May 2008, the poor households that ARDY provide services to reached more than 6,000. Unfortunately, the 5.12 WenChuan Earthquake affected in varying degrees a large portion of these households. After the disaster, Secretary General Gao XiangJun immediately sent staff members to the branches, the farmers’ cooperative societies, and the farmers’ homes to interview and survey the people in order to gain a better understanding of the post-disaster problems. ARDY discovered that 1710 households received serious damage; 1347 households with at least 100 meters of rafter damage; 342 households with cracked walls in need of reinforcement (the purlins have become damaged and, thus, life-threatening); and, 21 households with collapsed roofs. To help these farmers, ARDY has sent damage reports to international and domestic organizations and asked for their help and support.
(Translated by Jennifer Yau)
