Southern Baptists can respond to the devastating earthquake that struck China’s Sichuan Province May 12 in a broad range of ways, a blue-ribbon panel of disaster relief experts has reported.
Working through local partners, Southern Baptists have been able to help victims of the May 12 earthquake through projects such as distributing kitchen utensils to help families prepare food supplies being provided by the Chinese government.The 25-member group met in mid-June at the Nashville, Tenn., offices of Baptist Global Response, a Southern Baptist international relief and development organization based in Singapore. Their multifaceted assessment draws on the experience of two “initial responder” teams who visited Sichuan and input from Ben Wolf, who leads Baptist Global Response initiatives in the Asia Rim area.
A South Carolina Baptist disaster relief team traveled in early June to Chengdu, China. Disaster relief director Cliff Satterwhite led the four-man team working with Baptist Global Response to help assess what Southern Baptists would be allowed to do to assist earthquake victims. Men, women and children were left homeless, and in some cases alone, in the wake of the 7.9 earthquake that devastated the Sichuan Province in May. Eddie Fulmer of Prosperity, Paul Poe of Taylors, and Dwight Herring of Ninety Six traveled with Satterwhite to this metropolitan city. The team toured tent cities where victims are living in temporary tents. They trained local believers in disaster relief skills and met with university administration in hopes of future training opportunities.
The earthquake killed nearly 70,000 people and left literally millions homeless, creating a massive need for replacement housing and the challenge of people rebuilding their livelihoods. In the early days of the relief effort, Southern Baptists were able to draw on almost $900,000 in Southern Baptist relief and world hunger funds to provide basic medical supplies, food and nutritional supplements, clean water, tents, clothing, blankets, water filtration units and hygiene products, according to Jim Brown, U.S. director for Baptist Global Response.
While the panel identified a wide range of opportunities for Southern Baptists to make a difference in the lives of Sichuan’s people, one project has since emerged as the next logical step in the ministry effort – a partnership with a Christian children’s charity that already has piloted an initiative to help children and parents traumatized by the earthquake.
South Carolina Baptist disaster relief led the way in funding “Children Hope Centers” with a gift of $20,000 that will fund one center for one year. The centers are run by Chinese believers working with children who have been displaced by the deadly earthquake.
“The ‘Hope Center’ outreach is based in large tents that offer a library, play area, and staff and volunteers who help families cope with trauma,” Brown noted. “Five centers are already in operation, but as many as 50 such centers could be established in one year’s time, with each one assisting 200 to 400 children and families.”
The Hope Center ministry follows evacuees as they move into temporary and long-term housing – beginning with a stadium where displaced families were first housed, then to temporary tent cities and eventually on to housing where they may live for up to three years. Each center will need a generator, TV/DVD setup and temporary furniture at a cost of about $20,000 per center, Brown said. The Hope Centers will be able to operate for several years, assisting displaced families with needs as they arise – skills training, trauma assistance, health care or needs unique to a particular community.
Another initiative is a teddy bear program called “Hug-A-Panda,” similar to one conducted among children in the United States who were traumatized during the 9/11 attacks. This initiative will reach 10,000 children.
South Carolina disaster relief initiated the “Hug-A-Panda” project for displaced children in China. This project began Aug. 1. Stuffed panda bears, at a cost $10 each, will be distributed by believers in the Sichuan Province. Checks can be made payable to Disaster Relief Panda Bear Project. All contributions will be forwarded to Baptist Global Response, and 100 percent of donations will go toward the purchase of bears for children in China.
Other initiatives in Sichuan will be launched, but the process of starting new projects moves forward very deliberately.
“It will take a while before we can nail down which of the many exciting possibilities before us will actually come to pass,” Brown explained. “But this is a tremendous opportunity for Southern Baptists who care to connect with people in need.”
(This article is based on information from Baptist Press and the South Carolina Baptist Convention.)