站起來 StandTALL

	As I stepped through the entrance of the Chengdu-Hong Kong Rehabilitation Center, a ten feet tall poster appeared before me with the following inscription: “The heroic Chinese people will never yield to any difficulty”. I will never forget this statement, which represents the fighting spirit of the Sichuan earthquake victims. For those who lost their home, limbs, and loved ones, I feel deeply inspired by their willingness to face obstacles and challenges with the indeterminate conviction to emerge triumphantly.



	The Sichuan earthquake was the deadliest natural disaster to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. It claimed tens of thousands of innocent lives and left as many as 11 million homeless and without food or water. In addition, the earthquake erupted in the heart of China and devastated its major economic center



	Minutes after the earthquake, the Chinese government had already organized the rescuing team - 50,000 militants, armed police, and emergency medical teams were deployed to assist with the disaster relief work. Wen Jibao, the premier of China, also arrived at the epicenter within hours to oversee the rescue efforts.



	Every minute counted for the victims. Many of them were children, buried belowground - an event never anticipated when they set off for school that morning. Streets were filled with corpses and the wounded as relief workers dug up collapsed buildings. The need for urgent medical care was overwhelming.



	An idea emerged, hundreds of miles away from Sichuan, in Hong Kong. It was an organization known as Stand Tall and its immediate mission was to relief the overwhelming need for medical care in Sichuan and to provide rehabilitation care for the victims.

	Role in Stand Tall When the Sichuan earthquake erupted, I was university student. Like many of my peers, I had not grasp the intensity of the disaster until the media reported the estimated death count had reached ten thousands and millions were homeless. It was then that I realized, as a global citizen, I must contribute my time and effort to help the earthquake victims.



	I learned about Stand Tall in 2009 during my stay in Hong Kong. And I quickly applied as a volunteer. However, since my stay lasted for a short period of time, I planned to return the following summer to volunteer. Over the next several months, I began to prepare and plan how to contribute to the Sichuan victims.



	In June of 2010, I returned to Hong Kong to begin my volunteer work at Stand Tall. I began by working at their office at Price of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong. My chief task was to compile documents of the patients and to translate Chinese documents into English.



	Journey to Sichuan, China On July 22, I journeyed to Sichuan, China, to join a team of Stand Tall medical staff in providing care to earthquake amputees. The journey comprised of a number of tasks located in different regions of the Sichuan province.



	The first task was to provide medical care for victims at the Chengdu-Hong Kong rehabilitation center. The facility was set up in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake by the Hong Kong and the Chengdu municipal governments to provide rehabilitation care for the victims. As such, a majority of the earthquake amputee were stationed there. However, the facility was limited only to victims who were able to commute to and from home. Other victims who lived far away had other way of receiving medical care.



	The second task was to travel to the remote parts of the Sichuan province and to provide medical care for the less fortunate amputees, who were unable to commute to the Chengdu-Hong Kong rehabilitation center. The team of Stand Tall medical staff and I travelled to four villages where the victims live.



	The first task was to provide medical care for victims at the Chengdu-Hong Kong rehabilitation center. The facility was set up in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake by the Hong Kong and the Chengdu municipal governments to provide rehabilitation care for the victims. As such, a majority of the earthquake amputee were stationed there. However, the facility was limited only to victims who were able to commute to and from home. Other victims who lived far away had other way of receiving medical care.

	Afterthoughts My volunteering experience with Stand Tall has greatly expanded my views. Through seeing victims who had faced the worse kinds of set backs in life, I now understand the essence of compassion. The act of caring for others is what enables a society to operate harmoniously and gives people the courage to overcome their obstacles and challenges. Each victim that I encountered had his or her own story to tell, from the events of the Sichuan earthquake to how he or she tried to live normally after amputation. I strongly believe that each staff member of Stand Tall has made an enormous amount of changes in the earthquake victims’ lives. Their heroic contributions have also inspired me.



	Sharing by Kam Sing Ho
	September 2010