Sichuan Earthquake

The Sichuan earthquake was tragic, and killed many people, especially in this less developed area of China. Many children were in school when the earthquake struck, and instead of being places of refuge, schools became places of death because many were built badly without professional design. Most schools also had about 5 floors, so the children could not escape and were crushed under the heavy weight of the buildings.

———-

Even though schools are destroyed, school continued on May 20, with soldiers as temporary teachers and grass as floors of classrooms.

The teacher hands out “textbooks”.

———-

The China Youth Development Foundation has been building schools in Sichuan. About $3,700 will be used to set up one classroom, holding about 50 students, and 10-20 classrooms will make one school.

Please donate to the children of this disaster! Most of the schools were destroyed during this earthquake and many teachers had died, leaving little for the students.

Children in China

Unlike in the United States, there is a HUGE disconnect between the urban areas and rural areas, and between the coastal areas and inland areas. The difference is mainly in development, or really, that urban and coastal areas have much better standards of living. As a result, the children of the other areas suffer. Heard of the stories of your great-grandparents staying home to tend the farm instead of going to school? Well, that is still the case for some children in China. Whether there is no accessible school in the area or that the family just could not afford education (yes, going to school in China costs money), many children could not get an education and end up poor the rest of their lives. As everyone knows, education is the key to success, and so providing education to these children would help them greatly.

———-

There is a well-known organization in China called the China Youth Development Foundation that sponsors Projects of Hope (希望工程), which helps with education by building schools in these areas.

The Chinese website for this organization is here. To donate or contact the organization, directions can be found here. Note that donations need to be sent through a bank transfer to a Chinese bank. Money raised through this blog will also be sent to this foundation.