12th Email Update from Half the Sky

We are blessed with another update from Half the Sky. It looks like Sophie is "seeing" a lot of action going on at her home. The email update is below the photos.

These photos are from Half the Sky and are taken at Sophies Orphanage.

"Chengdu CWI: Even the Chinese military works nonstop for the children! Soldiers helped HTS load into army trucks emergency supplies which would be carried by helicopter to 1,000+ children stranded in Aba"

"Chengdu CWI: HTS erects the first 'BigTop' to help the orphanage prepare to receive newly orphaned children"

"Dear Friends,

First, an update on the air lift to remote Aba Prefecture. No less than 40u niformed soldiers arrived at the Chengdu CWI yesterday to load two big trucks with emergency goods for the 1,000 stranded children of Aba. We’rewaiting now for confirmation of the air drop.

This week HTS also erected a giant Big Top at the Chengdu CWI to aid with in take and shelter for new arrivals.

Ma Lang and Yang Lei, two of our intrepid team members traveled to Leigu, in hard-hit Beichuan, along with some young volunteers from the Jiuzhou Stadium. They knew the situation was dire, as this is the site of one of the “quake lakes” threatening to overflow. But they also knew there weremore than 2,000 children of all ages in those villages and they needed help. I am so happy and relieved to tell you that the mission was a huge success!

I have placed photos of raising the big tent, loading relief goods for Abaand delivery of goods to Leigu on our website. Please visithttp://www.halfthesky.org/work/earthquake08.php

On Saturday, after we complete delivery of balance of requested relief goods, we will erect a second and even larger BigTop tent in the largest refugee settlement at Dujiangyan City, close to the epicenter of the earthquake. This will become a huge Half the Sky children’s activity center for refugee children of all ages, complete with furnishings, toys, computers, areas for art and dramatic play and reading and quiet talk, everything that a HTS center offers. With your help, this center will serve thousands of children as their lives and homes are rebuilt. And ,although we’ve already been busily working and planning, it will mark the official beginning of the second phase of our efforts - addressing the current and longt erm emotional needs of the children.

I want to tell you more about the Sichuan Caregiver Training Project that HTS has launched in partnership with the Ministry of Civil Affairs and theUS-based National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement. Thanks to on eof our supporters, we were put in touch with David Schonfeld, director ofthe NCSCB and perhaps the world’s fore most authority on child bereavement. Since its inception after 9/11, the NCSCB has counseled and been are source for governments, schools and organizations, especially those confronted by large numbers of children traumatized by disaster. From hurricanes to wars to school shootings, this organization has a long history and understanding of child trauma, what to expect and how best to respond.

Half the Sky is so fortunate to have the NCSCB’s help as we embark on this journey. There are so many unknowns for all of us - We at HTS have nevertried to provide services mid-disaster - and our advisers from the NCSCB have not much experience working in China. Knowing we can rely on eachother's expertise, I feel confident that HTS, and other NGOs that we hope will join us in this effort, can have substantial impact, both in these early days and down the road as the long process of recovery unfolds.

During the weekend, I toured hard-hit towns, children’s shelters and orphanages with the MCA, trying to get an overview of the situation. HTS’director, child development, Ma Lang has, of course, been in Sichuan since May 16 on our behalf and was able to give us a great deal of information and insight. This week, a team of seasoned HTS field supervisors, one from each of our programs, is doing a more detailed assessment under the guidance of Ma Lang: Zhang Yuxia, Yang Lei, Zhou Dan and Anni Wang. They will give us their full report on Sunday, but here’s an excerpt from Annion the first day of observation. The need for trauma-training for caregivers is immense:

“In the tent school, as I was looking around the room, my eyes caught a little girl who was holding her school bag very tightly. She had one oft he saddest faces I have ever seen and it felt like she didn’t want to be in the classroom. She kept holding her bag and looking at the exit behind, as if she were waiting for someone. When the ‘fun activity class’ started again, she still held her bag, but then later put it down and tried to follow the teacher’s instructions. She was one of the shortest children in class but sat in the back row.

“In the ‘fun class’, the teacher kept saying: “if you are happy, smile….And clapping his hands and he said that a few times walking round the room but the little girl I mentioned didn’t smile. Not even once. I was not sure which of the children in the room were smiling because they were happy or because they were sort of asked to smile. However, I suppose the fun activities will be a distraction (at least for the time being) for children who may have lost a parent or close relative. When I was leaving the room, I waved to the little girl and she sadly waved back.”

On June 2-3, we will host a workshop for all HTS field supervisors, program directors and representatives from the MCA and CAB as well as two expert field advisors who will supervise field work in the next phase. Leading the workshop on behalf of NCSCB: Robin Gurwitch, PhD - Professorin Dept. of Pediatrics at University of Oklahoma, Program Coordinator forthe US National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement; Marleen Wong,PhD - Director of Crisis Counseling and Intervention Services at the Los Angeles Unified School District; and Suh Chen Hsiao, LCSW PPSC -Psychiatric Social Worker, Team Leader at the Los Angeles Unified School District, Specialist in Crisis Intervention.

On June 4-14, with expert advisors - Pi-Nian Chang PhD, pediatric psychologist at the University of Minnesota, Dan Zhang, MD, PhD, psychologist, counselor, Vancouver Community College, worked with survivors of Tangshan earthquake – HTS will commence field trainings for caregivers, coordinated by Sichuan provincial CAB.

Afterwards, Half the Sky will continue to work closely with government and the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement to develop along-term plan based both on the NCSCB’s extensive experience with the effect on children of similar catastrophic events and also what is learn edduring the two week period in the field. It is sincerely hoped that, during the next two weeks, many, many children will be reunited with, if not their parents, surviving family members. For those children who,sadly, cannot be reunited, Half the Sky will continue to assist as best asit can to help mitigate the long-term effects of this disaster.

Half the Sky is a small organization. We are limited by our charter to serving orphaned children. We hope that other child-focused NGOs will join us and the government in out reach. There are many thousands of children who have surviving relatives but who are nevertheless traumatized and need help.

Rebecca Chang grew up in an orphanage in China and, with HTS’ Big SistersProgram support, went to university. When she graduated, we offered her an internship in our Beijing office. She has now become a field supervisor in the Big Sisters Program and is helping us now in Sichuan.

She understands the children of this tragedy perhaps better than any of us. She sent us this story:

“The place was so dead when we arrived, everything was still, only wind was blowing. I saw a boy standing in front of the rubble of the school for a long time without a blink. I went up to him and said hi. I asked: which grade were you in? He said quietly: Fourth grade.

I squatted and said: Why are you always standing here? I saw tears coming up in his eyes. He said: My classmates are gone.

Teacher Gao got injured because of me!

I didn’t know what I could say that would make him feel better. I just reached out my hand and held his. His hand was cold, so cold. When I was about to leave, I was trying to hold back my tears and asked: What do you want to do the most now?

He lowered his head and answered in a shaking voice,‘ I want to go to school, but my school is not here any more.’

Thank you!

with love, JennyJenny Bowen"

(After reading this and seeing the pictures I have a better understanding of why our adoption was put on hold. It looks like they are pretty busy at the orphanage. They should just tell us that. I am so glad we learned about this this evening!!")

11th Email Update from Half the Sky

"Dear Friends,

I want first to give you an update on our efforts to get food and shelter to the 1,000 orphaned and displaced children in Aba. The roads are now closed.

