Mercy Corps and Chinese Partner Respond to Massive Earthquake

Photo: Raul Vasquez for Mercy Corps

Portland, OR — Mercy Corps is supporting the response activities of its strategic partner the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) following a devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake that ripped through China today. The news agency Xinhua reports that nearly 8,600 people were killed in the central Chinese province of Sichuan, and many more are trapped under collapsed buildings and feared dead.

"This is a terrible tragedy, and Mercy Corps is working with CFPA to help make their response as fast and effective as possible," said Paul Dudley Hart, Mercy Corps senior vice president. "We are deploying staff to support CFPA in their efforts to assess the situation and respond to the most pressing needs."

Both CFPA and Mercy Corps staff plan to travel tomorrow to Chengdu, a city about 100 km from the earthquake's epicenter in the eastern part of Sichuan. CFPA expects to provide food, water, temporary shelter and possibly medical supplies to people in the affected areas. Mercy Corps will assist with financial, material and human resources.

Mercy Corps has programs and several staff members in Sichuan. The agency has confirmed that all of its staff and beneficiaries in the province are safe, although communication with them is very difficult at this time.

Mercy Corps has a history in Sichuan Province. The agency's program Project GLOW addresses key social issues for youth of the Yi ethnic minority, a group that is often impoverished, disenfranchised and suffers from a high rate of HIV/AIDS prevalence.

CFPA has worked with Mercy Corps for seven years on poverty alleviation projects in rural areas of 14 Chinese provinces. The agency has focused on helping CFPA provide microfinance services to the Chinese rural poor, but has also collaborated on past emergency response efforts with CFPA.

Xinhua is reporting that the earthquake has left 10,000 people injured in Sichuan Province, and additional casualties have been confirmed in the provinces and municipality of Gansu, Chongqing and Yunnan. Houses, schools and factories were leveled, and roads were knocked out. Authorities reportedly have not yet reached the quake's epicenter in Wenchuan County.

HOW TO HELP:
Mercy Corps
China Earthquake Fund
Dept NR
PO Box 2669
Portland, OR 97208

www.mercycorps.org
1-800-852-2100