In Times of Tragedy

Over the past week and a half, I have followed the news on the internet about the earthquake in Sichuan.  Even though I am thousands of miles away, I feel devastated and in shock after seeing the pictures / videos of the earthquake scenes, learning the magnitude of its damage and especially about the fact that so many children lost their lives in this tragedy. As a mother, I can or I should say can't, imagine how despairing those parents feel after losing their only child. I have never been a person who is good at expressing my emotions with words and there are so much emotions going on inside of me after the earthquake that I just don't know what to say.

In this time of tragedy, I am in awe of the fragility and resilience of human life. I am amazed by how strong willpower and an optimistic mind-set can make a difference between life and death. I admire those soldiers and volunteers who risked their lives to save others.

I was also touched by the love I saw in times of danger among family members, between mothers and their children, husbands and wives, teachers and students, and friends ...and I was even more touched and inspired by the compassion and the support the rest of the Chinese people showed to the earthquake victims including the two children below.

Olivia and Evan,
Mom could not stop my tears after reading the following story about the donation made by two handicapped children in China to the recent earthquake and I want to share it with you.

I know neither of you have seen / exposed to the lives of those unfortunate to date. In fact, you probably have only seen a few handicapped people in your lives and none of them looked "as bad as" the two children in these pictures.  I don't mean to scare you with their deformed bodies but I want to let you know that they may have deformed bodies, but both of them have the heart of gold!

They both beg for money to barely make a living because of their severe disabilities and they have all the reasons not to donate any money as they themselves need help as well. Yet they chose to do so and they were so generous! Forty "yuan" is not enough to buy a pizza from the Pizza Hut in China, but it is a lot for them and can support them for many days. When you see the picture of that girl "crawling" away, how can you not moved by the unselfishness and the love of her heart!

Mom just wants to let you two know by sharing this story that there are people in this world who would think about helping others even though they themselves have a hard time to make a living. I hope and I believe that both of you will grow up appreciating the life you have with a loving heart of helping others.

殘疾乞討女孩為地震災區捐款45元

安徽蚌埠誌願者為災區募捐時遇見的感人的一幕，中午的時候一個下半身完全殘疾，僅僅依靠一個手撐著艱難爬行，靠整天在蚌埠步行街乞討來勉強度日的善良女孩。在誌願者募捐現場為災區捐獻了45元。

她來的時候是選擇中午的，因為這是捐款人最少的時候，當時誌願者們剛吃過飯，她先在募捐處對麵張望了一會，然後一步步的向募捐處爬來，一共捐了45塊錢。她沒有說一句話，隻是很認真的把錢放入了捐款箱中，在她的臉上誌願者們看到了募捐所遇到最美麗的笑容，是那種完全由內心自豪而發出來的。捐完善款的殘疾女孩一點點的爬出了大家的視線。

令世人動容 廣州殘疾乞討者兩度捐款傾盡所有(圖)

南方網5月20日報道 他，是一名身患殘疾、無法直立行走的乞討者；他，來到捐款箱前，把僅有的30多元全部放了進去。他的舉動被熱心路人用相機記錄下來放到網上，迅速成為近兩日各大論壇的熱帖。

昨日下午，記者與一名不願透露姓名的知情街坊取得聯係。經對方確認，照片中的場景正是上周五下午發生在廣州越秀區華樂街支援抗震救災募捐活動現場的一幕。

該知情街坊回憶，上周五下午將近5點，他和兩名同事經過環市東路世貿大廈東麵的露天廣場，遠遠看見一名乞討者蹣跚“走”到捐款箱前。

“在場的工作人員和路人都以為他隻是路過。當他說出‘我要捐款’時，所有人都愣住了。”知情街坊的同事老謝說，當時這名乞討者從碗裏掏出幾個硬幣，讓站在旁邊的阿SIR(警察)幫忙投入捐款箱，但阿SIR知道這錢的分量，堅持讓他親手捐。

感動之餘,工作人員趕緊把捐款箱放到殘疾乞討者的麵前

工作人員見狀，趕緊把捐款箱拿到地上，擺在他的麵前。他將硬幣一個一個放進箱子後，又抬頭向工作人員說了句“我還有錢”，便從衣兜裏掏出一些紙幣往箱子裏塞。老謝粗略算了一下，大約有三四十塊。這位殘疾人表示，他是從露天電視得知災情後趕過來捐款的。

這一過程被熱心路人用相機全程記錄下來，並以“一個身殘心不殘的捐款者，令世人動容”為主題發上網絡，引起了許多網友的極大關注。大家紛紛回帖，不少人更直言自己是含著淚看完組照的。

“沒想到，兩天後他又來捐款了！”據知情街坊透露，前日下午3時許該名捐款者第二次來到捐贈現場，把身上的近10元零錢全部投入捐款箱。他表示，自己雖然患有小兒麻痹症，但也想為四川災區出一分力。