By Guangdong Province, China Relief Team (Originally in Chinese)
On September 22, 2013, Typhoon Usagi hit southern China’s Guangdong Province, taking the lives of at least 25 people, causing the displacement of 310,000 residents, the collapse of 8,490 houses and damage to 50,800 hectares of cropland. With profound concern for the victims of the storm, Master asked our Association members to assist where needed. With Master’s generous contribution of US$4,533 (RMB27,693) and US$922 (RMB5,635) from our Association members, our relief team from Guangdong traveled to Shanwei, the hardest hit city, to help those suffering from loss and in urgent need of supplies.
Typhoon Usagi’s severe damage to Shanwei included villages in the towns of Dahu and Lian’an. In addition, the local power, water and communication systems were cut off and farmland was flooded, reducing the season’s estimated crop yield. Thus the people of Shanwei were in urgent need of rice, candles, drinking water and plastic tarps.
On September 24, our relief team from Guangdong drove to Shanwei, and together with our local Association members purchased about seven metric tons of rice, but we were only able to buy 21 packages of candles due to a shortage. The rice shop owner was deeply touched by our team’s efforts. He offered to search for more candles the next day, and send all he could find to the disaster-affected areas. He was also determined to do more good deeds in the future.
On September 25, our team divided into two groups and traveled to the towns of Dahu and Lian’an to distribute the supplies to those affected, along with RMB 1,000 to several families. As we were the first volunteer group to conduct relief work in the area, the people were deeply touched and expressed their sincere gratitude, saying, “We thank Supreme Master Ching Hai very much for her help. What matters most is her loving concern. May she always be in good health and have good luck!”.
Expenditures by Supreme Master Ching Hai and Her International Association
for Typhoon Usagi Relief Work in Guangdong Province, China
Description | Amount (RMB) | Receipt |
---|---|---|
Candles | 135 | A |
Rice | 31,938 | |
Shipping fee | 255 | |
Relief contributions | 1,000 | |
Total | RMB 33,328 (US$5,455) |
All transportation fees were paid by the Guangdong relief team members.