Amity has continued to dispatch rescue crews and relief materials to Zhouqu County, Gansu Province. The sixth batch of relief materials arrived on August 27th, with supplies allocated and delivered to 1,648 households in seven villages, with the assistance of local partners and volunteers. On August 28th, the seventh batch of relief materials reached Huixian County with all supplies handed out the next day. Amity staff, assisted by the Director of  the Bureau for Civil Affairs of Huixian County, delivered the supplies to 660 households in Jiangluo and three other towns.

 The supplies provided by Amity were warmly welcomed by local villagers because of their practicality. In the process of procurement, special attention was paid to obtain articles for daily use and medical supplies. According to Amity’s criterion for allocation, each family would receive one bag of rice, one bag of flour, one can of cooking oil, two winter coats, five bags of sanitary towels, one set of stoves and cookers. The relief materials supplied by Amity reached a total amount of 16.5 tons of rice, 16.5 tons of flour, 3,300 kilos of cooking oil, 275 boxes of sanitary towels, 1,320 winter coats, 660 sets of stoves and cookers. Also an additional 240 sets of stoves are schedules for later delivery.

A warm thank you to all our friends who have been extending support to the victims of the mudslide through Amity.

Thank you for your patience.

Additional assistance, including three trucks, departed for the Zhouqu disaster-affected area on August 19th, led by Mr. Qiu Zhonghui, Amity’s General Secretary. After a long journey through the night and little rest, Mr. Qiu and other members of Amity Relief Team immediately started unloading supplies with the help of locals, even children, who volunteered to help. On  August 20th, the Amity Relief Team delivered relief supplies to the affected villagers from home to home in Luojiayu, the most severely hit village in Zhouqu. When boxes of dried noodles, flashlights, rain boots and clothes, edible oil were handed to Luojiayu villagers, they said with tears in their eyes, that these goods are the most needed but least available, as shops are not open yet in Luojiayu. Two portable electrocardiograph were sent separately to the County Hospital and County Hospital for Maternal and Children Health Care the same afternoon.  

 Amity’s work in Chen County, August 20-25

Meanwhile, another Amity Disaster Relief Team rushed from Nanjing to Lanzhou on August 20th. Two trucks were used to deliver the first batch of Amity relief goods for Cheng County, which included 5 tons of rice, 10 tons of dried noodles, 12 tons of edible oil). Because there is still no electricity, Amity also distributed 6 Yamaha generators (2KW). Amity was able to assess the need in the area and found that clothing was the most lacking item, especially with decreasing temperatures. Therefore, the second relief effort  delivered to Cheng County brought 2500 suits of sports clothes and 2500 suits of cotton-padded clothes, arriving by August 24th.  

 Amity’s work in Hui County, August 24-25

As the relief effort continues in Zhouqu and Cheng County, Amity widened its efforts to include Jiangluo and Mayan Townships of Hui County. Since these areas are rural and remote, the local people are poorer and need the emergency aid urgently. Amity aimed to distribute by August 25th; one bag of flour, one bag of rice and 5 kilo of oil to each of the 280 affected households in Jiangluo and 180 households in Majiang. Additionally, Amity will monitor medical needs to regulate the spread of disease.

Hope for the area

According to our estimate, the first phase of emergency relief for the landslides was finished on Sunday 29th.

Your continuing prayers and support are highly appreciated.

You may have learnt of the devastating landslide that affected China in Zhouqu County, Gansu Province. Since the outbreak of the disaster, Amity has continually responded to the situation. The following is a summary of our relief work in the past few days;

August 7-8
Torrential rain triggered a landslide that hit Zhouqu, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Region in Gansu Province on August 7，2010. According to the rescue headquarters, by August 12, 1117 were reported dead and 627 were still missing.

The torrential rain began lashing the county at about 11pm on Saturday (August 7) and runoff from the downpour built up behind a landslide on the Bailong River, which rungs through the county seat town (China Daily).

