YAO JIN, China – On May 12, 2008, the village of Yao Jin was completely destroyed by the 7.9-magnitude Sichuan earthquake that struck central China. Buildings crumbled, tens of thousands were killed and millions left homeless. Six Yao Jin villagers died and the survivors endured a living nightmare, losing their homes, their possessions and their main source of income – their farm animals.  For the shocked villagers of Yao Jin, the future seemed bleak.

But only one year later, things are very different in Yao Jin. Through Operation Blessing’s support and the villager’s hard work, 54 new homes stand tall where there was once rubble.  

On May 12, 2009, the one-year anniversary of the earthquake, we held a special ceremony in Yao Jin.  At the start of the event there was a time of commemoration and a minute of silence.  It was a solemn moment as the villagers thought back to their lost loved ones and friends.  But then the ceremony took a cheerful turn to celebrate new beginnings and their new village.

One by one, each family was called forward where they were given gifts by OB team members.  Every family was presented with a framed family photograph and a DVD containing hundreds of photographs taken by OBI team members throughout the course of the project.  Most families lost their photo albums in the earthquake and were very excited to have such a comprehensive photographic record of their lives over the past year.  Every family was also given a copy of the book produced by OBI about the project, and then the entire village was presented with a giant “Welcome Home” card on behalf of OBI donors and well wishers around the world.

Then came the moment where OBI officially launched the livelihood restoration project. During the construction phase, the entire village was very focused on building the homes and they were paid to do the work.  Now that the project is finished, families must begin generating an income through other means and need help to jumpstart their economy again.

Since the villagers specialize in the raising of pigs, the original plan had been to deliver the first round of baby piglets for the village’s pig farm that OBI is helping to establish. Unfortunately the movement and sale of pigs was restricted due to “swine flu” control, so the ceremony proceeded with the distribution of ducklings. 

Once the project is fully up and running, each family will be raising a combination of pigs, ducks, chickens and geese.  For now, the villagers were ecstatic to receive OBI’s commitment to the project and a “sea” of cute yellow ducks.  In the morning, a few of the OBI team members had fun tying red ribbons on as many ducks as possible, which the villagers thought was hilarious.

In the evening there was a big dinner in the village which culminated in OBI team members giving speeches and preparing to leave.  After a year working in the village, this was to be the last official day of the project.  It was an emotional time for the OBI team and the villagers. During the last year we had been one team and had accomplished an amazing feat. 

As our departure grew near, we were very surprised and moved as the villagers began to tie red bows to the OBI team members in an expression of thanks, making sure to hug us and shake our hands.  The feeling was mutual.  This project has had a huge impact on us, and seeing people survive and work so hard in the face of adversity was an incredible lesson for all of the OBI team members.

One man began to cry as he thanked us for our assistance. “The village will not be the same without you,” he said, “thank you for your love.”

In a final show of appreciation and celebration, the villagers lined the entire village road (approximately 100 yards) clapped, waving, cheering, and setting off firecrackers as we drove away.  I was so touched and it showed just how important this project had been to them.  They had become our family and friends and the OBI team will forever be welcome in this village that we helped to rebuild. 

As we drove away that night, we left a very different Yao Jin than the wrecked village we first entered after the quake. The villagers lives have been forever impacted by the love and outpouring of OBI donors and team members, and the homes will be a blessing for these families and their generations to come!

A team from Operation Blessing’s Chengdu office (3 hours from Yao Jin) will continue to work with the village on the livelihood restoration project.  We will soon begin the construction of the piggery and begin distribution of the other animals and tools. 

If you would like to be a part of Yao Jin’s livelihood restoration project with a gift to help start a farm for a family, please click on the button below.

Tags: Asia, China, Community Development, David Darg, Disaster Relief, Earthquake, Entrepreneurship, Livelihood Restoration Project, Microenterprise, OBI, Operation Blessing, Relief Aid, Sichuan, Sichuan Earthquake, Small Business, Yao Jin

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 14th, 2009 at 3:14 pm and is filed under Asia, China Disaster, David Darg. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.