NEWS ALERT!

check out documentary trailer on "revolutionary prosthetics" by our friend Daria - click here

Qin MingHe, a survivor of severe child abuse and bilateral amputee is walking on prostheses sponsored by HandReach (our sister non-profit group) click here

Luwen and mom are arriving on July 30, to receive treatment and new prosthetic arm in The Shriners Hospital for Children at Springfield, MA They will be again hosted by Haian family at Springfield.

July, 2010 Letter from Huang Meihua click here

Good News

Thanks for Qi's effort, American Airlines' Mileage for Kids program has agreed to provide free airline tickets for Luwen and her mother to come to the US this summer for the treatment.

The plan to bring Luwen to the US in the Summer to get a new prosthetics arm has a good start. Qi has received the admission letter from The Shriners Hospital.

Read latest update on Zhang Luwen from Hong, click here (Zhang Luwen 3)

Folks, please also support ACCEF, 全美华人文化教育基金会 American Chinese Culture and Education Foundation on Facebook with your extra votes on Chase Community Giving contest. thx!

Read Meihua's latest update, click here (Huang Meihua 3)

Please join us in supporting Handreach, our sister non-profit, by voting for them to win $25k. Chase Community Giving is donating $5,000,000 to charities around the USA. Facebook users are voting for the recipients!

Today's the last day of the auction! Collectively, we donated over $800 in our bids. If we win, we get: 1 Taiwanese tea, 1 Japanese & 1 Korean tea & 2 paintings. thank you everyone for your support!

Thank you to all those who joined the joint bid. On Day 3, we've collected $490 already! For details, click on our News/Events page.

$10 each - joint bid on tea auction

Thanks for your interest in our latest fundraising effort on ebay. many of you want to help out although you already have more tea than $$. or you prefer coffee & don't have an ebay account.

whatever the case, here's a suggestion: for those of you in sunny so cal, we can collectively bid on say a $500 tea by giving $10 each. for those of you in the NYC area, you can already afford NY rent, please impress me with your generosity :) I'll be holding tea (splitting) parties on both coasts for those who can join. please join by emailing me: julia@512children.org

Your donations will go towards new prostheses for the special cases kids on our list and Handreach's Children's Healing Initiative.

many thanks!

Read Meihua's letter in Chinese, translation coming soon (sorry for the late update!)

Check out our new News/Events page where you can help us update by posting related news and events. Click here

Thanks to Deena Wang's efforts, Meihua's father got a job in the cafeteria of her school. This is very a good news. The family now has a steady income, Meihua father could also help to look after her. Thanks you Deena

Here is an email from Peng Hong

王荻，你好！

梅花刚学电脑，对发送邮件还有点不太会，请见谅!

梅花爸爸现已在光亚学校的食堂工作了，一家人能在一起生活，真是开心的事，谢谢你！
新的假肢，新的轮椅，新的同学，梅花也开始了新的生活，虽然前面的路依然崎岖不平，相信她的

坚强和大家的关爱会一直伴随她，努力前行的！

祝你学业进步！健康平安！中秋快乐！

上帝祝福你！

彭红

Luwen will be 12 on June 7Th. Happy birthday Luwen. 露雯 生日快乐!

Good News. Liu Fang will ve able to go to school again in September.

刘芳今年九月开学可以就读四川德阳市东汽中学初中一年级，将由奶奶陪读，爸爸则在

江苏打工。真是好消息！

东汽中学，１９６８年建校于汉旺镇，１９９６年成为四川省重点中学，２００２年成为四川省示范性普通高中，闻名遐迩，尤其是著名的校园长廊，花开时节，芬芳四溢，成为周边学子渴慕求学之地。但是，大地震发生时，距离震中只有３０公里的东汽中学，成为一个惨烈的名词。 世人知道东汽中学，因为其惨烈的生命损失，更因为其壮烈的教师群体：挖开废墟时，教师谭千秋的身体已经僵硬，但在他如翅膀般伸展的双臂下，四个学生奇迹般地生还了.这个坚毅的群体，荣获全国教育系统抗震救灾“先进集体”与“英雄集体”等殊荣.这所新学校被命名为“东汽八一中学”.

An excellent news: Huang Meihua has been accepted by a very known private school Jiaguang School in Dujiangyan, Sichuan . Details are in her page.

We know some of the supporters expressed interests to help Huang Meihua. As we know Meihua’s parents mentioned before that they wished Meihua could have a laptop computer so that she might be able to learn some skills to support herself in future. We think it also could help her to connect with outside world. If anybody would like to donate a laptop (new or used in good condition), we would love to deliver it to her. You can contact me larry_guo@yahoo.com. Thanks Larry

Melissa Block's interview with Huang Meihua will be on NPR's May 4th broadcast week on All Things Considered. Also, in her Chengdu Diary, Melissa wrote an very interesting story about meal they had in Huang Meihua's home called
A Magical Meal From Humble Surroundings http://www.npr.org/blogs/chengdu/2009/04/by_melissa_block_i_want.html

NPR's Mellisa Block and Andrea Xu visited Huang Meihua on April 25. Peng Hong was there and sent this email .