We asked our colleagues at the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) to see if we can possibly bring the desperately-needed goods in by helicopter. A couple of hours ago, moments after the latest giant aftershock, we got good news -a helicopter for Aba tomorrow! More soon -

Yesterday morning, when I arrived in Chengdu, I was invited by MCA to visit some of the hardest-hit sites. We visited Dujiangyan - very close to the epicenter. It was a painful day (I've put a few photos on our websitehttp://www.halfthesky.org/work/earthquake08.php - some just too sad to write about) but I was also heartened to see both how quickly the government has come in and tried to take care of the basics - building thousands of temporary shelters and schools - and how the people have come together to help each other. A sign in one of the tent cities reads, "The earthquake has destroyed our homes but it can't break our spirit."

Today we visited Mianyang Zitong CWI. A 6.4 aftershock struck moments before we arrived at the orphanage. All of the children were rushed outside and, in what's become routine now, they all sat calmly in little chairs.There were 8 new arrivals - all of them had lost their parents.

It seems they are not brought to the orphanages until officials are fairly certain that they will not be claimed by extended family. One little boy told us in a matter-of-fact way that both his parents were killed. Ma Lang, HTS' director of child development, after days assisting the displaced children staying at the Jiuzhou stadium observed, "From the volunteers' and counselors' perspectives, the children's most common signs of being traumatized included insomnia, nightmares, tearfulness, indifference, andr efusing to eat. In the first few days, the volunteers in the stadium's 'inner circle (a holding place for separated children) had to search bathrooms and corridors for children who hid there and refused to eat. Thevolunteers told me it was heartbreaking to see the children's eyes and persuade them that they should eat.

"We visited the "inner circle" at Jiuzhou stadium today. Almost all of the children who had not yet been identified by family members had been transferred to children's shelters. The Mianyang Civil Affairs director told us that many, many children had been reunited - if not with their parents, then with extended families. One of our colleagues at the MCA told us that of the 200 children who'd been brought to shelter at the Chengdu Medical College, only 18 had not been reunited with extended family. Today we met a girl who has become famous in China because she was interviewed on television by Wen JiaBao. It was believed her parents had died. He tried to comfort her. Soon after, her parents were located.

Although they haven't yet been able to get to Mianyang to pick her up, today we met one happy little girl. The media has been making much of the idea of thousands of orphans. Our friends at MCA are not certain this is true and, to be honest, the situation is still too fluid to pin down the numbers. There are certainly many, many children with uncertain status. And they are traumatized and very much need consistent, caring support.

Provincial CAB (Civil Affairs Bureau) has begun the process of sending displaced children to structurally-sound colleges, military bases, welfare institutions, and other facilities. In less-stable areas, where there are fears of flooding and environmental issues, children housed in some temporary facilities are being transferred, yet again. Almost every orphanage has been advised that they should prepare for new arrivals. We met a few sad little faces yesterday at the Chengdu CWI; they are told to expect at least 100 more. The director at Zitong CWI told me the same thing. And so did the director at Guiyang CWI in Guizhou! The truth is, I believe, nobody yet knows.

These past days, the MCA has been working to draft recommendations for the care of displaced and orphaned children. I believe they will release an official statement soon. After two days traveling with MCA officials, one thing is clear - government is extremely concerned that every effort be made to reunite children with surviving relatives before adoption by non-relatives of orphaned children is even considered.

Meanwhile, tent schools are quickly being established wherever children are sheltered. There is a great desire to give the children the comfort of settling into a routine and regular attendance at school is seen as key. I visited a large tent city in Dujiangyan yesterday and the scene at 4:30 pm, with children streaming out of the temporary school toward dozens of waiting parents, was identical to that taking place in Chinese cities and towns every day.

HTS is working hard to complete its emergency relief efforts and turn its attention towards the effort for which it is better equipped - helping orphaned children begin to recover emotionally. By the end of the coming week, with your extraordinary generosity and the help of the amazing crew atGung-Ho Films, we will have purchased and delivered more than 30 tons of tents, medicines, food and formula, children's clothing, diapers and other infant supplies. With the helicopter to Aba and the purchase today of anemergency vehicle to transport orphaned and displaced children for 9 counties and one city, we will have answered every urgent request to take care of the children's basic needs. Now we move on to try to address thoseneeds no less urgent, but more elusive in every way.

Tomorrow (Monday, May 26) Half the Sky will launch its Sichuan Caregivers Training Project. I am thrilled, honored and very, very excited to tell youthat HTS will work under the guidance of the fore most child trauma and bereavement specialists in the world, the National Center on School Traumaand Bereavementhttp://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/svc/alpha/s/school-crisis/default.htm.Based at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital, but comprising an international network of child trauma experts, the Center grew from the tragedy of theTerrorist Attacks of 9/11 and has served as a resource during hurricanes,s chool shootings, airline disasters and wars. Together with NCSTB and MCA, HTS will hold a two-day planning workshop, June 3-4 in Chengdu. Three experts from the Center will lead the workshop. Attending will be four volunteer pediatric psychologists and psychiatric social workers, HTS team of 15 field supervisors, our program directors and officials from MCA and Sichuan CAB. That will be the start of what willlikely be a long-term project to help children orphaned by the disaster tore cover and rebuild their lives.

I'll send along further details of the Caregivers Training Project soon. It's almost midnight and I'm exhausted. I've had two days on the road through a landscape filled with aching sadness, determination and hope.

More tomorrow!
Thank you!with love, Jenny"

10th Email Update from Half the Sky

"Dear Friends,

Today we were starting the process of wrapping up the major portion of our orphanage relief efforts. With your help, we have purchased and delivered or are in the process of delivering huge amounts of medicines and medical supplies, tents, cribs, cots, bedding, baby formula, diapers, kids clothing and shoes, rice, noodles, cooking oil, water, powdered milk, bowls, cups, towels, mosquito repellent and much, much more. As we finalized plans to ship, then bring in engineers to erect two giant tents to house hundreds of newly orphaned children, we got an emergency call from Aba Civil Affairs Bureau.

They are caring for approximately 1,000 orphaned and displaced children, most of whom are 7-12 years old. There are over 100 infants. They’d been placing the children in local shelters but had just received news that 70 more children are on the way. There are no more tents and no more beds for them. Further, they urgently need powdered milk and diapers. And they need foods that don’t require cooking as most of their cooking stove sand supplies have been destroyed. They need so much they can’t even give us an estimate.

The roads to Aba are dangerous but the need is tremendous. We have obtained the necessary road pass and organized a convoy of three trucks. Our senior preschool field supervisor, Yang Lei, will be leading the effort along with Aba drivers who are familiar with the dangers. It’s a 3 day round-trip and they leave at dawn. I am so thankful our Half the Sky staff are as tough as they are!

Stop presses! -- Just as I finished writing the above, I received the following email.

The situation continues to be ever-changing:

“While everyone has done an absolutely incredible job pulling this urgent shipment together, it simply cannot leave tomorrow morning as we've all been pushing for. The road between Chengdu and Aba is simply too dangerous to travel, based on all the information we are able to gather. While it hasn't registered on the news, nearly 200 people have died in the last few days along these roads due to mudslides caused by the early summer rains. Communications are, of course, sketchy, and we know Yang Lei has her permit to travel the roads, but all reports are now that it's just too dangerous and too unsure to risk take such a risk. The Director of the Aba Institution agrees and the Director of the Chengdu Institution agrees.