August 9

A coordination meeting was held at the Nanjing headquarters to launch another relief effort that included contacting a local partner in Gansu, preparing for a site visit, making an appeal to the public for help, as well as involving local media in Amity’s work. Amity decided to allocate CNY 2 million as an initial grant for the relief work.

 August 10

 Ms. Tanhua, Assistant Director of the Relief Programme, together with Mr. Sun Qiang, reporter of Jiangsu News Radio set off for Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu on the August 10. All tickets from Nanjing to Lanzhou had been sold out and they had to take a detour to Shanghai in order to catch a flight to Lanzhou. Together with staff from Gansu Health Department based in Lanzhou, the team continued non stop overnight to Zhouqu, the landslide hit area.

August 11

The Amity team arrived in Zhouqu by noon and conducted an initial assessment. The team reported that electricity had been reconnected. The rain still continued, increasing the difficulty of an already treacherous rescue. Victims were sheltered in temporary shelters and  afraid of going back home, worrying about possible further landslides. At the moment, water and instant noodles could meet the needs of the victims. The social infrastructure is still in place, which should lay a firm foundation for further relief efforts.

News from relevant supporting agencies

Hong Kong SAR Government dedicated HK$3 million to Amity’s relief work through Amity’s office in Hong Kong.

Tencent, one of China’s biggest internet companies has offered CNY 1 million to support Amity’s relief work.

Some partners of Amity, including the United Church of Canada, Church of Scotland, United Methodist Church (USA)  have written to give their sympathy and solidarity to Amity in this situation.

We appreciate your care of, concern on and prayers for the victims in the landslide in Zhouqu.

With appreciations,

She Hongyu

Click this link to watch a gallery of photos taken during the dinner. Four video clips were shown at the dinner and are now available online (The Amity Foundation; relief and rehabilitation work; rural clinics; water projects).

Zhang Yulin, professor at the Sociology Department of Nanjing University spoke on “China’s Environmental Challenge and the Water Crisis”. He noted that over the last three decades an average annual GDP growth of 10% has been accompanied by an unprecedented level of environmental damage. All rivers now have a water contamination level grade 3 and below. There are cancer villages as well as new kinds of deformities and diseases spawned by pollution. Many rivers no longer reach the sea and their waters have turned black. There is increasing desertification because of the lack of water. In the 1970s, awareness of the problem was raised only when people died of fish poisoning.

Most policy responses have only had short-term effects. He described the “water crisis” as an impending, creeping disaster, unnoticed by most. Unfortunately, local governments’ continued worship of GDP growth has made matters worse.

Chen Ah Jiang, professor at the Sociology Department at He Hai University in Nanjing, highlighted the fact that many local factories discharge their waste water into rivers during rainy weather expecting that polluted discharge will be quickly washed downstream and out of sight. In his view, rivers have not just become “dumping grounds” of unscrupulous businesses but also because farmers themselves have given up on protecting the rivers. Originally, farmers carefully protected the rivers since they were a source of drinking water. However, despite all their efforts, industrial pollution has led to a dramatic degradation in water quality. Today, farmers (especially those downstream) have given up the battle against pollution and joined in as polluters. In some areas, Prof. Chen reports, farmers refrain from washing their clothes or even cleaning their brooms in the highly polluted water. But instead of reducing pollution, more garbage is dumped into rivers or piled up on the river banks by farmers.

Prof. Chen also lamented the fact that gathering information about cancer villages or drawing direct links between water pollution and cancer outbreaks has its limitations. He showed that the lack of safe drinking water can have a severe social impact on local farmers including stigma, difficulties in finding wives, difficulties in finding jobs, social differentiation and inequality.

Other speakers emphasized the need to reduce pollution by reducing pesticides, using biogas digesters or special plants, and educating the public on how to protect drinking water. Several action networks explained how they raise public awareness in mainland China and Hong Kong by either showing students how to take water samples for testing or introducing them to the right ways of an environmentally friendly waste disposal.

