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Salute and help quake survivors

By Chen Weihua (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-04 07:35

My daughter and I have been working as volunteers in the Hongbai School in Shifang of Sichuan province in the past few days, teaching English and trying to inspire students in their study and life.

But both of us quickly found that we have actually learned more from the students and teachers there than what we could offer them. We instead feel constantly inspired.

It was one of the schools worst hit by the devastating earthquake nearly a year ago. A total of 159 students and seven teachers lost their lives. Half of the students now studying at the school had the experience of being buried under the rubble as both school buildings collapsed on the afternoon of May 12. One survivor, a teacher, was dug out after 106 hours of living under the debris.

In the mountainous Hongbai town where the school is located, a total of 918 people died and more than 200 were missing out of a population exceeding 6,000.

Life is still hard there even a year later despite all the assistance from the government and generous donations from organizations and individuals.

Water is scarce. For the past few days, the taps have been dry in most of the makeshift shelters in the area. In fact, my roommate and I used only one bucket of water in the last three days, and taking shower is simply a luxury.

The only restaurants near the school are the few food stands operating in the tents, where minimum sanitation standards are observed. There are no cultural and entertainment spots since the town was wiped out, in every sense, by the seismic tremor.

Rebuilding of the town and the school is under way. The noise of the bulldozers could be heard around the clock. But it will take another six months or a year before most buildings are completed. This appeared possible after Premier Wen Jiabao ordered the reconstruction to be speeded up, thus cutting the previous deadline of three years to two.

Despite the great inconveniences of life in the area and the trauma from a year ago, we still see lot of smiles on the faces of teachers and students at the school.

On the playground - a small and roughly-paved open space between the makeshift classroom buildings - children are seen playing basketball and rubber-band jumping. A party last Thursday afternoon to mark May Day and May 4th Youth Day was a fascinating show of students' talents and their much-needed, and regained, confidence.

My roommate, a passionate Chinese language teacher and a poet, often works late in the office, although he is often awakened by bad dreams in the middle of the night. Fifteen students in his class perished during the earthquake. He showed me a picture of his favorite student, whose body was never found.

Like my roommate, other young teachers also displayed great enthusiasm working under such tough conditions. This is where teaching truly becomes a lofty profession.

While saluting the lovely students and teachers there, I become acutely aware of how much more help is still needed for the people in the quake zone, even a year later.

People should still donate. Material support, such as TV and other appliances, would make life less stressful for people living in those poorly equipped shelters.

But apart from material assistance, psychological counseling is just as urgent to help people who are still haunted by the horror of a year ago.

More volunteers should go to the quake zones to offer as much help as they can in any form, such as teaching and inspiring the students while themselves getting inspired in the process.

(China Daily 05/04/2009 page4)