Temporary schools and dorms in Mianyang
Jia Guo Peng shows me around the new make-shift campus for high school students
Local volunteers, with no home to return to, provide assistance in cleaning the school area
Inside a temporary classroom
Chalkboard full of student writing
That day, preparing for a summer party for the students
A mix of college students from neighboring universities, all whom are majoring in psychology and social welfare
The night of the party, a young girl sings for the others. Everyone had to take one turn in showing off their talents to the others
Jia Guo Peng and one of his students
Sophia, a college student volunteer and I
We managed to buy all junk food for the party.... nothing better to make the party a lively one!
Student chorus having fun
Group photo to say thank you to the volunteers
All together now
After the party, students were keen to continue chatting
The next morning, amongst the rain, we traveled to Beichuan
Refugee camps aligning the highway for miles
Make-shift cleaning area
A girl walks in the mud to her home
A difficult walkway, made worse with the rain
The kitchen area for this residence
Before a family moves in, this is what it looks like
We talk to a local resident, an old woman who is finding it all very difficult
Back on the road about 30 minutes away from Beichuan
A site too common, landslides from the highway
View from the car as we approach other villages
The potholes that were created from the earthquake are massive
Our transfer point. From here we went by foot through the village neighboring Beichuan county
The start of our tour through the earthquake zone
Walking one of the main roads
The damage was catastrophic..
A family huddles around a fire
The area was littered with what used to be family or business possessions
This man is part of the effort to rebuild, one brick at a time
Collecting re-usable bricks
This is the site where an elementary school used to be, it has now been flattened with only the Administration's building behind it
One of my new friends, showing me around
Can you see the sofa in this photo, its dangling down from the third floor of this apartment.
This is the new kitchen for the family's in the refugee camps
Jia Guo Peng and two of his local high school students
Our host residents who were extremely warm to take me in and make me feel at home
This is a typical refugee camp... many more
He used to go to school here, the school's cafeteria on the right is now demolished and the classroom building has been broken in pieces
Locally grown produce, grapes
International aid agencies are here too
We stop during our day for lunch at one of the only restaurants still in business. Spicy hot pot is how the locals eat
This was once Zhu's home
Now her home is here, a shelter built with wood and plastic tarping to keep the rain out. We found time to play with her neice and other relatives
Her family's kitchen
Walking back to the main road to get a ride to Beichuan
We're in Beichuan, this is the site where hundreds of children died in what used to be a school
Thinking twice before walking on the rubble as this has become a burial site
Old textbooks were scattered around
Atop a mountain side to see the city in utter ruin
Nothing is left and the area is uninhabitable
A major landslide toppling everything in its path
Names of victims strung up from our viewing point
Back at Mianyang to run a basketball competition for the students
Jia Guo Peng, a close friend that continues to inspire me, and some students...
