Yushu Earthquake Appeal and News Highlights
As of 20 May 2010, Tibet Foundation has received a total sum of £ 96,898.03 – raised both online and offline.
This amount includes donations received from individual supporters and donor organisations (raised from their members/network for Yushu Earthquake relief efforts). A big ‘Thugjey Chey’ to all of you who have donated to the Yushu Earthquake Relief Fund, through Tibet Foundation or other organizations.
Our Appeal target for the period (May 2010 - May 2015) is GBP 1 million and our medium to long terms projects will focus in the areas of education, health and poverty relief for the most vulnerable sections of the population in Yushu.
Please donate and encourage your friends to help us achieve the appeal target in the coming months and years as we develop and present concrete, project proposals. So far, we have donated GBP 15,000 towards the purchase of 1,000 woollen blankets to schools and the elderly. (see update of 27th April). In the coming few weeks and months, we are considering releasing a second instalment of funding for emergency relief project in and around Kyegudo.
The Government has begun the rebuilding and rehabilitation projects with the declared aim of making the new Kyegudo ‘an ecological tourist city’. But due to extreme weather conditions, high altitude, poor transportation infrastructure, high construction costs, and insufficient power supply, it will take time. Tibet Foundation will seek to fill gaps in the assistance to communities in the more remote townships and villages and in terms of special requirements for vulnerable groups.
The death toll from a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in Kyegudo (Yushu) that devastated the township and surrounding areas has climbed to 2,203, and 12,000 injured including more than 1,000 in serious conditions according to the Rescue Headquarters in Qinghai.
Many badly injured and traumatised orphans and semi-orphans have been brought at the Children’s Hospital in Xining, the capital city of Qinghai. Akhu Gyamtsho has been voluntarily coordinating aid and visits to offer comfort, friendship, love and affection and presents to these children.
The little girl in hospital, aged ten, has lost her parents and sister in the earthquake. She and others like her are being comforted by caring visitors with presents, toys and cash gifts. Her surviving grandparents are too poor to afford to come to visit her from Yushu, a distance of 800 kms. She says, “I want to send all of 200 yuan I have to my folks back home in Yushu.” The reporter chokes, and with tears of empathy offers to give all help get her grandparents to visit her.
Local Tibetans, monks, nuns and Tibetan students from the Minority Nationalities University in Xining have been coming to give them company, encouragement, hope and cheer to cope with their mental anguish, loss of parents and loved ones and severe physical and mental trauma.
With fresh memory of the catastrophic earthquake of Wenchuan in 2008, the Chinese Government and people mobilized various relief efforts and fund raising. Both Premier Wen Jiabao and Chairman Hu Jintao cut short official duties to visit Yushu and promised to rebuild the town and rehabilitate the people. That will take time and the people of Yushu await with patience and forebearance and hope.
A major fund raising Gala night organized by China Central TV with China Red Cross has raised 2.1 billions yuans. Ten-year Tsering Dhondup was honoured at the charity event for his voluntary services as an interpreter during the emergency medical treatment in Yushu. There was a shortage of bilingual speakers during the early stage of emergency relief work. He broke down when singing the verse by the Sixth Dalai Lama, “O White crane, Lend me your wings, I shall not go far, From Lithang, I shall return”, perhaps, realizing that many of his near and dear ones who had perished in the earthquake will never return.
Tibetan monks were at the forefront of the rescue effort. Wang Yuhu, Governor of Yushu is quoted as saying. “Actually, we are very grateful for the role Tibetan monks played in the relief effort.” China Daily (official state media) had a front page describing how crucial the monks were to the relief process: “Hundreds, if not thousands, of Tibetan Buddhist monks in crimson cloaks and jackets have joined the soldiers and rescue workers since the afternoon of April 14.”
“A total of 900 monks from local monasteries alone have joined in the rescue and relief work. The first group arrived at epicentre at 4 pm, a few hours after the earthquake happened. We rescued more than 700 survivors, and helped find more than 1,000 bodies under the ruins.” Wang said.
Sershul Monastery in Kandze Prefecture has donated 11.27 million yuan (£1.27 million) to quake-hit Yushu County on Friday, including 10 million yuan from the temple’s head lama, Tripa Rinpoche. “We had planned to use the money to repair our temple, but now, it is our responsibility to donate it,” Tripa Rinpoche said, “I see so many Han people and Tibetans carrying out the rescue and relief effort together, and I am deeply touched by them,” he said.
Tibetans from all regions, far and near had mobilized themselves to donate whatever meagre resources they had: money, tsampa, butter, cheese, yaks, sheep and goats. A single Tibetan nomad family from Arig has donated 200 sheep. A group of ten Tibetan traders have raised over a 1 million yuan. Even school children, both Tibetan and Han, have held events to raise funds for Yushu.
Whereas the Government will go ahead with the major task of infrastructure building and development planning on a long term scale, charities like Tibet Foundation, can contribute in targeted areas of need in consultation with local, regional and central Governments. Internationally, Tibetans in diaspora as well as Tibet related NGOs sympathetic to Tibet and other charitable organisations have started raising funds for the victims of Yushu Earthquake. Everyone will have roles and contributoins to make to the rebuilding and rehabilitation work ahead.
