Clark's News on Qinghai Earthquake, call for Help

Dear Friends,

Thank you for taking your time to read this message. If you think you can help in the relief effort, please read on.

I'm sure you have seen it in the news. In the remote county of Yushu in the Qinghai province of China, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck at 7:49 CST (23:49 GMT) Wednesday, April 14th.  When I woke up to text messages reporting the news that same morning, I knew these next months would not be the usual mundane routine of "Clark the ESL teacher." 

On my way to class that same day, I saw a 2 km long convoy of police, military, and ambulances speed down the main highway toward Yushu. I knew immediately this catastrophe would be massive. For a couple reasons, I have waited till today to write you with the news.  

The first reason is that I needed to wait for more word from the ground in Yushu. It is so easy to tell people the rumors that we hear going around in the capital. Finally today I received word from my expat friends who are at epicenter zone of quake.  They work with the only expat NGO that is officially permitted by all three levels of government to participate. This NGO operates locally under the name of Plateau Perspectives.  By tomorrow morning they will have sent five waves of medical teams into the quake area.  This is in addition to the thousands of Chinese doctors also on the ground--a joint effort by the national government, Qinghai Provincial Hospital, and Chinese Red Cross has established more than four medical sites including a fully functioning military hospital to temporarily replace the two local hospitals that have completely collapsed.  Blankets, medical supplies, and clothing are currently being distributed as critically injured victims are medi-vacced here to Xining. People huddle in tents (standing room only) through the night, where the temperatures are below freezing and it continues to snow. Almost every house has crumbled to dust and rubble.

The second reason is that I wanted to know the best way to respond. I would like to help you, who are able and eager to respond with compassion to the victims of this massive tragedy.  Thank you all of you who have already found a way to help the victims, there are many organizations accepting donations especially ear-marked for this relief effort.  There are several developments on the horizon which will make this clear:

Now it is a race against time to control the spread of disease which is rapidly becoming the main issue.  The fires are burning through the night to get rid of bodies and prevent epidemics of pneumonia, tuberculosis, and other infections.  The death toll is up to 1400 people in this remote prefecture of Yushu (population approx 100,000).  They live at a very high altitude on the plateau just between here and the Himalaya mountains.  The town of Gyegu, 3700m (12,000 ft) above sea-level, is the hardest hit, and more than 12,000 people there are badly injured.  With so many people struggling to get rest, deal with the psycho-trauma, and prevent hypothermia the basic necessities of life are in constant demand.  

Even with the government sending supplies in through the day and night, there are still thousands people thirsty, cold, and hungry. These supplies are critical to maintain health and to ward off the potential outbreak. Even before the earthquake water had to be boiled to be pure and drinkable.  Now, most of the victims and the volunteers are dependent on bottled water shipped to by the supply chain. Today a local friend called us to say that they are still digging through the rubble and finding bodies. During the same call he urged that we send a truck load of food and water as soon as possible, because there are people thirsty and starving.

The journey is 14 hours away over land, because you must cross over two high mountain ranges.  The national government is controlling the airport and until they sort out the logistical nightmare we ourselves will not be able nor are we invited to send anything via plane.  Two EDGE outreach water specialists are on their way with two New Life Purifiers.  Dave Brothers (stationed in Shillong, India) and his colleague (an Indian national) are currently making arrangements to arrive early this week.

Now Maria (my expat friend) and I are working to meet our friend's request. We will start in the next 12 hours to organize a truck-full (flatbed/Chinese lorry) of food, warm clothes and other supplies.  Contacts on the ground in Yushu are getting us the proper permits to send these supplies along with the purifier-team to the disaster zone. By Thursday (the 22nd) we should have all the red-tape sorted out--with enough funds in the truck will be outfitted and ready to go.

A total of 20,000 Chinese Yuan (aprox: $3,000) will be needed to get this truck on the road.  This will cover the supplies, food, and fuel costs (we need to take enough fuel on the truck to get it back, as all fuel is depleted within Yushu itself). The water purifiers are already paid for, and EDGE outreach is providing for the transportation to get them here to Xining.  Please consider helping me to get these supplies and the water purifiers all the way to Yushu.  

There are four ways to donate at this time.

1. The official charity webpage of The Plateau Perspectives donation website: http://yushuearthquakerelief.com/

Note: this donation site is a general fund for all the disaster relief for Yushu, it will not be specifically earmarked for the water purifiers and the truck load that I and Maria are personally organizing.

for your reference their tax deductible numbers: Canadian charity no. 88353 511 RR0001 and Scottish charity no. SC036202

2. Maria's Facebook page has a donation link, the fastest way to get funds to us! She runs an NGO and a training center for girls from the plateau called T-Fusion, she will be able to issue you receipts.

3. My paypal: also fast and reliable, from your www.paypal.com account, send donations to clarkiv(at)gmail.com, I will withdraw the funds directly from my ATM and give the funds to Maria, we will then send you a receipt in the mail.

4. EDGE is a 501-3c their donations are accepted at www.edgeoutreach.com you can also email Mr. Bob Browning at bob(at)edgeoutreach.com to discuss donations.

Thank you for your time and partnership in this effort,

Your friend,

Clark Rubino

Mobile:  Country code +86     13109783530