嗨，大家好！

周六我陪美国全国公共广播电台记者蒙拉莎,徐竹萍和谢翻译，一起去绵阳九洲板房学校看望了梅花，并进行正式了录音采访。
当天正值学校开运动会，梅花不喜欢别班同学太“关注”她，便呆在板房里和本班
几个同学聊天。采访很顺利，只是爸爸妈妈回忆当时地震经历，几次潸然泪下；大家也
常被梅花风趣的话语逗得哈哈大笑，开朗坚强的她感染着在座的每一个人...
七月板房学校会拆除，学生会返回北川原籍复学，学校在山上，梅花返乡读书不现实，
她想留在绵阳上学，但目前还不知道能否实现，有关部门尚未与之联系，妈妈很发愁..

Luwen is back home, celebrating Chinese New Year with her family and friends. Here is an email from Peng Hong from Cheng Du
嗨，大家新年好！

26号（农历初一）下午，露文母女已平安回到四川什邡，与家人欢度春节.

这次见到露文，觉得她开心了很多，以前紧锁的眉头已舒展开来.

相信大家对她的关爱使她重拾了阳光的微笑！未来的日子里，她定会拥着感恩的心，坚强快乐地生活...

非常感谢大家！

新年快乐！主佑平安！

ph

Many schools still unsafe in quake aftermath, China says (Int. Herald Tribune)
By Andrew Jacobs
BEIJING: Government officials have acknowledged in the most definitive report since the devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province in May that many school buildings across the country are poorly constructed and that 20 percent of primary schools in one southwestern province may be unsafe, according to a description of the report published by the state media Friday.

Chinese court rejects parents' earthquake lawsuit (AP)

By GILLIAN WONG
BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by parents of 58 children crushed to death when their school collapsed during May's massive earthquake, the latest setback for the parents in their quest for an apology and compensation.

The dismissal of the case and reports of threats made against the parents underscore the political sensitivity of allegations that corruption and substandard construction caused thousands of classrooms to collapse in the 7.9 magnitude quake.

Parents of China quake victims file lawsuit (International Herald Tribune)

by Edward Wong

DEYANG, China: A group of parents whose children were among the 127 killed in the collapse of an elementary school during the May earthquake that devastated western China have confirmed that they filed a lawsuit against government officials and a construction contractor. The lawsuit is the first filed by grieving and angry parents who say shoddy construction cost the children their lives.

The lawsuit was filed on Dec. 1 in a court here in the city of Deyang, in Sichuan Province, the region hit hardest by the May 12 earthquake, which left 88,000 people dead or missing. Up to 10,000 schoolchildren were killed as some 7,000 classrooms and dormitory rooms collapsed across the quake zone, according to government estimates.

After Quake, Parents In China Start Over (Wall Street Journal)

In Sichuan, there is some evidence of recovery. Six months after the earthquake, schools are being rebuilt. And bereaved parents are trying their best to move on after losing the only child that they were allowed to have under the region's strict population-control policies.

First Sichuan Quake Amputee Girl Arrives in US for Treatment (The China Press)
僑報: 首位四川地震截肢兒童赴美裝假肢

Zhang Luwen on her way to the US: Chengdu Shang Bao (Commerce Daily)
成都商報: 地震截肢小女孩赴美裝義肢

Luwen and her mom will get to Seattle on Nov. 22, spending a night, and arrive New York City on Nov. 23. They will spend Thanksgiving with Noah and Larry, and go to Springfield MA. on Dec. 1. In order to impress his guests, Larry is secretly searching a special recipe for his first roast turkey.

Thank you HAINAN AIRLINES for sponsoring the round-trip tickets of Zhang Luwen and her mother. Luwen will be traveling from Chengdu, Sichuan to Springfield, MA to receive a prosthetic hand from Shriners Hospital for Children.

感谢海南航空 为张露雯母女提供由成都北到西雅图免费经济舱机票！

Visit our Flickr photo album:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31471676@N02/

张露雯最新消息
天府早报： 灾区小姐姐赴美装义肢
http://www.morning.sc.cn/new/html/tfzb/20081014/tfzb09.html

我们将在１０月下旬把１１岁的张露雯办到美国波士顿治疗并安加肢。露雯将是赴美治疗的第一位四川地震儿童。急需两张中－美国际机票。希望航空公司或其他机构个人赞助。请与我们联系。larryguo@512children.org 谢谢
We are trying to get two free airline tickets to bring 11-Years old Zhang Luwen and her mom to the US. Luwen will be the first Sichuan earthquake child comes to US to receive treatment. If you could help, we really appreciate. Please contact US. larryguo@612children.org

We have decided to bring Zhang Luwen to the US to have her prosthesis and initial therapy done in the Shriners at Springfied, MA. Brechen is going to China to finalize COSET deal with Hua Xi hospital in early October. We hope Luwen and her mom could come to the US with Brechen in late October.

