Response to China Disaster

SICHUAN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF, CHINA

The Shifang Middle-School where 150 pupils and teachers perished when four floors collapsed.

  The earthquake which struck the northern regions of the Sichuan Province in

  southwestern China 12, 2008, measured 8.0 on the Richter Scale. In the worst

  natural disaster that has struck the People's Republic of China, 68,858 people

  have been killed, 366,586 injured and 18,618 are missing (official state figures

  as of June 1, 2008). In some cases, entire families have been wiped out. In

  others, as a consequence of the 'One-Child' Policy, many parents have lost their

  children. Communities have lost their means of livelihood while infrastructure

  has broken down. Once popular places like Dujiangyan have become 'Ghost

  Towns' with most structures being declared as unsafe. These conditions have

  led to an unprecedented relocation of people. Concrete homes have now given

way to tent cities that go as far as the eye can see. The stench of raw sewage, rotting garbage and chlorine permeate the air. The onset of the summer and wet seasons continue to pose bigger challenges to the sanitation and hygiene issues. There is also an enormous strain on the volunteer aid relief efforts.

The loss of every aspect of a secure life - loved ones, homes and infrastructure – has caused a complete human breakdown. Both for the victims and the relief volunteers.

 

A tent city in devastated Dujiangyan that stretches as far as the

eye can see “No matter how much you have seen and heard, nothing

… nothing, can possibly prepare you for the tragedy that hit the

Shifang Middle-School. 150 pupils and teachers perished under the

debris and rubble when four floors collapsed onto each other.”

- A member, Art of Living Foundation Trauma Relief Sichuan Mission

Shifang school is one of the many stories of devastation which the

earthquake has left in its wake. Recalls a little girl of 14 years,

“I remember being buried with my dead classmates around me

under the concrete pile and mess. Only three others survived.” These children, especially, require post-trauma care.

Relief Camps

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar directed an international team of Art of Living teachers and volunteers to assist in the immediate search and rescue efforts. The team implemented the first phase of relief efforts which involved providing medical supplies and other essentials to hospitals like the German Red Cross Field Disaster Hospital in Dujiangyan.

 

  A trauma-relief workshop at the Jiu Zhou Sports Stadium Refugee Camp

  Simultaneously, the team began to implement the second stage of relief

  work: trauma-care. Trauma-relief workshops which teach breath techniques

  that release stress from the system are conducted on a daily basis in

  different affected locations. A total of 53 workshops have conducted in

  Sichuan, benefiting 2007 people.

  A trauma-relief, drop-in centre has been established for volunteers of the

  Communist Youth League, the coordinating agency for search and recovery

  of victims. The volunteers, returning from the frontline, bear psychological

  imprints of the earthquake. Releasing the trauma witnessed by the scenes

  of devastation give the volunteers the strength to return to the sites.

The team is reaching out to as many refugee camps as possible, including the Jiu Zhou Sports Refugee Camp where trauma-relief programs have benefited 160 refugees.

Simultaneously, at Sichuan University, 90 psychology students have been oriented to become facilitators at Art of Living Programs. The People's Number 4 Hospital, the faculty of the Chengdu Paotongshu Primary School and over 350 personnel of the Sheraton, Intercontinental and the Kempinski hotels in Chengdu are some of the others who have undergone the workshop.

Trauma Relief For Children

“When people especially care-givers—such as parents, rescue and relief

 volunteers—are in trauma, how can they adequately attend to others in

need? … the most disturbing consequence is that children suffer the

greatest in the end …When children have cried all they can and are unable

to express themselves further, where else can they turn to for emotional

support and affection?” - AOLF Trauma Relief Sichuan Mission

Team Leader

 

Learning stress-elimination practices at Guang Ya School

With special emphasis on reaching out to affected children, the Art of Living team is visiting schools. The present make-shift school are in quickly-constructed tents, plastic sheets and a few wooden stools.

Carrying with them a few essentials to liven the sombre atmosphere, our team conducts special

workshops for children which help children use their breath to release stress. Taught through fun and games, these processes act as a powerful trauma-relieving tool.

“Please thank those teachers for me. After doing the exercises, I feel my inside is freed. I feel so much

more comfortable now.” -A 14-year-old girl, survivor of Shifang school tragedy

Trauma-relief programs have been conducted in primary schools such as the Guang Ya School which

 have reached out to faculty, parents and children. Post-Trauma workshops have been given at a major primary school in Dujiangyan benefiting 50 school teachers, 75 secondary school students and 170

primary school students (Grade1-6). The Meng Deng School of English, Allianz Insurance, Quandi Tent School and Shi Fang Tent School are the other locations of trauma-relief workshops. The Art of Living volunteers have built a temporary school for Shifang using army tents, wooden stools and plastic sheets.

Presently, an international team of Art of Living volunteers is working on providing relief material and conducting trauma-relief programs. The Art of Living calls upon everyone to join in the relief efforts and

help the rehabilitation of the earthquake victims of China.

Future Plan:

Providing medicines and relief services for immediate relief

Reaching out to affected children, adults and relief volunteers through trauma-relief workshops

Adopting rural kindergartens to provide essentials and an engaging educational environment

Establishing a full-time operations center in Chengdu to our team's facilitate relief work