Poor farmers lost homes, livelihoods and life-time savings
Gansu, 29 July - 45-year old Madam Zhang He Yan and her husband scrambled to get their physically-handicapped sons, their daughter-in-law and one year old grandson out to safety when their mud-brick house in Bai Yang Po village collapsed under a strong quake which struck the mountainous areas of Min and Zhang counties in Gansu province last Monday morning. While they were all safe, they now have to stay separately at temporary shelters and relatives’ homes due to the lack of living spaces at the internally-displaced persons (IDPs) camp. Madam Zhang’s family used to survive mainly on their small-scaled vegetables farm and animals, which are now buried under rubbles and mud. With no home and means for sustenance, her family is dependent on the support from the government and aid organisations.
A week have passed, Madam Zhang is one of over 300,000 survivors still struggling to stabilise their lives. Persistent rains have caused serious cases of mudslides, hindering the pace of aid efforts. Survivors staying in temporary shelters have struggled with the cold and wet weather conditions, urgently requiring survival essentials such as beds, blankets and food. Singapore’s Mercy Relief was at the worst-hit county of Min last weekend to deliver its second batch of relief supplies. The 4-man team distributed 500 blankets, food and 6,000 milk packs to 500 affected families at Bai Yang Po village. The 2 batches of aid supplies worth RMB140,000 (SGD28,000).
Meanwhile, over at Mei Chuan Township of Min county, the MR team met with 40-year old Madam Ma and her husband who recounted their experiences of, and prevailing needs since the quake. The couple, who were vegetable garden farmers, now survive on eight packs of instant noodles every three days.
MR Senior Programme Manager for China, Tsai Pi Kuang commented from Min county, “The government announced that the acute relief phase would run for the first 15 days. Thereafter, it would be damage assessment and costs analysis, followed by compensation and recovery. Many of the affected communities are poor rural folks who have lost their homes, belongings, livelihoods and even small life-time savings. While the government is addressing the structural and infrastructural needs, MR is working closely with our partners to fill key survival gaps to support these communities.”
In response to a direct request for humanitarian assistance from the Zhang County Poverty Alleviation & Development Bureau (ZCPADB), MR’s response team reached the quake-hit areas of Gansu province last Thursday afternoon. A total of 1,000 families from both affected counties have benefited from the humanitarian assistance.
Back at its Singapore HQ, MR has launched a public fundraising appeal from 25th Jul to 31st Aug 2013 to support its relief and recovery efforts for the quake victims.
