Sichuan: One Year Later

One year after May 12, 2008, much in the China earthquake zone has changed but much has stayed the same. If you were to drive through the area today you would see people either harvesting early spring crops or building houses. In some areas, complete villages have been rebuilt. And yet there are temporary cities housing thousands of people still waiting for their new homes.

LDi is still there, too, represented by Cypress Leadership Institute (CLI) and the International Schools of China (ISC). Cypress currently has sixty volunteers in the earthquake zone, the largest representation of any organization. Twenty volunteers at the refugee camp teach English, tailoring, hair styling, and computer skills. They run a library and after school program and offer listening ears, hugs, and smiles. They come from Beijing, Xian, Jinan and even from the earthquake area.

Another team is building houses. Yet another team, two young women, run a kindergarten for ten little ones. Their school is near the top of a mountain overlooking the earthquake epicenter.

Back in Chengdu, the CLI coordinating team and volunteers from many places in China, wrote their plan for next year. Last year's huge needs caused them to be far too ambitious so they honed their new plan to six initiatives. One of those initiatives is the Daybreak Summer Camps.

You might remember ISC and CLI operated the camps in seven locations last year. Volunteers from our international schools and local friends will return to those locations to continue relationships begun last summer. We are grateful for a large gift from Europe that will fund most of this effort.

If we can compare the rebuilding work in Sichuan to that of Taiwan after the 2000 earthquake there, physical restoration will probably take three years. However we know the restoration of hearts will take much longer.

LDi’s hopes to serve in Sichuan as long as we are needed.