The UK-based international developement agency Christian Aid is responding to the huge magnitude earthquake that hit China’s Sichuan province on 12 May through the work of the Amity Foundation, a recognised NGO.
Despite an aftershock yesterday that has worsened conditions and heavy rains making roads impassable, they have deployed staff to the affected region and are coordinating work through local organisations on the ground.
The Amity Foundation is preparing to provide 8,000 blankets to some of the poorest families affected by the disaster and 8,000 plastic sheets to families who have been made homeless. Food will be provided to 16,000 of the most vulnerable in areas facing food shortages.
Once the initial needs have been met, the Amity Foundation will begin the process of rehabilitation, rebuilding houses, schools and clinics destroyed by the earthquake. They will also ensure that people in the Sichuan and other affected provinces have access to clean water by rehabilitating damaged water and irrigation systems.
As a Chinese organisation that has been engaged in relief work for 20 years, the Amity Foundation is well placed to respond to this emergency.
With an estimated 3.5 million homes destroyed, and as downpours continue, providing some degree of protection for those whose houses have been destroyed is critical.
Although Christian Aid has not launched an appeal to respond to the disaster, it is funding the Amity Foundation’s response through Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, a global alliance which brings together churches and other related agencies to respond to emergencies around the world.