“The efforts you've all put in today on behalf of the babies at Aba will not be in vain. We will monitor the road situation very, very closely. Civil Affairs wants us to get in, we want to go in, and the moment we feel it is safe, we will go in. The good news is we've managed to amasse verything on Aba's "needs list" in one day and it's staged at Chengdu SWI and ready to load on trucks. The items that were scheduled to load on the Aba trucks will stay at Chengdu, ready to travel to Aba when conditions allow. THESE ITEMS ARE NOT TO BE USED FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE IN THE COMING DAYS, THEY ARE TO BE KEPT TOGETHER, AND SEPARATE FROM ALL OTHER INVENTORY, AND WILL TRAVEL TO ABA AS SOON AS CONDITIONS ALLOW. This is a very difficult decision for us to make, but we simply can't risk life to savel ife.”

You can see that the relief effort is not quite over. I will keep you all posted.

Meanwhile, we have spent almost exactly the amount we have raised in donations (just over US $300,000. And we have not yet really begun the second critical phase of our operation in Sichuan: training caregivers and volunteers to care for and address the non-material needs of displaced and newly-orphaned children. There are billions being donated for rebuilding. But we need help putting young lives back together.

Here’s a note from Ma Lang, who was at a “model” relief shelter to day talking to newly-orphaned children: I talked to a junior high school girl. Here is part of our conversation:

Lang: Do you know there are psychologists and counselors there to help people?

Girl: Yes.Lang: Would you be willing to talk to a psychologist?

Girl: Yes.Lang: What would you like to talk about with the psychologist?

Girl: Things that make me happy. Like happy stories and movies.

Lang: What do not you want the psychologist to ask?

Girl: [pause] Do not ask me where my families are!

P.S. There is little coordination among the 10 plus counselor groups at the shelter. One main method they chose their “clients” was to look forsad faces. If a child or adult looked sad, the like lihood was that she would be “counseled” by more than one group of counselors. One concern that I had was that the children (and adults) might be traumatized again by the “counseling” process.And then….“

I met Lei in the “inner circle” at Jiuzhou Stadium. He was a cute and curious second grader who’d lost his parents in the quake. He approached me and asked me what I was doing when I was organizing the pictures I took. We looked at the pictures together, and chatted a little bit. He told me that after the earthquake, there come after shocks, and then comes the epidemic. He said epidemic means you die if you do not wash hands before and after meal. When I asked him what earthquake is, he said if you talk loud, earthquake happens. I lowered my voice and asked him if our voices were loud. He said, I do not know.”

Half the Sky is finalizing plans to work in consultation with an important international resource for children traumatized by crisis. I want to thank all of you who have worked to help us locate Mandarin-speaking childt rauma specialists. I think we are assembling an outstanding team. I will share more details in the next few days. What I hope I can communicate to you all is that our work is really just beginning. We need more help!

with love, JennyJenny Bowen"
Executive Director Half the Sky Foundation
www.halfthesky.org

9th Half the Sky Email Update

"Dear Friends,

Our work in Sichuan is in full swing now and it’s becoming harder to find time to write. Yet I know how deeply concerned you are about thec hildren, so will continue to grab all the moments I can to tell you what we've learned.

Since earthquake statistics are so readily available now, I will no longer include them.

You will see below that there are preparations being made in many institutions to receive newly orphaned and displaced children. There have been numerous media reports about the thousands of new orphans; we have received dozens of adoption inquiries here at Half the Sky (which has no involvement in adoption!)

I really want to stress that many, many of these children you're hearing about will be reunited with family – if not parents, then living relatives. In rural China, especially, workers often leave their children with grandparents so that they can support their families by working in more prosperous areas. Many of the children do have parents – parents who are desperately trying to find their children. The government is keenly aware of this and, while there are many, many media reports of adoption programs and applications submitted for domestic adoption of the children, we don’t believe that any adoption procedures will be put into place before every means has been exhausted to find parents or other living relatives.

We, along with Ministry officials, are meeting with the provincial Civil Affairs Bureau on Monday and may have more information about the plans for transitional care of orphaned and displaced children. We are exploring how we can, working with other NGOs, best help care for the children in the interim and assist the government in its efforts to provide for their future.

Here is the current situation:

Chengdu CWI has been notified to prepare to receive 100 children; they expect that more may follow. At the same time, the orphanage has moved the children out-of-doors out of concern for safety. (photos on ourwebsite http://www.halfthesky.org/work/earthquake08.php) Half the Sky is working with local government and erecting a giant tent that can serve as shelter for orphaned and displaced children for as long as necessary. More news on this early next week.

Chengdu 2nd SWI - 35 senior citizens and 10 preschool-age orphans have been transferred there from Dujiangyan City. 40~50 more orphans will be arriving soon. They are in need of 50 beds, sets of bedding, as well as the same number of clothes for children between 5 and 7 years old. Before the arrival of those 45, the institution had 100+ children and 500+ elderly people already. During aftershocks, they stayed in tents; but now, they have all moved back to the buildings.

Chengdu 3rd SWI – Caring for 30 children, all fine, not expecting new arrivals.

Wenjiang District SWI, Chengdu – Caring for only 4 children, all fine, not expecting new arrivals

Dujiangyan SWI – All of the children are under good care and there is no shortage of food or any daily necessity. 12 new children were recently brought in, but they’ve been having much success in locating surviving family members and have high hopes for these children as well.

Luojiang County SWI, Deyang City – The children are being cared for in a shelter, including 6 new arrivals. They are expecting a 2 year-old and have asked for a crib as well as diapers, powdered milk and rice.

Deyang SWI – Has prepared to receive new children per instructions.

Nanchong 2nd SWI – They are caring for 27 children and are expecting another 20. They are sleeping in tents due to concerns about after shocks. They ask for 10 tents, tarps and beds.

Cangxi SWI, Guangyuan City – They have some building damage. They have been advised that they may be receiving children from Qingchuan but this has not yet been confirmed by the provincial Civil Affairs Bureau. I told you that 13 of the 24 children brought to the Zitong SWI had been reunited with family. Today I was told there were 12. Two signs hang at the institution. One says “There are only 20 children from Xiao Ba Primary School in An'Xian in our institution. There are no children from Beichuan. If you are looking for those from Beichuan, please go to (name) Hotel. If you are looking to adopt, please come in 3 months." The other, poignantly says, "Yan: only her mother was home; XianLin & LiGang are brothers: only their father was home: Cheng: her father is working in Xinjiang; Dan: her parents are working in Zhejiang; Jun: about 2 yearsold, parents where abouts unknown; Zhou: about 1 year old, parents whereabouts unknown. Needs: Books to read; stable place to live. Emotional needs: their family...their relatives."

Mianyang – The Jiuzhou Stadium that houses 20,000 refugees is now, considering the situation, well-organized and, beyond trash bags and disposable gloves, there seem to be no un met material needs. While there were, at first, about 1,700 children staying in the “inner circle” of the stadium (on the first floor inside the building), most of those children have either been reunited with family or transferred to smaller shelters in Mianyang. There are only about 130 children remaining. There arev olunteer counselors and psychologists for these children. The “innercircle” is strictly guarded by police, soldiers, and volunteers. Mr.Liang JianHua, a volunteer leader and veteran, has been supervising care of the children in the “inner circle” from the very beginning, with the help of about a dozen volunteers. According to Ma Lang, he seems to be anextremely competent, kind, and devoted person.

