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Update May 12th, 2010: Earthquake relief
Earthquake relief
Thanks to the generous donations that we received over the last 10 days we have been able to wire another 10,000 Euro to our bank account in Xining. That enabled our Gesar Volunteer Team to buy flour for the amount of 2000 Euro, rice for the amount of 5000 Euro and tsampa for the amount of 2000 Euro as well as renting space in a big truck for transport. All this food has been distributed in Yushu, in the surrounding villages and beyond.
We also bought lots of baby clothes in Xining. They have been distributed in Jyekundo itself. So far 20 mothers who just had given birth received them. That was a very moving event.
Initially the government declared only Yushu County to be disaster area, but recently it has included the other counties within the prefecture. For it turns out that many villages that lie further away from the destroyed city Jyekundo - all the way up north to Zadoi and Dönda - have also been hit. That means that the people in Chenduo County will also get some help in the future from the government in terms of rebuilding their houses. Food is different matter. Our volunteer team had already been at some of these places and provided some relief in terms of food.
Because our Volunteer Team is also looking for volunteers at other places it also went back to Khandha to make further connections with the schoolmaster of the destroyed school there. He offered to be available and help both with providing earthquake relief and with developing ideas about education. Our key volunteers, Sojong, Samba Tachi and Shauchwa will continue to work for the Gesar Fund, also after Nyima Kunga leaves for Holland in a few days. Shauchwa resumed her work as a school teacher; now in a big tent as the school building is unsafe.
The earthquake and our health care projects
Since the doctors at the Chenduo hospital that the Gesar Fund works with are all required to work in Jyekundo our Tuberculosis project has come to a halt, at least for the time being. The TB project required 4 doctors to travel in our medical car to remote places and monasteries for long periods of time. Right now this is impossible. They cannot be missed. The hospital, however, also asked our help in fighting hepatitis which is wide spread and gets even more wide spread now. Families need to be tested but the government policy is that people have to pay for the tests themselves. Those who have no income do not show up for the testing. The tests cost about 2 Euro per person. We decided that for this year the money that was meant for fighting TB will be used to offer free testing to people that have no job and no money to pay for the testing themselves. The vaccination will be carried out by the government.
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