Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Tragedy in China

As everybody knows by now there has been a devastating earthquake in west central China. So far, 10s of thousands are dead and countless more are wounded and homeless. They are all terrified. There are so many ways to help right now through the many organizations that benefit the orphans in China. Many have geared up to help all children and thus families in need.

The Rumor Queen site has many links to all the ways that a person can help. Every little bit counts; especially for us that feel so powerless to help when the sheer magnitude and horror of it all seems insurmountable.

I hurt when others are in pain and it is made that much more acute knowing that the people who are suffering are from our children's place of birth. As a friend of mine so eloquently put it; these people are now my people.

Marc and I received this e-mail from the director of the Love Without Boundaries Education Program as we sponsor a college student just North of the epicenter. The student is from the same province as Katie is from and that is no accident. Destiny paired us with a student long before we received Katie's referral from this remote area where few referrals come from.

Here is what she had to say after a long night of worrying and fact finding ~

Every student in the Mama's Wish Program is now accounted for and they are all safe. It has been such a sad day, but I am relieved to know that our teachers and students are fine.

----- Forwarded Message ----From: 尖措 To: Angela
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 7:22:04 PMSubject: 回复: Earthquake
Dear Angela;
The earthquake happened yesterday afternoon and I called the college students yesterday evening but the phone line did not work, i called them again around nine this morning, they said that could not sleep last night in the fear of earthquake, so they stayed in the playground, This morning they went to dormitory for a short time sleep, they are very safe, and they will start class this afternoon.
places in Qinghai are fine and did not happen anything, Thank you very much for your kindness and worry about us.
All the best wishes for you!
Jiancuo


Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the affected people of China.

4 comments:

Heather said...

Hey Lori,
Have you heard if our girls' SWIs are ok? I emailed GWCA but don't know if they will respond. If the people in Beijing felt waves of the earthquake, surely the people in Gansu did as Gansu is not too far away from the epicenter, just next door. I heard of 48 deaths in Gansu, but am unsure of the details. CaiCai's family is leaving soon to bring her home and I hope all is well. My heart breaks for the people.

Happy Gotcha Day tomorrow. Can you believe it's been 2 years? I told Libby that 2 years ago today Daddy and Mommy climbed all the way to the top of the Great Wall of China--she wasn't impressed! She probably wouldn't have been impressed with my trip to the world's most scenic squatty potty either! :) Give Katie a hug for us.

love,
Heather

Kristy said...

Lori this is really a great post! Let's keep praying.
Love, Kristy

M3 said...

Devastating, just devastating.

Tammie said...

There are no words that could ever really explain the how & why of these terrible events. I just pray that China gets on her feet again & her people recover as much as possible. I'm glad to hear that the student you sponsor is okay.