The people of China and abroad have rallied brilliantly to help the victims of the Sichuan earthquake. But for one group of young Shanghai residents, donating money was not enough.
When Clark Wang heard about the Sichuan earthquake devastation, he immediately wanted to help. Like so many people, the Shanghai businessman had never experienced a disaster on this scale before.
"When I first realized what had happened, I was shocked, it was just unbelievable," says Wang, 23. "First I heard the Jin Mao Tower had been evacuated as people there felt an earthquake. So I called my friend who worked there and was reassured it was not dangerous."
After searching Websites, the Shanghai native realized the Shanghai "quake" was just an aftershock following the enormous 8.0-magnitude quake in Sichuan Province in southwest China.
"When I realized the extent of the disaster, I felt so distraught, especially when I heard that so many children had been killed," he says. "I have never experienced anything like this before as I was not born when China suffered a similar disaster - the Tangshan earthquake in the 1976."
But he was desperate to help in any way he could.
"I started talking with my colleagues about how we could help. First we thought of a donation box, but we soon realized that this was too small a gesture," he says.
Instead Wang decided to take the money to buy food, clothes and medicine and personally deliver it to those affected worst by the quake. "We collected water purifiers, anti-infection spray, high fever and sickness medicine and bandages. We also took food high in sugar like cookies and small treats for children such as candies and little toys."
Wang and three colleagues - Sarah Li, 22, Wu Min, 29, and Jojo Chen, 23 - then flew to the earthquake-ravaged area.
"We knew it was dangerous but we had searched the Internet beforehand to prepare. We also looked for where we would be most useful as we did not have specific skills like medicine or construction to directly help the rescue efforts," he says.
The group flew to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, where they joined a volunteer group which organized 32 vehicles to carry aid to people who were suffering in the aftermath.
Only able to spend three days in the area, the four Shanghai volunteers made three stops in Sichuan, the first in Anxian Town.
"When we arrived, I felt quite relived as the area did not seem to have suffered as much damage as we had thought," Wang says.
A camp had been built for people who were worried about follow-up earthquake tremors and did not want to stay in their homes, he says. "There was a shortage of medicine, so we donated our first pack there."
After Anxian, the volunteers moved on to Beichuan County which "came as a huge shock." Beichuan, one of the worst-hit areas.
"It was very heart-wrenching to see the children there. Many had lost their entire families. They were so young and innocent. They were dressed in very dirty clothes and none of them smiled or laughed. It was a very somber environment," he recalls sadly. "Many of them were crying and the girls tried to comfort them. But what could they say that would help?"
During their brief stay, the volunteers helped build makeshift shelters and hand out food rations.
"The adults there appreciated everything and as we passed them food, they looked into our eyes and said 'thank you.' I could tell that it was from the heart which was so emotional," Wang recalls.
Returning to their hotel in Chengdu on Saturday night, Wang experienced first hand the terror of an earthquake.
"At 1.10am I was woken by what felt like someone violently shaking my bed. At first I thought it was Jojo on the bunk bed below me. But after about 10 seconds we all realized what was happening. It was an aftershock," Wang says.
Terrified, the four ran out into the street. "The aftershock measured just 2.5 on the Richter scale, so you can imagine what a quake of 8.0 must have felt like," he says.
Shaken but not deterred, they returned to their room about an hour later and tried to sleep.
"But my bed was destroyed and we were very nervous. So we slept with our clothes on and left our bags near the door so we could make a quick exit if needed," Wang says.
On their final day in Sichuan, the group made their final stop in Xiaba. "They were short of everything and all the buildings there were totally destroyed," Wang says. "It was like being in a dream seeing such devastation.''
The group returned to Shanghai on Monday joining the rest of the city in the three-minute national mourning.
"After seeing Sichuan, I realize how lucky I am. It was a good experience to help with my own hands rather than just give money. But even if you donate just one yuan you have helped," says Wang.
Source: Shanghai Daily/Xinhua
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