Tibet Foundation formed the Yushu Earthquake Relief Committee (YERC) on Monday, 19 April 2010 in the presence of representatives from UK based Tibet-related charities and organisations with the aim of supervising, monitoring, accounting and reporting the proper utilisation of the funds for the victims of Yushu Earthquake. Periodic reports and statements of accounts of the aid projects in Yushu will be made available at the completion of each project.
We appeal for patience and continued support and generous donations in the coming months and years. Together we can make a big difference to the rebuilding and rehabilitation of the Kyegudo.
Yushu Earthquake Relief Committee
Tibet Foundation
2 St James’s Market
London SW1Y 4SB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 207 930 6001
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Yushu Earthquake Relief Update
The Central government has announced that whereas the complete rebuilding of Yushu township would take up to five years, temporary accommodation and provisions for health, education and basic infrastructure and civic services are being provided as quickly as realistically possible. The government welcomes all forms of aid processed through officially sanctioned NGOs and private organizations both from within the country and from abroad.
Our donors and supporters must be reminded that given the need for long term planning and massive infrastructural rebuilding that the Government has to undertake, any kind of aid whether in cash or kind, is welcomed. The amount of donations raised so far through Tibet Foundation is by no means substantial enough to make any immediate impact to alleviate the hardship and suffering of the people of Yushu.
What our Field Officers have managed to do is to liaise with the local authorities of Yushu and respond immediately to one priority area of emergency need for warm blankets given the wintry conditions prevailing there. Special, high quality woollen blankets were specially ordered on an emergency basis from Chengdu.
Our Field Officer Sonam Wangchuk phoned from Kandze on May 8th. With the fullest cooperation and support of the authorities in Beijing and Chengdu, the convoy carrying specially ordered blankets reached Yushu where they were very warmly welcomed by Mr Nihau and Mr Gyurme, the officers in charge of the Reception Office for Overseas Tibetans.
Though the devastated town is still in ruins, various levels of Government and aid organizations are taking care of the basic emergency needs such as food, shelter, clothing and water. On May 9th, with their help and the cooperation of the local authorities, our Field officers were able to organize the immediate distribution of the specially ordered blankets to the following priority cases on the recommendation of the local authorities:
- 500 children in Yushu Orphanage: 500 children
- 120 people in the Yushu Self-help Centre
- 300 students of Yushu Minorities Middle School, and
- 80 students of Yushu Primary School at Odro
The Yushu Earthquake Relief Committee has set the ambitious target of raising £ 1 million pounds in the next five years.
We are a long way from achieving that target. As of Thursday 6th May, the total value of donations from various quarters amounts to GBP 68,603.31 Given the need for aid in many different areas, we need to raise much more funds in order to strengthen our capacity to fund more targeted relief projects. Creative ideas and practical suggestions and activities by our members, friends and well wishers to raise more funds will be most welcome.
Tibet Foundation is in touch with the concerned authorities in London, Beijing, Chengdu and Yushu about the coordinating our aid efforts within the framework of the Government’s long term plans for rebuilding and rehabilitating the people of Yushu. This will take time as well as much more funds and therefore, all friends and supporters of Tibet Foundation need to redouble our efforts at fund raising for Yushu in the coming weeks, months and years.
We can assure all potential donors and supporters that we have the assurance of the fullest cooperation of the Government authorities for our aid projects.
Tsering D Gonkatsang
Chairman
Yushu Earthquake Relief Committee
Tibet Foundation
Yushu Earthquake - Update
Seeing some reports in a few Tibetan websites that foreign aid was being “blocked” by the Government, I got in touch with our contacts at the Chinese Embassy here in London and in Beijing.
Their explanation is that far too many different groups of people from outside are rushing into Yushu Township without proper planning, organization or official permission. Such uncontrolled influx of different groups coming to help with good intention, creates problems of organization and distribution. I was assured that the Tibet Foundation will have no difficulties and that our Field Officers will get whatever official assistance is required to deliver the relief aid.
In the morning I called our Field Officer in Chengdu and he said
“The Government authorities are giving us their fullest cooperation. Yesterday (28th) my meeting with the authorities including Ma Turing went very, very well. They gave us special ‘Permit’ for safe passage of our relief goods to be transported directly to Yushu as well as letters of introduction and recommendation letters to responsible authorities in Yushu asking them to extend their full cooperation to Tibet Foundation.”
“The money has arrived in the bank. But the money sent was a little short of what is needed for the goods that we have ordered. I’ll update you with how much is needed.”
“As for the drinking water situation in Yushu is concerned, unlike places in mainland China, Tibetan areas, especially in places like Yushu County, there are lots of rivers and streams flowing from hills. I am in contact with reliable individual people and officials in Yushu. They all reassure me that adequate water is being made available to the people. Many water-purifying machines have also been installed. I strongly feel that we need not buy and deliver any additional water from outside Yushu.”
This morning (29th), in response to the request of our Field Officer, we sent another £5.000. Although we sent money by bank-to-bank transfer (express service), it seems that in China it will take at least four days to be processed.
Phuntsog Wangyal