Sichuan Earthquake Relief: Rebuilding Lives Reclaiming Culture

Vital Stats

Elias W

Chepachet, xx

  • people helped15000
  • People Doing It 10

The Problem

Over the past four months I have worked with the rural communities in Sichuan province that have were hit the hardest by the devastating earthquake on 5/12/08. Official death tolls are ~70,000 and independent reports suggest as many as 11 million people have been displaced from their homes. Furthermore, the social infrastructure and ecological diversity has been decimated in light of this geological catastrophe. The communities I am working with consist primarily of Qiang indigenous peoples, 10% of their population died in the aftermath of this tragic earthquake. I am trying to ensure that relief efforts are conducted in a manner that respects and protects traditional culture. In the realm of international aid and development, there is often a degree of ethnocentrism that leads to the deterioration of local and indigenous values. My project aims to provide relief to earthquake refugees in a manner, which ensures the vitality of the Qiang culture and traditional means of education.

Plan of Action

Just a note of clarification, my experience in disaster relief for the Sichuan earthquake began through volunteer work with ERC, however the purpose of this grant proposal is to fund an independent relief/research project with a focus on revitalization of Qiang culture. I will travel with a graduate student from Sichuan University who will help me assess Qiang attitudes on relief efforts and hone in upon issues that are not dealt with by mainstream philanthropic aid organizations. The latter portion of my project deals with educating young people in the US about the Sichuan earthquake disaster relief back in the United States. Over winter break I presentations to 5 classes at my former high school highlighting the work I have been doing in China’s Sichuan province. Surprisingly only a handful of students had heard of it and I fielded lots of questions regarding study abroad experiences and the importance of global education. I plan on continuing to reach out to young people in my community through email correspondence to Mr. McCurdy’s fuel cell class and will host future presentations when I return from China. Additionally, I will educate and inform students about the Sichuan earthquake relief at the University of Vermont through the Anthropology department, Asian Studies department and the student group Students For Peace and Global Justice.
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