Meanwhile, for children less well-served, Half the Sky is moving goods like crazy and working hard to initiate the next, and most important phase of our efforts – trauma counseling and care for displaced and orphaned children.

Thanks to help from dozens of volunteers, we’ve delivered about 100 of the promised tents, cases of blankets, tarps, clothes, diapers, food and medicines to several institutions. There will be many more arrivals and deliveries over the coming days. We have received permits to enter and provide aid to one of the more inaccesible hard-hit areas tomorrow (Aba County) and are working on helping in Li and Mao counties, also hard-hit.

We have begun the process of distributing to temporary children’s shelters. We give special thanks to the Sichuan employees of Silk Road Telecommunications, many of whom helped us load and unload trucks and have offered to aid in distribution and logistics all around the province.

I’ve got lots more to report but have run out of steam and time. I’ll be back tomorrow with more, I promise.

with love, JennyJenny Bowen"

Eighth Half the Sky Update

Dear Friends,

As I delay writing this report a bit longer each day, I realize that, like so many, I find it harder and harder to read or write those grim statistics or tell the sad stories. We wish we could be done with this death and disaster and start to move on. But still the numbers come.

There are 34,073 people confirmed dead, 245,108 injured, still more than 35,000 still missing.

Yesterday, after those three silent minutes in Sichuan, people began to call out, "Rebuild! Rebuild!" Today, when I was feeling I couldn't open another casualty report, I read instead a report about new babies born during and right after the quake. They have names like 'Li Zhen'(Earthquake) and 'Born in a Tent' and 'Long March.' They, like all the survivors, will carry these terrible days with them always. But their lives are just beginning. For them and for all of the children who survived, Sichuan will begin to rebuild.

As hope of finding more survivors fades, we find hope in each bit of good news -

During the past week we managed to reach every single orphanage in the hardest-hit areas but one - Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. Today we finally made contact. They said, "The institution buildings are no longer safe to live in. All the children live in tents. The government provides us with enough food and water and daily necessities. Now we only worry how and when we can possibly rebuild."

Of the 24 children (all of whom were from hard-hit Anxian County) who we reported were brought to Mianyang Zitong SWI because they were newly orphaned, I am very happy to tell you that 13 of them were reunited with relatives.

The children of Suining SWI have now been able to move back into their orphanage building.

More displaced children are arriving daily at shelters in Chengdu, but no one is giving up on finding living relatives yet. Yesterday, 70 children were brought to a large hospital in Chengdu for urgent treatment. Some ofthem had joyful reunions with family, but of course, not all. One very young girl signed her own consent form to have surgery on her broken arm. Ma Lang wrote, "She was a sweet and tough girl, and the doctors, nurses,and volunteers loved her very much."

Ma Lang and two other HTS staff are now in Mianyang and we expect more news from them soon. Meanwhile, our relief operation is going into full swing, with tents, tarps, medicines, beds, blankets, rice, diapers, food, clothing and baby formula moving in and out of the Chengdu CWI for immediate delivery to distressed areas.

As we get closer to realizing our small part of meeting the basic challenges of shelter and emergency supplies, it is time to embark ont hemost critical project for the long term - helping the children heal andgoon with life. This is, of course, why Half the Sky exists and how our organization can best help Sichuan's children rebuild. Now we will begin the process of training caregivers, foster parents, shelter workers and volunteers of all backgrounds to work with newly orphaned and displaced children. We believe our long experience working with children orphaned by AIDS and other children who were not infants when they lost their parents has given us a solid foundation for this work. But this week we are recruiting a team of pediatric psychologists, trauma specialsts and social workers tohelp us adjust our training methods to this special circumstance. (If youare, or know of, a Mandarin-speaking professional working in this field who would like to volunteer for this project, please let me know!)

Within two weeks, Half the Sky's entire staff of field supervisors will be working with caregivers and new foster parents all around Sichuan. Ourwork is just beginning. Thank you so much for making it possible!

More news soon.... If you would like to donate to Half the Sky's Children's Earthquake Fundyou can do so through Global Giving:http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2100/proj2086a.html Or directly to Half the Sky. You can donate by calling Half the Sky(+1-510-525-3377) or on our website:http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Children's+Earthquake+Fund Many companies have announced they will match employee gifts forearthquake relief. Please check to see if your company will double yourgift! If you would like a Canadian tax receipt, please donate athttp://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s86248 If you would like a Hong Kong tax receipt, please call us at+852-2520-5266 or online athttps://www.paydollar.com/b2c2/eng/charity/payInfo.jsp?charityId=4947

Thank you again. It's truly an honor to be a part of this.

with love, Jenny Jenny BowenExecutive
Director Half the Sky
Foundationwww.halfthesky.org

Seventh Email Update from Half the Sky

"Dear Friends,

It's Monday afternoon here in China. As I write this, the entire country just held 3 minutes of silence to commence a 3 day period of national mourning. It began at 2:28 pm, marking the very moment the massive quake struck in Wenchuan County, Sichuan. Flags flew at half-staff, the people wore white flowers and, heads bowed, held hands. Across the country, horn sand sirens wailed in grief.

There are 32,477 people confirmed dead, more than 35,000 still missing.

Sadly and predictably, we are getting more information about children newly orphaned. We are now bringing together people and resources to prepare and train caregivers to help children through the next difficult phase of recovery. Unlike emergency relief (not our specialty but we're learning fast!), this is an area where HTS does have great expertise to offer. We will give all we can to these children who have many hard days ahead oft hem. I will be sharing our plans as they evolve.

Meanwhile, we continue to focus our attention on the most urgent needs of affected children - children in institutions and children orphaned or displaced by the disaster.

What follows is our most recent news. I've posted a few photos on ourwebsite:

http://halfthesky.org/work/earthquake08.php

and will update as morearrive.

Ziyang Social Welfare Institution - Building sustained severe damage. They care for 48 children, 20 of them under four years-old. They request 50 cribs and cots, bandages, 10 milk pots, children's clothes, 100 sets of bedding, bowls, spoons, chopsticks, toys and stationary supplies.

Deyang and Nanchong Social Welfare Institutions both have received notification that they should prepare immediately to receive newly orphaned children. All the children are living in tents. HTS will provide additional tents, beds and other requested items.

Guangyuan SWI - The children remain in tents. They were notified that they will be receiving several newly orphaned children (perhaps 50-60) very soon.

Shifang saw many of its schools destroyed, hundreds of children and their teachers buried. They sent us this heartbreaking story during the rescueefforts at Hongbai Primary School:

"'We found him!' Teacher Zhang Huibing's body was finally discovered, frozenin a posture of pushing against the door frame. According to the students saved by him, when the earthquake happened, Teacher Zhang was on the platform of the classroom on the second floor, which was very near the door. He yelled to the students, 'Run outside! Hurry!' And he somehow held the door frame up with both arms as the children ran out, one by one.

Just as all the students were safely evacuated, the building collapsed on him. Teacher Zhang, who was only 30 years-old, had a four-year-old child of his own."

As I mentioned in my last note, Mianyang has become a major refugee center. Of the more than 20,000 refugees in the city's Jiuzhou Stadium, "scores" ofthem are young children. We are told, but this is not confirmed, that the entire center area of the stadium is reserved for toddlers and infants. Most are said to be from Dujiangyang, Beichuan and Mianzhu. Ma Lang is onher way to Mianyang now, so we will learn more soon.

