YAO JIN VILLAGE, China - Last week we were in Yao Jin with two construction experts from one of China’s largest property development companies.  An architect and engineer toured the village with us and immediately started to sketch rough plans for homes. (more…)

YAO JIN VILLAGE, China - It was raining hard yesterday and the village pathways have turned to mud. I visited some of the villager’s shelters and the mud floors are terrible. They need houses soon and hopefully we are moving toward that goal! (more…)

YONG MIN VILLAGE, China – Our water system in Yong Min is a complete success. We ran a water line 765 yards from a mountain spring into the camp of 300 people. (more…)

YONG MIN VILLAGE, China – Today we celebrate, for tomorrow there will be water.

Mr. Xu worked in Yong Min to establish how long a water pipe we would need to get water to the camp. So, this morning we went to the hardware market to purchase all the necessary components for the water system in Yong Min. The system requires 700 meters of piping and two large metal water tanks as well as all sorts of fittings and valves. (more…)

YAO JIN VILLAGE, China – Picture the scene: a man lifts a heavy block into place and then wipes the sweat from his brow. He and his fellow Chinese countrymen are in a hurry as they build a wall to protect themselves from potential threat. (more…)

YAO JIN VILLAGE, China - It’s the weekend but there has been no rest for the weary. Our machines have been ploughing through rubble, 10 hours per day. On Friday our excavator dug a huge trench around the backside of the village. The trench will divert water away from homes (the old trench was destroyed by the quake). (more…)

YAO JIN VILLAGE, China - We had a successful meeting with the local party leader this morning. We told him OBI wanted to help other villages in his region and asked him for suggestions of places that might need some simple projects done such as latrines. (more…)

YAO JIN VILLAGE, China - Debris removal from Yao Jin is now in full swing. Yesterday and today we had three trucks working on rotation to haul away rubble and we are definitely making a dent in the sea of destruction. (more…)

YAO JIN VILLAGE, China - The name of the game today was “tank repair.” Most villages in the quake zone have huge concrete water tanks for storage and most of these were cracked during the quake. The cracks range from hairline fissures to gaping 4-inch splits. Either way, cracks and water don’t mix. (more…)

YAO JIN VILLAGE, China – We had another action packed day. In Yao Jin, we diverted the water flow from the village water tank so that we could carry out some vital repairs. (more…)