Net users ally forces to safeguard orphans

• Source: Global Times
• [08:29 April 21 2010]
• Comments

The orphans arrive at Beijing West Railway Station Tuesday. Photo: Courtesy of Daqi.com

By Wu Jie

Fifteen children from an orphanage in quake-stricken Yushu arrived at Beijing West Railway Station Tuesday afternoon, thanks to a successful campaign that involved the assistance of hundreds of Web users.

The campaign was initiated Thursday on portal website Daqi.com, volunteer Shen Jian said Tuesday.

It was a post pleading for help from Beijinger Li Xinlu, 2003 founder of the Tse Reh Orphanage in Yushu, that provoked the humanitarian online response, according to Shen.

The 15 orphans aged between 9 and 17, along with two Tibetan teachers, had all been transported Tuesday to a rural resort where they will stay for two months, said Qiu Lili, a volunteer with the non-government organization Angelmom.

"They are well except two who felt a little under the weather after 26 hours on the train," Qiu said. "They won't return to Qinghai until everything there goes back to normal."

The Tse Reh Orphanage had 30 orphans when the 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit and the nearby school collapsed, according to Angelmom.

"Fortunately, none of the children were injured as they were on their way to school when the quake struck," Li said.

Half of the children received local help and were taken off to safe shelter, but 15 remained around the rubble facing aftershocks and overnight temperatures of -3 C, Shen said. That's when Web users combined forces and swung into cooperative action.

Through volunteers from the official China Charities Aid Foundation for Children, the 15 children were taken to Xining, Qinghai Province Friday where a Web user surnamed Wang of the local railway bureau bought them tickets to Beijing the next day.

Next Angelmom, an organization that helps disadvantaged children under the auspices of the Foundation, offered to pay for all accommodation and catering expenses for the children in Beijing.

The Association of Social Work Child Welfare League of China has also offered help to children in Qinghai.

They had two volunteers go to Yushu with a truck of relief supplies, said association staff member Xu Lina Tuesday.

"They are on the way," Xu said. "We will develop a long-term sponsorship program with the local orphan schools to provide one-on-one counseling to the students according to our experience from the same pro-gram that started in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province in 2008."

The Tse Reh orphans were lucky, said Li Zhiyi, a volunteer who just arrived at the quake-stricken area.

"I'm in the worst town of Giegu. There are plenty more children waiting for help," Li said.