Save the Children, an international charity organization for
children's welfare, has allocated 700,000 yuan (US$87,500) of
emergency funds to help children in the snow disaster-stricken
areas of Altay Prefecture in northwest China's
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said a charity official in
Beijing yesterday.
With the support of local civil affairs authorities, Save the
Children responded in mid-January to the Altay snow disaster with
an initial allocation of 100,000 yuan (US$12,500) emergency fund
for children' winter clothing, bedding and coal for heating,
herding yurts and houses.
Altay was hit by heavy snowstorms in early January and thousands
of people were trapped.
To help children stay away from cold-related illness and
injuries, including respiratory illness and frostbite, the
organization has distributed 1,300 sets of winter clothing to the
most vulnerable children. In addition, 1,300 bedding sets and 250
tons of coal are being distributed to an estimated 500 poor
families.
"Although these children are poor, they are really smart and
hardworking. If they get our help their future will be brighter,"
said Aytuna Hisamudin, the organization's staff person.
During
Spring Festival, Save the Children also distributed relief
items consisting of children's winter clothes, coal and corn to
feed the animal herds that are the main livelihood for families in
the area.
In Qing He and Fu Yun counties, the two most recently affected
areas in Altay, many Kazak herders urgently need heating fuel and
animal feed.
According to the information from Qing He's civil affairs
bureau, herders in remote pasturing areas are in urgent need of
animal feed as the herds of animals fight to dig through the deep
snow for food. As a result, thousands of animals have died or are a
risk of death from leg injuries.
To date, over 270 tons of corn are being distributed by Save the
Children to the county's animal husbandry office, herding stations
and then to affected herding families in remote pasturing
locations.
Officials with Save the Children said the organization will work
with local civil affairs authorities to continue monitoring the
situation and investigating how to further protect children and
families.
Set up in 1919, Save the Children has established programs in
over 60 developing countries to work for children's welfare.
(Xinhua News Agency February 11, 2006)