The Sun to Shine in Sichuan
Homegrown pop star, Stefanie Sun, will be helping Mercy Relief as we move into the second phase of disaster response in Sichuan - the rehabilitation phase. She will be appealing for the procurement of rapid response systems shelters, Play Packs and food for the children affected by the earthquake.
As Mercy Relief’s goodwill ambassador, Stefanie made a trip to tsunami-hit Meulaboh, Aceh, in May 2005, bringing joy and her winning smile to the orphans at the Muhammadiyah School. There, she taught the children to sing simple folk songs in English and Mandarin and read aloud in Bahasa Indonesia, letters of friendship and love written by students in Singapore.
Stefanie will be flying with Mercy Relief from 30 May to 1 June 2008, to personally present the systems shelters to the local education authorities and Play Packs to the children in Dujiangyan, where 900 schoolchildren were buried in a collapsed school.
One of the main challenges in crisis zones is to restore normalcy to the lives of children. This includes upholding a child’s right to play - a right recognized by Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child. Through this contribution, Mercy Relief hopes to offer comfort and rehabilitation to the children caught in this disaster.
The systems shelters procured in this fundraising drive will be used as temporary schools for the children in the affected regions to congregate and play. Schools provide a platform to distract the children from the trauma and psychological and emotional scars from the disaster and as a form of psychological rehabilitation for them.
Project Play Pack is an initiative of Mercy Relief’s launched in 2005 after the tsunami disaster. Each Play Pack comprises a reusable backpack with essentials for school such as stationery and recreational items - such as art materials - and simple toys and games. These Play Packs will not only help children go back to school, but also cater to their need to play.
Since 16 May 2008, four days after the disaster, Mercy Relief has been personally distributing relief supplies, such as tents, food and medicines, to the Jiulong township and Shuangtong village in Mianzhu county; Shifang county; Pingtong township and Pingwu county in Mianyang prefecture; and Deyang prefecture. Our Programme Director, Mr Chia Hui Yong has been in the various affected areas in Sichuan coordinating the distribution of the supplies with local disaster management centres.
Besides addressing the needs of the general community in the region, it is also important to address the needs of the young, who are the most vulnerable group in any disaster, especially the current one.
As such, starting from today, donations made through Mercy Relief’s phone-in donation hotline, Tele-Mercy, will be channeled to this initiative.
Members of the public may call:
1900 112 1010 (for a $10 donation)
1900 112 1050 (for a $50 donation)
Source: http://www.mercyrelief.org/displaysinglerss.php?linkurl=/2008/05/sun-to-shine-in-sichuan.html