Many children who have lost or become separated from their families are being brought to Chengdu, but not yet to the Chengdu Children's Welfare Institution. Some have been taken to the Sichuan Children's Center (anafter-school and weekend activity center for children.)

About 30 children, from Yingxiu and Dujiangyang, were taken a Chengdu city park, the Qingyang Sports Center, which has been converted to a refugee camp. Some children have been united with family members. We're told that some from the media are actively trying to reunite families. Most of thechildren in this camp who survived were in their teens. They told us tha tmany younger children in their town did not survive because those in the primary schools and kindergartens were napping when the quake hit and couldnot run.

The youngest camp resident was 16 days-old. The military police made aspecial effort to bring her and her very young mother down to the camp fromYingxiu. The baby was only 11 days-old when her daddy perished in the earthquake.

Perhaps today's most heartbreaking story was about some of the 70 injured children who'd been carried down from the affected areas to Huaxi Hospital. Most of the children were reunited with parents or relatives; some were even well enough to leave the hospital after treatment. But a few children remained alone and unclaimed.

They were required to sign their own consent forms so that the doctors could amputate their limbs to save their lives.

Half the Sky spent much of the weekend purchasing requested supplies and shelter, organizing distribution and continuing to assess needs. In addition to the much-needed and wonderfully generous monetary donations fromour amazing community of supporters, we have been flooded with offers of in-country help from from volunteers.

As you can imagine, many requested items are getting harder and harder to come by. Just today we doubled our refugee tent order to 200 - all that was available immediately - and already have requests for more. Shoppers in Chengdu have begun filling a no-longer-habitable room at the Chengdu CWI (Children's Welfare Institution) with everyday goods destined for hard-hitareas. Others around China are working on fulfilling our giant shopping list. Some are flying in to Chengdu, hand-carrying items from our medical wish-list. Our wonderful friends at Gung-Ho Films, a Beijing-based film production services company, are offering logistics support, including shopping, shipping and door-to-tent delivery!

I can't really express how moved we are by your generosity and your trust in Half the Sky to ensure that the children benefit from your gifts. Today 3 more HTS Beijing staffers and 2 Gung-Ho staff traveled to Chengdu to help facilitate our relief efforts. We all feel privileged to be able to help.

If you would like to donate to Half the Sky's Children's Earthquake Fund, it would be great if you would do so at Global Giving as (even though they take 10% for processing and we do not (100% to the kids but at cost to our programs) it allows HTS staff to focus on relief efforts while keeping ourprograms going.http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2100/proj2086a.htmlIf you prefer to donate directly to Half the Sky, of course that's fine.Here are the various ways: You can donate by calling Half the Sky (+1 510525 3377) or on our website: http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Children's+Earthquake+FundMany companies have announced they will match employee gifts for earthquakerelief. Please check to see if your company will double your gift!

If you would like a Canadian tax receipt, please donate athttp://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s86248If you would like a Hong Kong tax receipt, please call us at +852 25205266 or online athttps://www.paydollar.com/b2c2/eng/charity/payInfo.jsp?charityId=4947Thank you so much for your kindness and concern.with love,JennyJenny BowenExecutive DirectorHalf the Sky Foundationwww.halfthesky.org <http://www.halfthesky.org/>

Sixth Email Update from Half the Sky

"Dear Friends,

It is mid-weekend now in China so we are not getting a daily call from the ministry. But I do have further information to share with you.

First, children in the institutions are all still well. We have now reached reached every affected institution, with the exception of Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture where the orphanage is said to house 52 children.

We will let you know as soon as we make contact. It turns out the Mianzhu SWI, which we’d had trouble reaching, was leveled in the quake. There was one fatality, an elderly resident. Thankfully,all of the children were in community foster care and all are fine.

As of today (Saturday) there were 28,881 people confirmed dead. There were a very small number of live rescues, but the teams have not given up hope. Cities like Mianyang have become refugee centers. 20,000 homeless who have come on foot from nearby towns are living in the local stadium; many more thousands have no place to go. 4.7 million homes have been destroyed. 169,000 people are injured.

Ma Lang tells us that although the rescue resources keeping coming in, one concern is the uneven distribution of much needed goods. “Counties and townships that have been the focus in media coverage receive more resources (sometimes more than enough); while in some other areas, there is little. In Qingchuan, people are surviving on one bottle of water and two cookies per day.

”In the schools that did not collapse (almost 7,000 were destroyed) the education bureaus are working to care for displaced children. They need tents, blankets, masks, rice, noodles, oil, flashlights, disposable underwear and antiseptic wipes. Many of those items and the items are arer equested by the welfare institutions are no longer available in Chengdu. With the funds you have donated, HTS has a team of volunteer shoppers scouring Chengdu and we have a network of staff and volunteers seeking out needed items throughout China.

Today, with your help, we purchased 100 large refugee tents to house children who are in need of shelter. We have arranged to purchase more later this week but want to be sure we can properly distribute first. Itis not easy to find goods now or to get them where they need to go. But everyone is working together to help the children.

As you have heard, this tragic event has both killed children and created orphans. A group of new orphans has been transported to Chengdu. We expect to have more information soon. Meanwhile, the orphanage in Chengdu experienced a magnitude 5.9 aftershock yesterday (there have been 23 major aftershocks ranging from 5-6.9 on theRichter Scale!) and is preparing, if necessary, to move the children completely out of what was considered to be the most solid building. They have requested tents, which we are providing immediately.

Here are answers to some of your questions, the best we can offer right now:

How can one donate goods? We do not have the means to facilitate bringing goods into the country or distributing them where they are needed. If you are in China and have access to the following items and have means to deliver them to the Chengdu airport, please contact me:

folding cots & cribs, 100 or moreblankets, 100 or more pairs of children’s shoes, 100 or more largetarpaulins, 2 cases or more of children’s antibiotics (Zithromax,Amoxycillin, Penicillin, Klarithromycin, Erythromycin, Augmentin), 2 casesor more of anti-diarrheal meds (Charcoal Tablets, Kaolin), 2 cases or moreof children’s anti-cold and cough meds (Dimetapp, Actifed, Robitussin) and/or 4 cases or more of rehydration salts/liquids (Pedialyte, Gatorade,Gastrolyte, ORS, Pocari Sweat).

Please understand, we appreciate your wish to send items but we are not a relief agency (though we’re startingto feel like one!) and we just don’t have the mechanism or means to move your goods where they will do good. The very best way to help is to donate funds.

How many children will we help? We can’t yet know. There are not yet statistics that separate affected children from adults. There are not yet statistics regarding the numbersof new orphans, numbers of affected orphans, numbers of displaced children who will eventually be reunited with their families. We will provide whenwe can.

How can one adopt newly orphaned children? It is too early to know how many orphans have been created by thedisaster. There is also much desire among the Chinese people to provide loving homes for the children who’ve lost their parents. The government’s first priority is to take care of the children’s urgent needs – to provide them with shelter, food, medical care and a nurturing environment.

