Mercy Corps - Update from Sichuan, China

May 15, 2008

Dear Friends,

It's the end of another busy day here in Sichuan Province. Today was a sad day -- not many survivors have been found in areas devastated by the earthquake. The sheer scale and loss of this tragedy is hitting people hard.

Because you've made a donation to Mercy Corps, I wanted to write and give you an update of what's going on here. I'm currently in the city of Chongqing with two Mercy Corps colleagues. We set up a emergency response center today with our local partner, the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation. We'll be conducting all our relief operations from there. Crews have started reaching devastated cities, and now is the critical time to help survivors.

Today, we bought enough water, noodles, milk, crackers and shelter supplies to fill 22 truckloads. Those items are bound for Mianyang, a city about three hours from here that was absolutely ravaged by the earthquake. At least 7,300 people were killed in that city alone, and many more are missing. People are sleeping on the streets because they're afraid their homes will collapse from aftershocks.

Things are changing so fast. Today I felt that chaos. But your generous donations are helping rush relief to survivors. You are making a difference.

My colleagues and I will continue to post updates on the situation at www.mercycorps.org/chinaearthquake. Thank you again for your support. We couldn't do this without you.

Sincerely,

Kate Janis
Senior Program Officer
Mercy Corps