Good News! Nian is going to donate a laptop computer to Liu Fang. We are trying to figure out a way to deliver it to her.

Only one orphan adopted after China quake

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4705258.ece

By Jane Macartney, Beijing - Times Online
September 8, 2008

Only one child orphaned in China’s devastating earthquake this year has won adoption so far.

The process of finding new homes for 88 children whose parents have been confirmed dead or who have no relatives able to care for them has been hampered by bureaucratic red tape and by age-old prejudices against the disabled.

The revelation that adoptions of the children of victims from the earthquake was proceeding so slowly comes as the Chinese capital plays host to the Paralympics, which traditionally follows hard on the heels of the Olympic Games.

China Admits Building Flaws in Quake

By Edward Wong - NY Times

BEIJING — A Chinese government committee said Thursday that a rush to build schools during the country’s recent economic boom might have led to shoddy construction that resulted in the deaths of thousands of students during a devastating earthquake in May.

The statement by Ma Zongjin, the chairman of an official committee of experts assessing damage from the May 12 earthquake, is the first time that a representative of the Chinese government has acknowledged that poor construction may have led to the collapses. Until now, officials in Beijing and in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, which suffered the most damage, had said the sheer force of the 7.9-magnitude quake caused the collapses.

Many schools in the earthquake zone crumbled while buildings around them remained standing. According to some estimates, as many as 7,000 classrooms collapsed and up to 10,000 students may have died. In all, nearly 70,000 people died in the quake and 18,000 are considered missing; officials now say those still missing are almost certainly dead. The quake was the deadliest natural disaster in China in more than three decades.

***Great news from our partner non-profit, Handreach:
"HuaXi Hospital has made the milestone leap of becoming involved with the Chinese government's 'Tomorrow Plan,' which guarantees full medical care for disabled orphans through adulthood, regardless of condition or ability to pay. HuaXi Hospital has also stepped up its commitment to provide significantly discounted treatment for poor non-orphan children to enable them to receive needed medical care, particularly orthopedic treatment through its new COSET program. This exciting news commences a cascade of possibilities that pave the way for all of our CHI children to be treated in China without them needing to be transported to the US."

Zhang Luwen has been officially accepted by Shriners Hospital for Children in Springfield, MA! We're working to bring her to the U.S. in August along with a group of Chinese children from Sichuan who will also receive medical treatment in the U.S. sponsored by our non-profit partner Handreach.org.

* We are working on:

1. Sponsor a group of Shriners doctors to Sichuan in August.

2. Bring the 4-5 children in the Urgent Call List to the US hospitals.
Shriners in Chicago had agreed to take Liu Fang's case. (spinal injury).

We are raising fund for both.

*Ouyang and Peng Hong is working on application forms for the Urgent Call children.

*Larry is in Beijing.

*Julia will be on a tour to Taiwan, Beijing and Chenngdu. Zhang Lan will join Julia to go to Chengdu on July 24Th.

*Since there is no mail delivery in Zhang Luwen's camp in Luoshui, Julia and Lan will visit Luwen family again and help Luwen to complete the application form.

Lisa visited Zhang Chunwei,

Lisa is a Russian girl from the beautiful city of Nizhny Novgorod, 5 hours east of Moscow. She is at the end of her one-year language study program in Chongqing. She joined us after browsing 512children.org. It looks that Zhang Chunwei has got a decent arrangement. I could bump her up to Already Sponsored List. Here is part of her email.

Hello, Larry!
Today i've visited Zhang ChunMei in the hospital. This is the best hospital in Chongqing and Sischuan province, her conditions are very good. Moreover, there is a company committed to help her with prostheses. the company's name is: 联络，陈启明教授. It is a HongKong Company.

They provide her with the prostheses, and are going to install them at the end of next week. Now she is using a wheel chair. These prostheses will last till ChuenMei is 17 years old. What they are going to do after - they don't know. They are thinking about saving money by themselves, but if any social help will be available, they would accept.

Chunmei looks pretty happy, playing with her toys, watching TV. She looked very happy, but her mother looked exhausted. We played with her a bit, she has two bears, and we've chosen a name for both. the name i chose was Kaixin (happy), and she chose KaixinJianguo (Happy Nut ^____^ i don't know why))))).

CHENGDU, Sichuan - Hong is in touch with major hospitals and will have an updated list soon. Handreach.org, our sister group's webmaster is also on the ground in Sichuan, thus unable to update their website. Pls contact us regarding donations.

Lan is currently in Chengdu - will be in the following counties for the next three days: Shifang, Mianyang, Mianzhu, Deyang and Pengzhou. List update to come on June 30th.