Having received emails from both Heifer and Lee at Sichuan Quake Relief telling us that people where in need of assistance in Southern Gansu, which was also hit by the quake but hadn’t received nearly as much aid or media attention as Sichuan, we set out to determine if the project could potentially help in this area. We were put in contact with Mr Hu, Director of the Golden Monkey Nature Reserve in a remote area in Southern Gansu bordering Sichuan and Shannxi, we sent him our spec sheet for the shelter, and talking through translators discussed whether we could help. Mr Hu told us that the community there were interested so Ali and Sam headed up to check it out. Five days later, two bus rides, two very long taxi rides, two six hour rides in government jeeps along dirt roads, one government banquet, and LOTS of toasts with ruddy cheeked officials later we’re back online again to update you all on what’s going on!

VISIT

The earthquake had destroyed some key bridges along the direct route into Gansu and so our trip took us from Chengdu through Guangyang and Lue Yang in Shannxi to Long Nan Shi, and then on to Yuhe where Mr Hu and the General Yang greeted us at the Golden Monkey Nature Reserve headquarters. We sat down to discuss how the project could help but before we could start we were welcomed by a deep growling and shudder from the mountain beneath us as an aftershock had everyone scrambling out their houses. We were taken around the village to see the extent of the damage and had the opportunity to meet and talk with local people who had been forced down from the hills above as their homes had been totally destroyed. The next morning we drove to Feng Xiang where we again were given a tour of the area and shown the damage caused by the earthquake.

SITUATION THERE

Although far away from the epicentre, the buildings up in the mountains of southern Gansu are mostly mudbrick and wood and as a result fared much worse than concrete buildings further south. Whilst the days are currently hot and humid winter is not far away and with this in mind work is already well underway in Yuhe. Where previously a two story building stood a roof had been built on top of the still standing first floor and other roofs have been replaced on buildings where the walls are intact. All around villagers are salvaging the wood, bricks and tiles from their destroyed houses in preparation for rebuilding. Feng Xiang, the second village we visited was 80% destroyed and nearly all the villagers were living in tents and makeshift shelters above their destroyed village in a muddy field. In both locations settlements above the main villages are even worse off with many hill farmers expected to move down to the larger villages to be housed in the villages as they are rebuilt.

OUR CONTRIBUTION

It has been a full month since the quake and most of the villagers have already built fairly sturdy shelters using salvaged materials. Following our survey of the situation and discussions with the village leaders and the local people, we have decided that the best way we can assist is by providing good quality durable tarpaulin and other roofing materials for their shelters. This makes sense since they already have plenty of wood for building new frames and most of the flat space for placing new temporary shelters is already occupied. The majority of the existing shelters are not water or wind proof and providing tarpaulin will provide an immediate improvement in living conditions for the people affected by the earthquake.

Apologies for the gap since the last post - we’ve been super busy sourcing materials and getting in touch with potential partner organisations here in Chengdu. On Wednesday we headed up to Cai Yu Cun to build our third demonstration shelter in the blazing hot sun and were joined by three volunteers and our trusty translator Monica - we got a shelter up in record time. Wednesday also saw us being joined by Ali who flew in from Shanghai to help with organising materials, permits, contacts, transport, translators, finances, volunteers and all the other tasks that have cropped up since we set up base here in town.

Today things weren’t quite so plain sailing however - it looks like access to some areas has been restricted and so we’re looking at heading further north into Gansu province to rural areas that we’ve heard need shelters. Currently we’re thinking of getting a train up there to do a reccy and see if we might be able to help with shelter up there. 

Lastly, a massive thanks to Monica, Rob, Natalia & Adam from Sichuan Quake Relief for their enthusiasm and energy on a scorching hot day out on Wednesday.

Spoke to Luke in Chengdu–they just returned from a day of setting up two demonstration shelters in Bai Guo Cun village. The shelters were extremely well received and the villagers can use up to 300 more. Right now they are receiving food and water relief but little shelter as of yet-they are living in lean-to’s as are many people in the area. Everyone was happy to chip in and learn how to set up the shelters…when Luke, Sam and Caroline return they hope to use the same team of people and hopefully it’ll take much less time after having been through it once-probably two hours per shelter. While they wait for a bulk order of materials to come in they’ll head to another neighboring village tomorrow (hopefully) and assess the need there.

Things are moving fast!

For the past few days we have been splitting up and driving out to small villages along the edge of the mountains north-west of Chengdu. Yesterday, Luke and Sam visited two villages near Mianzhu and met with local officials to work out how the shelter project can help there. Caroline, and Stefanie and John from HODR have done the same further north in villages near Beichuan and have made arrangements with local government and police to return with the shelters. We now plan on returning to demonstrate the shelters and show locals how to put them up following Luke’s design plan before ordering in the first batch based on their response.

Materials were delayed due to a broken bridge and the truck having to wait for a ferry crossing for 2 days but it’s all here now and today we’re off to Bai Guo Cun - our first village to demonstrate the shelters. The nearby village of Xin Kai Cun is also involved and is sending some people over to see the shelters and place an order if they want them.

Tomorrow we’ll head further north and try and do the same near Beichuan.

What a week. Luke, Sam, and Caroline are now in Chengdu with Stefanie from Hands On Disaster Response. They’re meeting with a number of NGOs on the ground, learning how the relief effort is unfolding and headed out to villages this week to see where they can be most effective. Jackie from “putinto” website helped us find a warehouse in Chengdu and Anne got the materials for the first ten bamboo and tarpauline off into a truck and headed to Chengdu to arrive on Thursday. The gang hopes to have identified a site for testing and then will do so on Thursday as soon as materials arrive. We are also sourcing local materials so we can put as much into the local economy as possible…things like bamboo, eyelets, etc. The more that can come from Chengdu the better for everyone. Huge thanks to David Campbell and Stefanie from Hands On Disaster Response for taking in donations on our behalf—the link for donations is now officially live!