Rebuilding lives

Pupils of the First Wanquan Primary School in Yushu attend a Chinese language class on March 10. The city's primary and middle schools started their first full semester this year after the earthquake in 2010. Wu Gang / Xinhua

Giving hope

About one km from Yushu Prefecture People's Hospital, 1,716 children are having lessons in the new Yushu No 1 Primary School. The school started in 1929 as the first primary school providing Mandarin lessons in the south of Qinghai.

Most schools in Yushu collapsed or became unsafe because of the quake and 32 of them, including Yushu No 1 Primary School, have been rebuilt.

The construction of the school was completed in 2012 with the 44 million yuan donation from the Red Cross Society of Jiangsu province.

Students now enjoy a 400-meter running track and a football field for the first time. More than 10 classrooms were added. A new library, basketball field and computer learning classes are also available.

"The facilities in most schools in Yushu used to be very outdated. Physical education classes were just about students playing the basic games they knew outside school," said Sang Liao, a PE and math teacher in Yushu No 1 Primary School.

The school also used the donations to buy 40 electronic organs for many students to acquaint themselves with musical instruments and create their own music.

"Music teachers only taught students singing in the past. We wanted to bring more happiness to the students and give them opportunities to nurture their creativity. The funds allowed us to do that," said Kunga Tenchou, president of the school.

"Music and sports have helped those students affected by the quake to recover from the shock and sadness. They have brought back some vitality in the school and given hope to the children."

Remaining challenges

The new and better-constructed buildings and homes in Yushu are helping quake-hit residents to recover from the disaster.

But some rural areas still face challenges like power shortages because of the difficult terrain.

In Dritod county, a maternal and child care service center began operations at the end of 2013. The center is the county's first such facility for women and children.

There are 10 rooms and 30 beds for patients. Five doctors and nurses work in the center.

"The power supply in many counties in Yushu mainly depends on small hydropower stations. But the power suffers outages and can't support the running of some medical equipment during the dry season," said Jia Ying, director of the center.

The center bought five power generators to help maintain the equipment, Jia said, but two generators are not working and need to be repaired.

"Transportation in Yushu is in very poor condition. We lack technicians. Medical professionals are also in short supply. The high altitude and poor economic conditions have deterred many new medical graduates from coming," she said.

Education and care for women and children's health are also inadequate in many counties in Yushu, Jia said.

Dzatod county's first maternal and child care service center was also built last year and will be utilized in a few months. Women like Gartsok have little knowledge about gynecological issues, or even basic knowledge about contraception.

"Such service centers are in great demand here. Women should know more about their health and the health of their children," Jia said.

"Support for healthcare and other basic resources, as well as professionals, are still very much needed here."

Contact the writer at yangwanli@chinadaily.com.cn