China weather crisis

I'm sure you've all heard about the weather conditions in China in the news. It is a terrible, terrible situation where many people are without water, heat, warm clothing and the supplies they need to stay warm and safe. The weather has also had a disastrous effect on many orphanages.

Jenny Bowen from Half the Sky has been sending email updates on the status of their orphanages and I thought I'd post a few excerpts here to give a sense of the situation.

Changzhou, Jiangsu – suffered the largest snowfall in Jiangsu Province. Several buildings have collapsed. But the institution rushed to prepare for the cold and the children are fine.

Chenzhou, Hunan – still facing the most difficulties of the orphanages we’ve reached. They’ve had no electricity or running water for 8 days and there is almost no possibility that power will be restored before New Year’s Eve (the 6th of February.) Because of the blackout, the hospital is closed. 20 children are ill and being cared for by institution staff as well as they can. The banks are closed so staff is contributing personal funds to buy food, coal and diapers. Prices are skyrocketing as all roads to Chenzhou remain impassable.

Guilin, Guangxi - has two broken HTS heater/air conditioners in the Infant Nurture rooms and they’ve asked us to replace. The rooms are very,very cold. They ask for more soft matting for the floors and also snow boots for our HTS nannies who’ve been slipping and falling in the ice and snow as they come to work.

Jiujiang, Jiangxi – had another heavy snow storm last night. Pipes have burst and the five boilers are broken. They are unable to bathe the children and are having trouble keeping them warm. They need quilts, bedding, warm shoes and space heaters. They need medicine for infant coughs and colds.

Yibin, Sichuan – It’s a snowy day but it feels like the weather may be getting better. They’re not sure. They feel the county-level institutions are worse off than they are so the ask us to consider helping others before them. They keep the children warm in the bright rooms that HTS created and they say everyone is well so far.

There are many, many more mentioned in Jenny's email (and these are just the HTS orphanages which you would expect to be better equipped than most). Obviously I don't know where Nora is living now, but it breaks my heart that she could be cold and hungry.

If there is any way that you can help, Half the Sky has established the "Little Mouse Emergency Fund" to help provide relief for children living in SWIs affected by the storm. You can donate through their site at http://www.halfthesky.org/