeply touched by your moral and emotional support. I only slept two
of the past thirty hours. The first thing I did after landing was to
donate some medicine to the Chengdu Red Cross. It was very much
appreciated – exactly what was needed. They gave me a wish list for
further donations: antibiotics for children and adults, medicine for
diarrhea, cold capsules (not instant medicines that must be mixed in
water), bandages, gauze, tape, iodine, cotton swabs, herbal medicine to
stop bleeding and some for pain relief. Other much-needed donations
include tents, tarpaulins, warm clothes and shoes. People in Chengdu are
doing everything they can to help with the earthquake rescue. I saw all
sorts of vehicles carrying things to the donation centers. I registered
for blood donation and was put on the waiting list – the blood center was
overloaded with donated blood and it’s difficult to transport the blood to
the hardest-hit areas. More to come… Lang
Here is the confirmed information we have regarding welfare institutions:
The following institutions not mentioned in yesterday’s note suffered no
serious damage:
Chengdu 2nd SWI, Chengdu 3rd SWI, Ziyang SWI, Neijing CWI, Chengdu SOS
children’s village, Leshan SWI, Ganzi CWI, Guang’an SWI, Suining SWI
The following report damage, but, again, no injuries. Your generous
donations will help meet all of these requests for assistance:
Bazhon CWI – Severe damage to building; children are fine.
Meishan SWI – Cracks in buildings, have evacuated all children (50+) to
tents. They have adequate food, water and clothes but request 20 cribs
and bedding.
Guangyuan SWI – Damaged buildings, all children have been in tents for 4-5
days, often in the blazing sun. They request food, baby formula water,
diapers, bedding and other daily necessities. They urgently need drugs
and food supplements to protect against disease and heatstroke.
Nanchong SWI – There was substantial damage to buildings, all children
(100+, more than half under 6 years-old) are living in tents. They need
more tents, disposable diapers, children’s clothing, wagons, cribs and
bedding.
Deyang CWI – Dormitory for school-age children was severely damaged.
Although the other buildings seem fine, pending inspection, all children
and staff have been moved to tents. There has been constant rain and much
that was pulled from the buildings has been ruined. They request bedding
and children’s clothing. They still have disposable diapers left from our
assistance during the winter storms but will be running out of those as
well as infant formula in the coming days.
Mianyang Zitong CWI (update) – Children have been moved back from the
military base to a safe building in the institution. There is adequate
food and water but they request clothes, bedding, infant formula, diapers
and medicine for colds. They are now caring for 66 children, 23 of them
under 2 years.
Sadly, 24 new orphans – earthquake survivors - arrived at the institution
yesterday.
We are still unable to reach these orphanages: Abazhou CWI (52 children)
and Mianzhu SWI
this note:
I am deeply touched by your moral and emotional support. I only slept two
of the past thirty hours. The first thing I did after landing was to
donate some medicine to the Chengdu Red Cross. It was very much
appreciated – exactly what was needed. They gave me a wish list for
further donations: antibiotics for children and adults, medicine for
diarrhea, cold capsules (not instant medicines that must be mixed in
water), bandages, gauze, tape, iodine, cotton swabs, herbal medicine to
stop bleeding and some for pain relief. Other much-needed donations
include tents, tarpaulins, warm clothes and shoes. People in Chengdu are
doing everything they can to help with the earthquake rescue. I saw all
sorts of vehicles carrying things to the donation centers. I registered
for blood donation and was put on the waiting list – the blood center was
overloaded with donated blood and it’s difficult to transport the blood to
the hardest-hit areas. More to come… Lang
Here is the confirmed information we have regarding welfare institutions:
The following institutions not mentioned in yesterday’s note suffered no
serious damage:
Chengdu 2nd SWI, Chengdu 3rd SWI, Ziyang SWI, Neijing CWI, Chengdu SOS
children’s village, Leshan SWI, Ganzi CWI, Guang’an SWI, Suining SWI
The following report damage, but, again, no injuries. Your generous
donations will help meet all of these requests for assistance:
Bazhon CWI – Severe damage to building; children are fine.
Meishan SWI – Cracks in buildings, have evacuated all children (50+) to
tents. They have adequate food, water and clothes but request 20 cribs
and bedding.
Guangyuan SWI – Damaged buildings, all children have been in tents for 4-5
days, often in the blazing sun. They request food, baby formula water,
diapers, bedding and other daily necessities. They urgently need drugs
and food supplements to protect against disease and heatstroke.
Nanchong SWI – There was substantial damage to buildings, all children
(100+, more than half under 6 years-old) are living in tents. They need
more tents, disposable diapers, children’s clothing, wagons, cribs and
bedding.
Deyang CWI – Dormitory for school-age children was severely damaged.
Although the other buildings seem fine, pending inspection, all children
and staff have been moved to tents. There has been constant rain and much
that was pulled from the buildings has been ruined. They request bedding
and children’s clothing. They still have disposable diapers left from our
assistance during the winter storms but will be running out of those as
well as infant formula in the coming days.
Mianyang Zitong CWI (update) – Children have been moved back from the
military base to a safe building in the institution. There is adequate
food and water but they request clothes, bedding, infant formula, diapers
and medicine for colds. They are now caring for 66 children, 23 of them
under 2 years.
Sadly, 24 new orphans – earthquake survivors - arrived at the institution
yesterday.
We are still unable to reach these orphanages: Abazhou CWI (52 children)
and Mianzhu SWI
The Guiyang Moms
Also from an article on Xinhuanet:
More than 10,000 “Guiyang Moms” came forward to adopt orphans from the current earthquake. Guiyang city is the capital of Guizhou province, which is the neighboring province of Sichuan.
The first photo shows the Guiyang city bureau of civil affairs recruiting families to adopt newly orphaned children. The second photo is people filling out adoption applications.
English Tourists Visiting Panda Preserve Walk to Safety
These photos were taken by a guide who was with a group of 31 tourists from England. Shortly after leaving the panda preserve, the earthquake took place while the group was traveling on a bus. It took them 10 hours to walk to a safe place. They eventually found a driver who bused them back to Chengdu.
May 12, at the Wolong Panda Breading and Preservation Center
On the way back to Chengdu, earthquake took place.
All 31 tourists decided to walk toward a safe place following the tour guide.
On the road.
A vehicle was stricken by a fallen rock from the mountain.
The English tourists and local Chinese survivors on their way to safe place.
Fallen Rock
Walking through the forists.
Back in Chengdu.
May 12, at the Wolong Panda Breading and Preservation Center
On the way back to Chengdu, earthquake took place.
All 31 tourists decided to walk toward a safe place following the tour guide.
On the road.
A vehicle was stricken by a fallen rock from the mountain.
The English tourists and local Chinese survivors on their way to safe place.
Fallen Rock
Walking through the forists.
Back in Chengdu.
Latest Earthquake Numbers As Of 2 PM May 16th
The latest statistics as of 2:00 pm, May 16, 2008, according to Xinhua Net.
Death:
Wenchuan 22069
Sichuan 21577
Gansu 364
Shaanxi 109
Congqing 15
Hena 2 Yunnan 1
Hubei 1
Wounded:
Wenchuan 168,669
Sichuan 159,006
Gansu 7040
Shaanxi 1899
Congqing 637
Thursday, May 15, 2008
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