Remembering and striving -- Sichuan 5/12 earthquake anniversary special report

"It is SCUT teachers and students who gave a helping hand to my son at that very moment. It is your love and care that made me stronger and helped my son HAN Yang build up confidence in the future."

In early May of this year, ZHONG Qing, a teacher of the School of Electric Power, received from the distant Woyun village, Mianzhu city of Sichuan province, a letter, in which a kind and sincere farmer mother expressed her heartfelt gratitude to SCUT teachers and students for their help to her son HAN Yang.

Recalling those days, HAN Yang still appears emotional: "I really appreciate their kindness. With their help, my life returned to normal within a short time despite the quake."

On the second day after the hit, the University called on all the students from the quake-stricken areas to an emergent meeting and extended its condolence to their sufferings. Mr. Zhong is the head teacher of Han's class and he began to support the latter out of his own salary. Han's classmates were also very considerate and kind to him. Han felt tremendous love and concerns from the people around him.

"One day in the week after the quake, my monitor handed me 5,000 yuan and told me that it was raised from my 46 classmates." Help from the University and his class deeply touched Han. After the disaster, life became extremely tough and his family could not support Han any more. He took a part-time job at the University library and earned more than 200 yuan a month for a living. Han said: "The library teachers are very kind to me. I'm on duty from afternoon to evening, so they always bring me dumplings."

Love and help are not only offered to Han alone. After the quake, many SCUT teachers and students extended their love and care to all those from the quake-affected areas.

When disaster strikes, help comes from all sides. After the quake, SCUT Party Committee immediately released a call for all the University members to lend a helping hand by every means. Teachers and students volunteered to donate their blood. A large-scale benefit performance for disaster relief was organized. Money and necessities were contributed. During the first week after the quake, SCUT's donation reached over 3 million yuan.

The University never stopped extending love to the quake-affected students. In SCUT there were totally 91 students from the earthquake areas. The disaster left many of them in financial difficulties. Shortly after the quake, the University declared that all of them are exempt from tuition and accommodation fee, which cost several hundred thousand yuan. And it later subsidized nearly 30,000 yuan of allowance to them. All these efforts alleviated the heavy financial burden over the quake-affected students.

Besides, SCUT stood supportively beside the people from the quake-hit areas in the post-quake reconstruction work.

In July, 2008, the University undertook the designing and reconstruction mission of six schools across the region. The design plan was completed after one month's hard work.

The architecture team led by academician HE Jingtang undertook the planning and designing of 5/12 Earthquake Memorial Park and the memorial system of Yingxiu township. At the time of the anniversary, the first phase of the memorial park project was completed, which has become a landmark location for people to commemorates the departed.

GUO Xianlei, a Grade 2008 graduate of SCUT, was elected as a volunteer of 2008 Guangdong earthquake relief project and has been working as a grass-root Youth League servant at Caopo country, Wenchuan county. Due to his efforts, 5 villages out of 8 has set up temporary primary schools in tents. At the time when his service tenure draws to a close, he seriously submitted his application to extend the mission one year longer.

One year after, when the whole country is marking the anniversary of 5/12 earthquake, SCUT teachers and students also recalled and commemorated the big event in their own way. On the night of May 12, Guangzhou Mega Center 5/12 "candle lighting" activity was held at the South Campus Gymnasium. Five hundred and twelve volunteers held candles to pray for a hopeful future of the quake-stricken people and a prosperous prospect of our motherland. In the gentle music of "Sunshine always appears after rains and storms", the slim light of candles seemed to melt into a sea warming every heart present.

Edited by HU Nanping and CHANG Wei

From SCUT News Network