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7/21/2008 |
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JUNE 2008 UPDATE |
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It is hard to believe that I was able to go to Sichuan to see the effects of the earthquake of May 12th so soon after the tragedy, but my friend John Gates who teaches at Beijing University asked me to join him. He had been given several thousand dollars for earthquake relief. After reflection he felt that if he would reach out to the family of one of his students who had lost everything he would have the greatest impact with his dollars. So he purchased over 50 tents, flashlights, mosquito coils, lighters and other essentials. With these items in hand he, his son Cameron and Mark Laymon, headed to Mianyang to take these supplies to his students’ families and their village neighbors. I flew to Chengdu and met up with them in Deyang (a city you have never heard of with 6 and a half million people).
John was able to also buy a temporary house for the family. The government was issuing these structures to the victims, but one would be doled out as the relief workers would make it to your town. It could be weeks or months. So being able to bring this and all the other supplies to these families was a wonderful privilege. These particular villagers had never seen a westerner before and felt particularly blessed to meet John, their child’s teacher. To be accepted to Beijing University is no easier than an American being accepted to Harvard. This is a very special young lady who can come from a devastatingly poor village to such an honorable position.
After this work was done John and all of us found ourselves in Deyang for the night with a little time on our hands. Cameron was exhausted and just wanted to hang at the hotel, but Mark, John and I went for a walk. We were told that the park and lake there in Deyang were beautiful, so that is where we headed. On the scenic walk we found a little outlook where the locals play mahjong and drink tea. We moved our table a little ways to a quiet spot away from cigarette smoke and the noisy groups of mahjong players. As we enjoyed the beautiful scenery, nice tea and good company a handsome couple came up to us and we began exchanging pleasantries. They took our picture and we took theirs. When they found out that John’s son was the same age as their son, they wanted us to go to dinner so the two could meet. So after giving them time to continue their evening walk we reconnected and they took us to a wonderful Sichuan sidewalk café. We had a wonderful time getting to know Li Gang and his lovely wife and son, Benny. After dinner Li Gang insisted that we go back to their home where they continued to shower hospitality on us. Our host, besides being a gentle man, was a man of poetry, education and art. He spent two hours as we stood around him in his library, painting paintings for us and scripting beautiful Chinese calligraphy of meaningful proverbs. It was an evening I will never forget.
The next morning John, Mark and Cameron took a cab on to the airport to return to Beijing while I took another cab to head into the earthquake region to meet Michael Bevis, part of Leadership Development Institute (LDI). LDI is a group that runs schools around China, including the Chengdu International School. When the quake hit Sichuan, CIS immediately became a center of outreach to schools throughout the area that had lost everything. They began providing staffing and supplies to aid the hurting school communities. In three weeks time they had started 4 “tent schools” to provide a restart to the young children who had suffered so much. The people of LDI have heard story after story of children who have lost parents, families and friends who now have a place to go each day restoring hope to their lives.
Mile after mile the area has been left with enormous piles of rubble and scenes of devastation. It will take eight to ten years to rebuild. These tent schools are temporary, but without them these families have no place for the children to be safely watched and cared for. The Chinese government is working hard to rebuild the schools, but there is great need and opportunity for helping these hurting people.
It is now the rainy season and many of the tents are not sturdy enough. After I returned to Beijing, Michael called and I was able to tell him where John had purchased the temporary home for 8000 rmb (around 150 USD) and he was able to buy several to have a better environment for his students.
The Red Cross and others are tirelessly providing infrastructure to the area with clean water, sanitation and other needed basics. Intangibles are also necessary such as instruction on hygiene to prevent disease and trauma counseling for emotional healing.
Back in the cities in the Sichuan region, many refuse to sleep in the buildings, even if they weren’t damaged. Families spend the night in parks in tents rather than running the risk of sleeping in a building that might collapse in the recurring aftershocks. It will be months before confidence is restored.
This week I have had a very different experience. I was approached by a wealthy Japanese businessman to come learn of his work in the area of education in Japan and New Zealand. He has taken his wealth and built a system of schools committed to the International Baccalaureate model that he wants to expand to China. He knew of my involvement in International Schools and wanted me to consult with him and make introductions that would further his dream.
So Monday, June 16th I flew to Osaka and then down on the train to Kyoto to meet Mr. Mitsuda and his talented leadership team to spend 4 days being exposed to the AIS schools. Today we visited his school in Hiroshima and brainstormed how he might enter the China market with his model. He runs a tight ship with the commitment to excellence for the students wanting to attend top schools in America, Japan and around the world.
His credo that pervades his model is Independence and Servitude. He says we must all learn to be responsible for ourselves, but if we don’t learn to serve others then we are no one.
I feel that all the different paths I am traveling are somehow intertwined and will all benefit each endeavor. As these wealthy schools independently strive for ever higher standards, they can simultaneously provide the helping hand to the migrant worker children of Beijing as well as the young students of Sichuan.
I am writing this from the train from Hiroshima to Tokyo. I have left Mr. Mitsuda and his team and am heading to meet some other friends who I hope will also be a part of this interesting journey our family has been on since we left Dallas two years ago. I don’t know how long this journey will last, where it will lead, but I am glad to be on it.
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posted time 10:26:02 AM |
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