Halfthe Sky is doing its best to support this process. There will then beefforts to reunite children with relatives. Eventually, if parents or relatives can’t be located, the children will be placed for adoption. Several hundred Chinese citizens have already submitted applications to the Sichuan Civil Affairs Bureau! Please give what you can to help the children who survive go on with theirlives.If you would like to donate to Half the Sky’s Children’s Earthquake Fund,it would be great if you would do so at Global Giving as (even though theytake 10% for processing and we do not (100% to the kids but at cost to our programs) it allows HTS staff to focus on relief efforts while keeping ourprograms going.

http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2100/proj2086a.htmlIf you prefer to donate directly to Half the Sky, of course that’s fine.Here are the various ways: You can donate by calling Half the Sky (+1 510525 3377) or on our website:http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Children%27s%2BEarthquake%2BFund

I am told that many companies (was specifically informed about Microsoftand Citibank) will match employee gifts for earthquake relief. Pleasecheck to see if your company will double your gift!If you would like a Canadian tax receipt, please donate athttp://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s86248If you would like a Hong Kong tax receipt, please call us at +852 25205266 or online athttps://www.paydollar.com/b2c2/eng/charity/payInfo.jsp?charityId=4947Your donations to support relief efforts for the children have been sogenerous. It is deeply moving to see how many people care.with love,JennyJenny BowenExecutive DirectorHalf the Sky Foundationwww.halfthesky.org"

Fifth Email Update from Half the Sky

"Dear Friends,

I dearly wish I had more good news to report. The very best thing I can tell you is that we have not had a single report of injuries from the welfare institutions.

As of this morning (Friday) there were 19,509 people confirmed dead. The State Council today said there will likely be more than 50,000. Today’sgovernment report describes one terrible scene after another: thousandshomeless, thousands missing, thousands injured, thousands trapped orburied alive. Hope for survivors is dimming. There is an urgent call forbody bags to prevent the spread of disease. There have been over 4,400 aftershocks.

HTS Director, Child Development, Ma Lang has arrived in Chengdu and sends this note:

I am deeply touched by your moral and emotional support. I only slept twoof the past thirty hours. The first thing I did after landing was to donate some medicine to the Chengdu Red Cross. It was very much appreciated – exactly what was needed. They gave me a wish list forfurther donations: antibiotics for children and adults, medicine fordiarrhea, cold capsules (not instant medicines that must be mixed in water), bandages, gauze, tape, iodine, cotton swabs, herbal medicine tostop bleeding and some for pain relief. Other much-needed donations include tents, tarpaulins, warm clothes and shoes.

People in Chengdu are doing everything they can to help with the earthquake rescue. I saw all sorts of vehicles carrying things to the donation centers. I registered for blood donation and was put on the waiting list – the blood center was overloaded with donated blood and it’s difficult to transport the blood to the hardest-hit areas.

More to come… Lang Here is the confirmed information we have regarding welfare institutions:

The following institutions not mentioned in yesterday’s note suffered no serious damage: Chengdu 2nd SWI, Chengdu 3rd SWI, Ziyang SWI, Neijing CWI, Chengdu SOS children’s village, Leshan SWI, Ganzi CWI, Guang’an SWI, Suining SWIThe following report damage, but, again, no injuries.

Your generousdonations will help meet all of these requests for assistance:

Bazhon CWI – Severe damage to building; children are fine.

Meishan SWI – Cracks in buildings, have evacuated all children (50+) totents. They have adequate food, water and clothes but request 20 cribsand bedding.

Guangyuan SWI – Damaged buildings, all children have been in tents for 4-5days, often in the blazing sun. They request food, baby formula water,diapers, bedding and other daily necessities. They urgently need drugsand food supplements to protect against disease and heatstroke.

Nanchong SWI – There was substantial damage to buildings, all children(100+, more than half under 6 years-old) are living in tents. They needmore tents, disposable diapers, children’s clothing, wagons, cribs andbedding.

Deyang CWI – Dormitory for school-age children was severely damaged.Although the other buildings seem fine, pending inspection, all childrenand staff have been moved to tents. There has been constant rain and much that was pulled from the buildings has been ruined. They request bedding and children’s clothing. They still have disposable diapers left from our assistance during the winter storms but will be running out of those aswell as infant formula in the coming days.

Mianyang Zitong CWI (update) – Children have been moved back from the military base to a safe building in the institution. There is adequatefood and water but they request clothes, bedding, infant formula, diapersand medicine for colds. They are now caring for 66 children, 23 of themunder 2 years.Sadly, 24 new orphans – earthquake survivors - arrived at the institution yesterday.

We are still unable to reach these orphanages:

Abazhou CWI (52 children)and Mianzhu SWI

Please give what you can to help the children who survive go on with theirlives.If you would like to donate to Half the Sky’s Children’s Earthquake Fund, it would be great if you would do so at Global Giving.

My apologies forgiving incorrect information yesterday; the Ford Motor Company isgenerously matching EMPLOYEE gifts to Global Giving, not ALL! Still, itis an easy and convenient way to make a donation and helps HTS by handling processing of your gifts. Now maybe some other corporation would like tostep up and match ALL donations?!

URL=http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2100/proj2086a.html

If you prefer to donate directly to Half the Sky, of course that’s fine.Here are the various ways: You can donate by calling Half the Sky (+1 510525 3377) or on our website:
URL=http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Children%27s%2BEarthquake%2BFund

If you would like a Canadian tax receipt, please donate at
URL=http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s86248

If you would like a Hong Kong tax receipt, please call us at +852 25205266 or online atURL=https://www.paydollar.com/b2c2/eng/charity/payInfo.jsp?charityId=4947

Thank you for your tremendous support. Although it is heartbreaking towrite these reports, we are so honored to be in a position to help duringthis terrible time.

with love,Jenny"

Photos from Half the Sky of Sophie's Orphanage in Chengdu

"On the afternoon of Monday, May 12, 2008, a massive earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale, rocked China. The epicenter was Wenchuan County, Sichuan, northwest of Chengdu. CHENGDU CHILDREN'S WELFARE INSTITUTION - The children are all well. They all sleep on the first floor of the children's building and, for their safety, are kept outside during their waking hours."

Just look at their sweet faces! (Does the little girl on the far right, in the pink jacket with a flower on it look like Sophie?? Just don't know because she has changed so much since our last photo from around Novemeber.)

I am sure these are some of Sophie's friends!!?!

Half the Sky has posted a few photos from Sophie's Orphanage in Chengdu. These photos are from their web site.

I have searched these photos for Sophie but I don't see her....on the other hand the only photo's we have of her are from November 2008 or later.....It is hard for me to see these photos but also good at the same time. Hard to explain.

"HANZHONG COUNTY SOCIAL WELFARE INSTITUTION, SHAANXI - Cracked walls and a crumbling foundation forced the children and caregivers of this small orphanage close to the Sichuan border to take shelter in tents. All are fine."

Please click on the link below to see more where I gathered these quotes and photos from, The Half the Sky web site. We are FOREVER thankful for seeing these and learning more information.

http://halfthesky.org/work/earthquake08.php

Half The Sky Update - Fourth One

"Dear Friends,

As word comes of the hundreds, maybe thousands of children lost in the earthquake, I am finding these emails almost too painful to write. When Ithink of so many parents who have lost their only child - so many childrennewly orphaned - so many families destroyed - there are no words..

Still, I will continue to write daily with any new information that has been given to us and confirmed. Again, please do not contact us to inquire about individual institutions. We will give you all of the information we have. If you do not hear from us about a particular place, it likely is not affected. At any rate, we don't have any information beyond what I ampassing along to you.

