ROKPA Earthquake Appeal
Yushu, Qinghai province SEVERE EARTHQUAKE IN CHINA HITS TIBETAN POPULATION IN PARTICULAR
At the ROKPA Yushu Orphanage School where, miraculously, all 250 children survived. Our volunteer English teacher Monia reports:
“I'm ok, I had to rest during the weekend because I got intestine problems. The children really need to spend time with someone who talks to them, touches them.......now they are very excited about everything and don’t have more than 15 mins of attention. .. I'm trying to do some work on happy thoughts, using resources such as myself, a friend... food, clothes, then breathing exercises like you all suggested. I'm actually using QiGong in class since I practice it in my normal life,...just to make them relax. QiGong follows nature and animal movements so "we play" the bird, the waves...the kids really enjoy that. I often start lessons very late but it's fine, I just stay with them during that time. They always have something to tell me!
The centre of Yushu town has been cleared and is beginning to come alive again, though many people have left. The tent area has been moved to the other side of the city.
Former Yushu Orphanage English teacher, Natalie writes:
“People have aged because of this.
“There is no way for foreigners to go to Yushu now, unless they have a special permit. It is closed but I don't know for how long.
“One of my students arrived in Xining a few days ago with a bad back injury. She can’t walk properly. There is a fear of paralysis. They have now sent her to Lanzhou for an operation. I wonder how many other people have been sitting in Yushu with painful injuries for days on end.
“There is a lot of support from the hospitals here and in other cities. Everything is paid for, the doctors are kind, and there are many Tibetan volunteers who come to the hospital to help take care of patients. There is hope but it will take time for the wounds to heal, and I don't just mean physical.”
As the western world press interest in Yushu starts fading and the situation in Yushu town is brought under tighter control, there is still little real knowledge of the extent of devastation across the whole county. It is reported in the Chinese press that a primary school has opened and that all schools will be in temporary accommodation and opened by the end of the month.
As the first school to open and the only one in which all the children survived, the ROKPA Yushu Orphans' School has taken in three new orphans. Meanwhile, snow and sandstorms, lack of fuel, no toilets, thin tents and most people deeply traumatized, the situation in Yushu is grim.
At the school, the latest ROKPA volunteer English teacher, Monia Chies, who was there at the time of the earthquake is now not only part of the massive relief effort, but has begun to teach again: "Thanks to all Rokpa staff and others who are sending me interesting inputs to work with the children. I hope to receive pencils and notebooks very soon, somebody is working on that. No matter who you work with in this situation, the real satisfaction is to see people who lost everything leaving your camp with some food, a warm blanket and a drop of happiness in their eyes. The Orphan's School received the truck organized by ROKPA on Thursday. We unloaded it... it was fun for the children!"
--- 21st APRIL 2010 ---
Over 2,300 died in Yushu town (also known as Jyeku, or Jiegu). Officially over 200 are still buried although it is feared that the number is much higher than this. The count of injured people is now over 12,000.
Most people have lost everything and most of all, someone they love, or their entire family, not only in the town of Yushu, but also in neighbouring villages and small towns.
The following is an account written by a student in the city of Xining where many survivors have been taken, describing the situation there and in the devastated town of Yushu.
Statement from affected area
