Two nights ago we spoke to our staff in China and the Nanchang SWI has asked us to provide some specific things to help them through the current weather crisis. To this end we have created a fundraiser and will be using the proceeds to buy electric space heaters and blankets.

You can use the widget below to help.

Thank you in advance for your kindness and support.







China-Babies Research

Half The Sky Update

Dear Friends,

Tonight is Chinese New Year’s Eve. Families across China who’ve not had to cancel their holiday plans are cozy together preparing huge feasts to greet the New Year. Although it gets harder and harder to reach anyone, we at HTS have not stopped reaching out to orphanages in central and south China that have suffered through the recent storms.

Despite the difficulties -- anyone who possibly can has gone home, all shops and offices are closed, no one answers the phone, the whole country is suddenly quiet -- we had some success today in getting the word out.
In all of the six hardest-hit provinces we’ve managed to begin spreading the word, town by town, that we (and you!) are here to help. We’ve begun getting calls from directors of some of the small county-level institutions. We expect their numbers to grow over the coming days.

The weather remains bitter-cold but no serious snow is forecast now until the beginning of next week. For families in China, that’s wonderful news, as relatives make their way from house to house with greetings and treats for the new year.

For our little ones in the institutions, it’s good news too. Thanks to you and the provisions and heaters and winter clothes you’ve made possible, most will have a snug and safe holidays.

There has thankfully been only one instance so far where we felt the children were in real danger. In Chenzhou, Hunan, the subject of many recent news stories, the institution has been without power or running water for two weeks. In fact, a giant power grid was destroyed by heavy snows and the whole city has been dark for days. Yesterday in Chenzhou,
11 workers died in an attempt to restore power.

We were worried about the children at the Chenzhou SWI – over 150 infants, some of whom were falling ill. Food supplies were running out and coal for heat was becoming prohibitively expensive. The SWI director was borrowing funds from caregivers to buy supplies at inflated prices. Even candles tripled in price. To complicate matters, because of the power failure, all banks were closed and the roads were closed. We were feeling pretty helpless.

I’m happy to tell you that an intrepid little group, led by my husband, Richard, is now heading home from having successfully stabilized the situation at the Chenzhou SWI. There is now at least a week’s worth of food, 2 weeks worth of coal, blankets, diapers (another group managed to drop off diapers and clothes as well and today a local farmer came by with a cart of cabbage) and plenty of money to buy what they need if they run out. Richard tells me that all they lack are 60 infant snowsuits and, as soon as the stores re-open after the holiday, the director knows where to get them. Although it’s expected to take 3-6 months for Chenzhou to fully return to normal, we’re so relieved that the children are safe and, at least for now, out of danger.

I hope to be able to tell you more of the story soon. Meanwhile, we will continue to monitor the situation in Chenzhou daily.

We will not stop reaching out to all potentially affected institutions, especially smaller ones, that we haven’t heard from yet. We’ve made a commitment to the hugely over-burdened Civil Affairs offices, that we, as a community, are going to take care of the children through these critical days, with everything we’ve got to give.

You are giving a great gift to the children in this New Year. You are also giving a great gift to me and my colleagues at Half the Sky. It is such a privilege to be empowered to help so many children in need. I feel very lucky right now!

Please check our website for the latest update http://www.halfthesky.org/work/littlemouse.php To contribute to Half the Sky’s Little Mouse Emergency Fund to meet these emergency needs and others, click here http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Little+Mouse+Emergency+Fund


I’ll send further information at least once each day as long as the situation merits.

Please pass this on to anyone who might care.

Thank you…be safe. Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Jenny

Jenny Bowen
Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation
www.halfthesky.org





China-Babies Research

10,000-car backup as ice shuts Chinese road

Trains returning to normal, but millions without power as cold continues


IMAGE: TANK USED TO BREAK UP ICE

Xinhua via AP
China's attempts to clear ice off roads includes using tanks like this one in Anhui Province on Saturday. The idea is to break up the ice with the heavy weight of the tanks.

updated 12:25 p.m. ET, Sun., Feb. 3, 2008

BEIJING - Railway service inched back to normal Sunday in southern China, a day after one person died in a stampede by frustrated train passengers who were stranded for days because of snow ahead of an important holiday.

More than 10,000 vehicles were backed up on an icy section of a highway in central China's Hunan province, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The vehicles were backed up for nearly 45 miles, even though workers were removing ice from the roads Sunday, it said.

The freakish weather is now in its fourth week, throttling the country's densely populated central and eastern regions as tens of millions of travelers scramble to board trains and buses to return home for this month's Lunar New Year holiday.
Story continues below ↓advertisement

The weather has ripped down power lines and disrupted trains and road transport. Damage has been estimated at $7.5 billion and at least 60 people have been killed, mostly in traffic accidents.

On Saturday, frustration boiled over among passengers stranded at the Guangzhou train station where a stampede to get on a train crushed Li Hongxia, a watch factory worker who was trying to get home to the central province of Hubei, Xinhua reported.

Parts of Hunan province already have been without electricity for days and people have been stranded at snow and wind-swept train stations. The provincial weather bureau has forecast more snow for Monday and Tuesday.

Hunan, like many temperate parts of China, has little experience of snow. Houses are poorly insulated and many communities lack snowplows and other winter equipment.

While central parts of the country were struggling to cope with the weather, Xinhua said rail service in Guangzhou, the capital of southern Guangdong province, began to return to normal, with 100 trains scheduled to leave Sunday carrying 300,000 passengers.

The trains also are needed to move vast amounts of coal, which provides much of China's electricity.

Normally coal mines use the weeklong holiday that starts Wednesday to cut production so equipment repairs can be carried out and their workers can go home, but this year more than 80 percent of the state-owned mines will run full blast, the State Administration of Working Safety said.





China-Babies Research

Half the Sky - China Weather Crisis - Update 3

You are phenomenal!

I feel so honored to be a part of what has become a worldwide effort to help the children through this terrible time. We have not had a chance to put a number on your commitment to the children but it’s already far beyond what I imagined just a few days ago when I told you what we had learned about their plight. You are proving beyond doubt that the world cares about China’s orphans.

The weather gave us all a bit of respite today. Together with our friends at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, we’ve been talking to the institutions in the hardest hit areas and have posted a longer list of needs on our website at http://www.halfthesky.org/work/littlemouse.php The list is too long to email now. Many of you have asked, so I’ve begun also posting anticipated costs for the relief effort at each site, as we begin to get estimates.

We have now pretty much surveyed Hunan province. If you don’t see a Hunan institution listed, you can assume they are fine. We’ll continue talking tomorrow. More information about other affected provinces as well as further details about those already listed will be appearing as we have them.

New storms are expected to arrive tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon, with snow almost certain by Wednesday. By then we hope that most of the institutions will have purchased what they need to weather the next cold front.

Our amazing HTS staff is working around the clock during what is supposed to be a relaxing New Year holiday with family. I can’t express how grateful I am to each of them… and to every one of you, who cares so much.

Please check our website for the latest update http://www.halfthesky.org/work/littlemouse.php To contribute to Half the Sky’s Little Mouse Emergency Fund to meet these emergency needs and others, click here http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Little+Mouse+Emergency+Fund


I’ll send further information at least once each day as long as the situation merits.

Please pass this on to anyone who might care.

With love and thanks,
Jenny

Jenny Bowen
Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation
www.halfthesky.org





China-Babies Research