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Quake orphans: 10 years on

Xinhua,May 12, 2018 Adjust font size:

BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- When the magnitude 8 earthquake struck southwest China's Sichuan Province 10 years ago on May 12, it left 87,000 people dead or missing, and created hundreds of orphans.

Xiaoyu, who was only 13-years-old at the time, was one of the unfortunate ones, but also "lucky" to be one of 338 orphans moved into a complex known as "Ankang Jiayuan" (The Homestead of Well-being) in Shuangliu County in Sichuan.

"My younger sister and I had lost our family in the earthquake, and we felt helpless and hopeless. But we later got a bigger family with more loving people," said Xiaoyu, who has become a Chinese teacher in a middle school.

Ankang Jiayuan, supported by the All-China Women's Federation and China Children and Teenagers' Fund, was the county's largest welfare home for Sichuan quake orphans.

Among the 672 children fostered in Ankang Jiayuan, 282 are now in college or university, 342 are employed or joining the army, and 48 are still in the project due to their age.

The Ankang Jiayuan complex consists of apartment buildings, a primary school and a middle school. In addition to teachers, there are 80 specially-trained tutors to take care of the children's everyday needs.

The project also highlights the importance of psychological help for the orphans, offering regular mental evaluations. Enditem

 

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