Water issues were further discussed in detail during different workshops when people from affected areas in Southwest China described the bad effects of water scarcity during the recent drought.

A television journalist described her involvement in environmental issues during the 2007 floods in Nanjing. She observed that rapid construction and infrastructure development in 2005 had contributed to the causes of the flooding. She also recognized the positive role the media can play in raising public awareness on pollution.

The workshop concluded with the proposal of different action plans including activities which focused on raising awareness of water issues and influencing policy makers to improve laws and regulations as well as helping with implementation.

Living Water Presentation

The Rotary Club of Hong Kong Harbour showed its compassion for the poor peasants in Guizhou, China when they organized a Charity Ball on Saturday, 24 April 2010 to raise money to build clinics and to support village doctors who have been struggling against much impoverished conditions. With the theme “Hearty Dimes Shiny Night”, the Ball held at the Grand Ballroom, Regal Airport Hotel attracted a lot of philanthropists and well-wishers of the same persuasion.

Distinguished guests included Mr. Shane Solomon, Hospital Authority Chief Executive, Ambassador Raymond BURGHARDT, Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, Dr. Alan Lau, Chairman of the Hong Kong Private Hospitals Association, Mr. Xin Cen Chen, a deputy chief of Southeast Guizhou, and many Rotarians, Past District Governors, District Governor, Past Presidents, Presidents and Presidents-Elect. The many Rotarian medical practitioners who also attended are prepared to volunteer their services in furthering this cause.

President-Elect of Rotary Club of Hong Kong Harbour, also Chair Lady of the Charity Ball Organizing Committee, Ms Belinda Yeung was the driving force behind this health project. Together with President Eddie Wong, PP Samuel Chung, PP Grace Yen and IPP Wendy Lau, Belinda worked closely with the Amity Foundation over the last 6 months to flesh out details to the “Build a Clinic, Set the Model” Project. To better understand the real issues, the Rotarians even went with Amity staff and local partners to visit remote villages in Guizhou, travelling over rugged terrain that sometimes left their four-wheel drives stuck in the quackmire. Sustainability being a prime focus of the scheme, it is expected to trail-blaze the way forward for village clinics to provide better first line health-care for villages in Cengong County, Guizhou in China.

The concept got the support and generous donations from many Rotarians, friends and corporations, including notably Rotarian Boris Bong, China Investment Fund Co. Ltd, Miss Anne Gao, Mr. Eric Hotung, Mr. Yuk Sui Lo, Sheen Hok Charitable Foundation and Ms Belinda Yeung.

Guests were entertained by the electrifying performances by Ms Maria Cordero, Dance Fame and a fashion show by Laurel. Entertainment aside, the Ball was most successful in raising over HK$1 million to help Amity build the clinics, equip them and subsidize doctors in 10 remote villages in Cengong County.

Additional photographs of the event are available online.

Yet another batch of emergency relief goods from the Amity Foundation, the 8th of its kind, arrived in the Yushu region of Qinghai Province on 7 May. 70 tons of flour, 45 tons of rice, 18 tons of noodles, clothes, candles and CNY 520,000 worth of drugs were distributed in several places the same afternoon and on the following two days. The distribution was made difficult by bad weather, but Amity staffers, helped by villagers and volunteers, ensured an orderly process.

The 7th batch of disaster relief goods from Amity was distributed in the earthquake region of Yushu, Qinghai Province, on 1 May. 30 solar power devices, 1000 quilts, 1000 bedsheets and 1000 quilt covers as well as 100 boxes of candles and 1998 cartons of milk were delivered to Longbao Township. 250 canisters of cooking oil and 20 tons of rice were delivered to the racecourse area of Jyegu, 150 more canisters of cooking oil to another part of Jyegu. Villagers and volunteers helped with the distribution. The next morning, the Amity team set out to more distant parts of Longbao again, where soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army cooperated with Amity staffers to deliver the goods to earthquake survivors.