As of now, Thursday afternoon in China, there are 14,866 people confirmeddead, 14,463 in Sichuan Province. There are 22,438 people reported missing- 21,020 of them in Deyang alone. There have been 3,300 aftershocks andthey continue.

Here is the confirmed information we have regarding children in welfareinstitutions:

Chengdu: The city continues to experience aftershocks and the institution director is afraid the water supply will be cut off again, so has requested disposable diapers. They are having trouble finding sufficient supplies of milk and formula. All children in foster care have been located and are fine. The institution has structural cracks but was built to current earthquake standards and is fundamentally solid. All the children remain onthe first floor of the children's building, mostly in the cafeteria, and, weather-permitting, outside while awake. We've posted a few photos on ourwebsite. (See above blog entry for photos.)

Chongqing and Yibin orphanages are fine - no building damage, no shortage of supplies.

The orphanages below report problems. However, please note that not a single child has been injured; all are fine:-

Zigong CWI needs bedding, powdered milk, crackers and disposable diapers-

Neijiang CWI has suffered some structural damage; one or two children's dormitories, office building and laundry room have cracked walls.-

Nanchong 2nd SWI has cracks in walls, substantial damage to the ceiling of a staff building, needs tents-

Mianyang Zitong CWI has severely damaged walls. Children have been movedto a military base. Urgent need for diapers, bedding, powdered milk and purified water

Hanzhong CWI (Shaanxi)- Quite a few water pipes burst, thewater tower had cracks. Children have been evacuated and there is need for more tents, bedding and purified water. We've posted a few photos on ourwebsite. (See photos in above entry.)

Dujiangyan SWI has evacuated all children. They have no tap water orelectricity in their temporary shelter. They urgently need food, purified water, diapers and powdered milk.

We are still unable to reach these institutions:

Deyang CWI (78 children),Abazhou CWI (52 children), Guangyuan SWI, Mianzhu SWI

One of our HTS Beijing staff, Ma Lang, is a native of Mianyang, Sichuan,close to the epicenter. HTS' Director of Child Development, Ma Lang is botha pediatrician and a child development specialist. She is on her way homeright now to make use of her skills both medically and to help children traumatized by this disaster. We are so proud of Lang and wish her safe travels. She has promised to share her journey with all of us.

So soon you'll be hearing from us both!

Usually just before June 1, China's Children's Day, Half the Sky announces aspecial appeal to help us fund new orphanage programs in the fall.

While we are committed to starting those new programs and know we will needhelp to make it happen, we just don't feel we can ask for help improvinglives while children in Sichuan are losing theirs. There must be a Children's Day Challenge this year but not at this time. Please do what you can to help children in trouble now, and remember to help the kids of HTS a little later this year.

Our hearts and prayers today are especially with the parents who have lost their children in the collapse of schools - Muyu, Xinjian, Juyuan,Liangping, and the rest.

Please give what you can to help the children who survive go on with theirlives.If you would like to donate to Half the Sky's Children's Earthquake Fund, itwould be great if you would do so at Global Giving. The Ford Motor Companyannounced today that they will match every gift!

http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2100/proj2086a.html

f you prefer to donate directly to Half the Sky, of course that's fine. Here are the various ways:

You can donate by calling Half the Sky (+1 510 525 3377) or on ourwebsite:
http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Children

If you would like a Canadian tax receipt, please donate at

http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s86248

If you would like a Hong Kong tax receipt, please call us at +852 25205266 or online athttps://www.paydollar.com/b2c2/eng/charity/payInfo.jsp?charityId=4947

We have been so moved by your support already.

Thank you!with love,JennyJenny BowenExecutive DirectorHalf the Sky Foundationwww.halfthesky.org <http://www.halfthesky.org/>


Here is a an email from our good friends Sue and Matthew: "We are so glad Sophie is safe and you’ve got pictures to ease your mind and heart. We are praying you will travel soon.
Sue and Matthew"

Third Email from Half the Sky

"Dear friends,

I know you have been waiting eagerly for more news of how the children arefaring during the aftermath of the disastrous earthquake in Sichuan.

When something terrible like this happens, confusion is everywhere andrumors spread. All of us are so worried about the children. We are tryingto be scrupulously careful to pass along only information that we've beenable to verify.

We have now set up a procedure whereby we can get an update from theMinistry of Civil affairs each day. They are supervising all relief effortsso have the most complete and accurate information available. We also nowhave contact information for all affected welfare institutions and havebegun the process of reaching out to them directly to see if they need help.

I will write daily with any new information that has been given to us.Again, please do not contact us to inquire about individual institutions. Wewill give you all of the information we have. If you do not hear from usabout a particular place, it likely is not affected. At any rate, we don'thave any information beyond what I am passing along to you.

As of now, Wednesday afternoon in China, there are 12,012 people dead and7,841 missing in Sichuan alone, and the numbers continue to rise. 26,206people are living in temporary shelters. Only 30 children of 900 have beenrescued from the collapsed high school in Dujiangyan, Sichuan. At least 20children were buried in the collapse of a primary school in Liangping,Chongqing.

What follows are the welfare institutions closest to the epicenter:Mianyang, Zitong County, Dujiangyan, Deyang and Guanguan.

The following is a preliminary, and not necessarily complete, list ofinstitutions which are also potentially affected: Wenjiang County, Neijiang,Rongxian, Zigong, Ganzizhou, Panzhihua, Luzhou, Santai County, Leshan,Suining, Nanchong, Guang'an.

We will have a full list later today or early tomorrow. While we've heardrumors about some of the above, we won't pass on that information untilwe've made direct contact and verified. I want to stress that we've heardno reports of children in the welfare institutions being injured, only thatsome have been relocated for their safety.

An update on the Chengdu CWI: There has been some foundation damage to therehab building and some cracked walls in other buildings, which are beingcarefully inspected. The children's building is in the best shape and allchildren have been moved to the first floor but spend most of the day outside, weather permitting - or in the institution buses if there is rain. All institution staff and HTS staff are working around the clock to care forthe children and keep them safe.

In cooperation with China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, Half the Sky has setup the Children's Earthquake Fund. The Fund will provide direct aid to thethousands of children who are suffering in the wake of the earthquake andaftershocks. Donations will be used to provide emergency and long-termrelief to children affected by the disaster, including emergency shelter,food, and medical care for children orphaned or separated from theirfamilies, as well as temporary or long-term foster care or, if necessary,temporary institutional care. The ministry has guaranteed that the fundswill be used only to help the children.

You can donate to the fund by calling Half the Sky (+1 510 525 3377) or atone of two dedicated sites online:Global Giving:

http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2100/proj2086a.html

orHalf the Sky website:
http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Children'

s+Earthquake+FundIf you would like a Canadian tax receipt, please donate at

http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s86248

If you would like a Hong Kong tax receipt, please call us at +852 25205266 or online athttps://www.paydollar.com/b2c2/eng/charity/payInfo.jsp?charityId=4947

We are juggling a lot these days - doing everything we can to help out hereas well as keeping our existing programs operating, AND opening modelcenters in 5 new provinces this year to bring everyday care to so manychildren still waiting for us to reach them. But somehow we must find a wayto do it all.This is just a devastating, heartbreaking situation. We are so moved byyour desire to help. We feel fortunate to be a conduit for so much lovingconcern.

