WU grad helps quake orphans
Melody Zhang’s work with orphans has brought her into devastating situations before, but she said nothing has compared to the despair she is seeing now in areas of China that were virtually swallowed by an earthquake. “To come here and see this disaster before your own eyes is devastating,” Zhang, 41, said Thursday night (
Zhang is the associate director for St. Louis-based Children’s Hope International, an adoption agency. She usually spends her time arranging surgeries and other medical attention for Chinese orphans sponsored by American families.
On Monday, the strongest earthquake to hit the region in more than 30 years struck nearly 1,000 miles from Zhang’s
Zhang went to work buying formula, diapers and other supplies for children living in orphanages destroyed by the quake. She arrived in the earthquake zone Wednesday, said Cory Barron, the agency’s Outreach Director.
“She’s not just helping orphans in orphanages, she’s seeing new orphans that were orphaned by the earthquake,” he said.
Zhang is chronicling her experiences on a blog.
“Here, many babies born in the last several days have been starving with no milk from their moms and a shortage of formula,” she wrote Thursday.
Zhang said in the interview that she stayed inside her car for her first night in the disaster area and has since befriended a fellow
volunteer who has a home where she can stay. She said many people are sleeping in the streets, afraid to return to what buildings remain for fear they will crumble if another quake strikes.
In some areas, she has to wear a mask because the odor is so bad.
Aside from medical attention and basic supplies, the children Zhang has encountered also need psychological counseling, she said.
“I have met children that have been evacuated from the quake and have had nightmares,” she said. “They don’t talk. They just cry when I ask them what happened. One little boy won’t go into small rooms, like bathrooms.”
Zhang said she has seen multi-story buildings that have become piles of rubble.
“You just know there are people underneath,” she said. “The soldiers are digging like crazy to get them out.”
Along with the devastation, Zhang said she has seen incredible acts of kindness.
“People are opening their houses to strangers, offering their personal cars for relief work,” she said. “The whole country is
supporting this area right now.”
Zhang graduated from
southwest
Barron says it’s unclear when Zhang will return to her normal post. “She’ll probably work in that zone for some time to come,” he said. “It’s unbelievable damage.”