A Rare Treasure

Photo: Norman Ng for Mercy Corps

I think what I'll always remember about distribution day in Yunji is the range of emotions.

The delivery of hygiene kits to this earthquake-stricken village's 300 primary school students here evoked such feelings for everyone involved. The kit itself contains critical household supplies like soap, detergent and towels, but is so much more than that.

The families around here are among the poorest in Sichuan province. Their simple mud houses and meager possessions are all they have. Since the earthquake, most of them are now living in small tents pitched outside of their damaged homes.

For farmers scraping out a living from their meager crops, a $16 hygiene kit supplied by Mercy Corps means everything. Many of these households make do on about a dollar a day. An unexpected delivery health and beauty items is a rare treasure.

Photo: Norman Ng for Mercy Corps

The children here at Yunji Primary School know and feel that most of all. When all the kits had been loaded off the truck, the first group of kids came running. Their enthusiasm was contagious. There was such happiness, curiosity and excitement. Dee Goluba, a Mercy Corps emergency response manager who coordinated today's distribution, played games with the children as they waited their turn in line.

Once the children received their kit, it was off to the races again: they ran as fast as they could back to dormitories or classrooms to explore the kit's contents. The children's faces showed such joy and wonderment at what they discovered within the re-usable plastic boxes: simple household objects like toothbrushes and hair clips but, again, so much more than that.

One young girl, 11-year-old Xia Qianqian, was so moved by the kit that she began to cry. One of her friends, 11-year-old Mi Xue, comforted her then told us, "These kits make us so thankful for people who are coming to help us. They really care about us."

And that, ultimately, was the thing responsible for all these emotions today: people helping each other. Young Chinese volunteers handing earthquake-displaced children hygiene kits supplied by caring people half a world away.

It's enough to bring both a smile to the lips and tears from the eyes. And it did.

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