Thank you all!with love,JennyJenny BowenExecutive DirectorHalf the Sky Foundationwww.halfthesky.org <http://www.halfthesky.org/>

Half the Sky was created in order to enrich the lives and enhance theprospects for orphaned children in China. We establish and operate infantnurture and preschool programs, provide personalized learning for olderchildren and establish loving permanent foster care and guidance forchildren with disabilities. It is our goal to ensure that every orphanedchild has a caring adult in her life and a chance at a bright future.Since 1998. Ten years.thousands of hugs.."

After Shock and Another Letter from Half the Sky

"Hello again,

During the past several hours Half the Sky has been working hard to get more information about the children impacted by the Sichuan and Chongqing earthquake. We know that it is not only children in welfare institutions who are in trouble. We know that hundreds of children have been separated from their families, have lost their parents, are hurt, traumatized and in pain. We know we must help; we have been working to figure how best to do so.

We have just a little bit of news. There have been hundreds of aftershocks, one reported to be as strong as 6.0. Children have again been evacuated from the Chengdu institution. Relief workers have arrived in the epicenter, Wenchuan. The Ministry of Civil Affairs (this is the ministry that HTS works with and also the agency responsible for disaster relief) has been unable to reach orphanages in the most affected areas: Mianyang, Zitong, Deyang and Aba. There are other welfare institutions in the affected areas but no others that house children. Each of the four institutions above houses about 100 children. We believe they will need help. We will continue to watch and wait.

Many of you have asked us to set up an emergency relief fund, like we did during the winter storms. Given the nature of this disaster and the fact that help for children may well be needed outside welfare institutions (where we have a direct line) we have waited to set up such a fund until we had absolute assurance that we could put a system in place to deliver the aid where it is most desperately needed.

Half the Sky takes the designation of a donor-restricted gift seriously - that's our promise to you. We understand that when you make an emergency donation, you put your trust in us. We have spoken very carefully about this with our colleagues at the Ministry of Civil Affairs. We now have their promise as well.

In cooperation with the ministry, we have now set up the Half the Sky Children's Earthquake Fund. Your donations to the fund will be used to provide emergency and long-term relief to children affected by the disaster. Relief will include emergency shelter, food, and medical care for children orphaned or separated from their families. It will include temporary or long-term foster care or, when necessary, temporary institutional care.

We have a commitment from the ministry that we will receive regular updates on the use of funds and, most important, the well-being of the children.

Within a few hours we will have available a dedicated donation site. In the meantime, if you wish to make a gift to aid children in Sichuan and Chongqing affected by the quake, you may donate through our website, www.halfthesky.org. Please note that your gift is for earthquake relief.

I will give you more information as I receive it. Please don't write to ask about the situation in specific locations. I will tell you everything I know. Thank you for caring so much about the children. with love, Jenny Jenny Bowen Executive Director Half the Sky Foundation" www.halfthesky.org "

I know these things are in the hands of God but I am not getting excited to check my email in the morning, afraid of what I might find. On the other hand I am so impressed with Half the Sky!!! This is our second email from them and I know others are getting them too because another one was posted on my Chengdu Yahoo Group.

This reminds me of when 9-11 happened. While getting ready for work in the morning I recieve a phone call from my Dad. He asks me if I know what is going on and I did not. He was like, don't go any where, stay in side. He called me just after the first plane went down. I remember how my heart just ached for the people that this happened too and at the same time wondering about my very own freedom! I will never forget that day when my Dad called me. I hope that never happens again. I know the earthquake is different but I get that same feeling in the morning of not knowing what is going on, things are out of my control.

Anyways, Do you know why I get these emails from Half the Sky? Remember when I enquired about Sophie in the Granny or Little Sister Program? Well they kept my email and information from that one little email. No words can express how well they run this organization. We forever will support them as they are helping take care of All Children in China and our Daughter in China!!

Then I read this email from Becca. It brought tears to my eyes. Yes, I have had a few of them over the two days. Trying to stay strong. Here is what Becca wrote: "Thank God Sophie is okay. This sweet little angel has made it through a lot to come home to her family. There are angels watching over her, for sure. Maybe Grandma Smith angels...;) Love you guys."

I just pray for everyone in China that has been affected by this, everyone who is missing loved ones, for people that are hurt/have been hurt or can not find their family/friends and our little girl. We pray that everyone is safe. Thank you everyone for your prayers, Love Michele, Rick and Simone

Earthquake Information From Half the Sky

Below is an email I got this afternoon from Half the Sky:

"Dear Friends,

We have received many emails and calls about the terrible earthquake that struck Sichuan and Chongqing yesterday. We have reached the three orphanages where Half the Sky operates programs:

Chengdu, Chongqing and Yibin. All is well. At each place, the children were all evacuated until the tremors passed. The buildings suffered no great damage. And no child was injured.

We will reach out to other welfare institutions in the province today. Should we learn of any problems or earthquake-related needs, I’ll post another note.

Some of you have also written regarding the EV71 hand-foot-mouth virus that has affected many, particularly young children, in several provinces.The orphanages are taking special precautions and no child in an institution has been reported infected. We are monitoring this also.

While Half the Sky exists first and foremost to provide nurturing care and education to orphaned children, we are pleased to be in a position to be the eyes and ears on the ground in China for all of you who have such concern for all aspects of the children's welfare. We are so grateful to those of you who make our presence in China possible.

with love,Jenny

Jenny Bowen
Executive DirectorHalf the Sky Foundationwww.halfthesky.org
Half the Sky was created in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for orphaned children in China. We establish and operate infant nurture and preschool programs, provide personalized learning for older children and establish loving permanent family care and guidance for children with disabilities. It is our goal to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in her life and a chance at a bright future. "

Below are some more emails from family and friends that we got after we sent out an email with the above letter in it! I can not bring my self to delete them and I have to save them as these made such a big impact on our life today! This first one from Cyndy brought tears to my eyes! They are all treasured emails as we have a lot to be thankful for. We still do pray and think about all of the people in China that have been affected by this earthquake. We feel for them!!

"chelle: I am so very glad to hear all is okay with Sophie. I have had you in my thoughts & prays and will continue to do so. I love you guys so much!! You are so important in my childrens' lives, I feel as if you're my family too. Here is hoping your family can be united very soon. Cyndy"

"That is great news! When I read your earlier email, my heart went out to you. I am so happy to hear that Sophie all the children are safe. Love Ya, Bethanie"

"What a relief!!!" (Rachel)

"Michele, So glad to hear that things seem to be okay for Sophie! All the more reason to be thankful that you get to leave soon to go get her! Jessica C."

"THANK GOD! I am so relieved for you guys Michele!" (Kimi)

"Thank you Jesus! Litterally, thank you Jesus!!!Roxanne"

"Good to hear, I have been thinking about you all day.....
~Amy"

"Thank God!!! We will continue to pray for your family and that you may be united shortly! Please keep me posted on when you will be leaving....it is pretty funny, you got Simone around the same time as I had Luke, and now little Sophie will be joining us as I am about to have my own little girl! Can't wait to meet her! Summer"

"Praise God, Michele, I have a friend who is adopting from China this month they are scheduled to go and get their son. I have no idea if the quake effected their orphange. I did pass on your blog to her, I hope you don't mind. I will get more details from where they are adopting. Pray for her as well, (P and E, J H 15 months old.) Em"

"Thank you so much for the update...so glad Sophie is ok. Denise"