A personal account of MH Aid Mission to China(May 2008) By N. Drummond & T. Nasir

“This room was recently prepared for my son’s wedding,”77-year-old widow Schokaygway tells us with a look ofsadness. Pointing through a door frame that now leads ontothe pile of debris that was once a room, she surveys thefurniture and personal effects lying broken on the floor.

Schokaygway lives with her daughter and son-in-law inShifang County, one of the areas worst affected by the May12th earthquake. She was indoors when the earthquakestruck at 2:28PM, but managed to escape before the housecollapsed. Her son-in-law was seriously injured but all of thefamily survived alhamdulillah. A bed and other salvagedpossessions now sit in the courtyard beneath the plasticcanopy of a makeshift tent which affords protection from rainbut grants little from the sweltering heat. When we visitedSchokaygway mid-morning to deliver foodstuffs and financialassistance, temperatures were already in the mid thirties(Celsius) and rising.

Standing outside the small house it was hard to imagine theterror the 8.3 magnitude quake must have caused when itstruck. What was still evident, from the rows of collapsedbuildings and twisted metal of crushed cars, was the scale ofthe devastation and the massive number of people affected.(continued overleaf)

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Muslim HandsSICHUAN EARTHQUAKE APPEAL

“This room was recentlyprepared for my son’swedding”77-year-old widow Schokaygway.Shifang County, China

69,500Killed

18,000Missing

10,250Aftershocks

375,500Injured

EARTHQUAKE APPEALSICHUAN CHINA

Our journey to the earthquake-affectedregion in South-West China – an area

stretching for over 100km in each directionaround the epicentre in Wenchuan County –had begun in bustling Beijing the previous day.We had flown for three hours to reachChengdu City, capital of Sichuan Province andhome to 11 million people. The final 90km ofour journey saw us travelling by car over rocky,dusty and at times hazardous roads stillawaiting repair.

As we arrived at our destination in Luoshui, aonce bustling town of markets and smallshops, we drove through deserted streetsdevoid of the usual morning activity. A teamfrom MH China led by Daleel Ulkhairat hadarrived in the town four days after the quakestruck and have since been providingresidents with three hot meals daily andcarrying out regular rice and cooking oildistribution.Inside Luoshui, an ethnicallyand religiously mixed town,we visited the main mosquewhich, despite being badlydamaged by theearthquake, had beenturned into a base ofoperations and local aiddistribution centre.

Entering the grounds of themosque we were greeted bycheerful MH volunteers cooking large pots ofrice, vegetables and chicken for the lunchtimemeal.

To discuss the progress of MH aid work andforeseeable needs we met with the mayor ofthe town who conveyed his thanks to MuslimHands and our donors who have assisted thelocal community. The Chinese government haslaid plastic water pipes supplying safe waterand plastic sheeting has been distributed, butthe most pressing needs are for continuedfood distribution and rugged tents which willlast for the upwards of six months it will takemost residents to begin even thinking aboutreconstruction or relocation.Alhamdulillah, to date Muslim Hands hasdistributed over 25 tonnes of foodstuffs andthousands of litres of cooking oil in Luoshui,and has committed to supplying 550 tentscosting £30,000.

The most poignant moment of the trip wasundoubtedly a visit to the local school whereover 30 children had died, 13 in one classalone. Amongst those killed was 11 year old

Aysa Ali whose mother Fatima and fatherYaqub broke down as we visited the schoolsite and looked down upon the remains of theclassroom where Aysa had sat. Schoolbagsand notebooks scattered amongst the rubblegave an indication of how little time there wasto escape between the earthquake and thebuilding collapsing.

China’s controversial one-child-per-familypolicy has left many households childlessfollowing the quake. Yet, having watchedchildren greet us with smiles and playingoblivious to the devastation around – as onlychildren can – there is hope insha’Allah thatwith our continued support and commitment,affected communities can recover from thephysical and psychological damage.

Despite the calamity, people in the arearemain extremely friendly, determined and

dignified. Fatimahhad both her foodshop and homelevelled by thequake, thoughalhamdulillah noneof her family werehurt. Her familyreceive aidassistance fromMuslim Hands andshe has beenhelping organise

MH rice distribution and invited us to see thetent she shares with 6 others. Fatimahrecalled how she felt when the earthquakestruck, “Allah made us afraid but He forgaveus as we are still alive.”

Luoshui mosque destroyed and injured Imam

Fatima mourns her only son at his school

Communal meal at MH Feeeing Centre

MH Feeding Centre provides cooked meals

Rice and oil distribution in Luoshui

Muslim HandsSICHUAN EARTHQUAKE APPEAL

Donation Hotline: +44 (0)115 9117222 www.muslimhands.org

Muslim Hands hasdistributed over 25 tonnes offoodstuffs and thousands oflitres of cooking oil inLuoshui, and has committedto supplying 550 tents costing£30,000.

“Allah made us afraid but He forgave usas we are still alive.” Fatimah. Luoshui, China

How you can help...

£45: Family Food ParcelIncludes enough rice and cooking oilto feed 6 people for one month.

£75: Tent for Homeless Family16 square meter durable tent for 6to 8 persons

£300: Help run the MH FeedingCentresFeed 100 people 3 freshly cookedhot meals for one day