Needs Arise from Another Earthquake

Mercy Corps has been working with Yi families and youth for the last two years, and is now helping Yi communities affected by a devastating earthquake. Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps' emergency team in China's Sichuan Province is delivering aid to survivors of a recent earthquake, while maintaining its programs for those displaced by May's deadly tremor. We are working with a local partner to reach distant villages, where we're responding to the most urgent needs of affected families.

We need your help to respond to continuing needs across Sichuan Province.

A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern China on August 30, destroying at least 100,000 houses and affecting nearly one million people. It occurred in the southern part of Sichuan, close to the area served by Mercy Corps' Giving Leadership Opportunities to Young Women (GLOW) project<.

This region is one of the poorest in China, comprising thousands of isolated mountain villages that ethnic minorities call home. One of these ethnic groups, the Yi, has been particularly hard-hit by economic disparity, drug use and HIV/AIDS over the last several years. Losing their homes and businesses to an earthquake is the latest in a series of struggles.

A major emphasis of Project GLOW has been the active involvement of Yi communities and the integration of their unique culture. Our earthquake response team is using the same philosophy: our local partner has provided 39 staff members and volunteers who best know the affected areas and can speed relief to families.

Still, the area's terrain presents many challenges.

"The drive to one of the villages from Xichang — the largest nearby city with an airport — took almost five hours in a four-wheel drive vehicle on very bad roads," said Dee Goluba, a Mercy Corps emergency response manager. "Some of our staff is camping in tents with the local villagers. The area is about 6,200 feet in elevation and temperatures are below 40 degrees Fahrenheit at night."

Our team is distributing blankets and hygiene kits — which contain a two-week supply of health and cleaning supplies — to families. Before our arrival, none of these villages had received emergency relief, and many had not even had communication with the broader world since the earthquake occurred.

We're also working to provide counseling and group activities for children. Two staff members have trained 15 teachers and caregivers so far, with more training sessions to come. These teachers and caregivers will use what they've learned to help children recover from the trauma and loss of the earthquake.

Our partnership with China's Yi communities began in 2006. Today it's deepened with the resolve to help communities that have been devastated by the latest in a series of strong earthquakes. We need your help to reach and serve villages in one of China's poorest and most vulnerable areas.

You can help us continue our efforts — and reach out to even more earthquake-affected children — by making a donation to our Emergency Response fund.