(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-02 09:23

OVERSEAS CHINESE CHILDREN REACH OUT FROM AFAR

In New York, Nancy Sing Bock, headmaster of the No. 51 public school, handed a letter from student Li Ruishi to the Chinese Consulate. "Li is only six years old and I am proud of him," she said. Under the boy's proposal, his 300 schoolmates organized a charity sale that raised 550 US dollars. The money was entrusted the consulate to give to the children affected by the quake.

Similar donations from children were reported from other countries, such as Switzerland and Spain.

"Chinese children seemed to have grown up overnight," said Chen Tongming, the Ningxia Academy of Social Sciences vice head.

"Children are a group most susceptible to social influences," he said. "When they saw the adults donating for the quake affected, they learnt the affection and are also eager to help. To be caring is a sign of maturation."

PAINS SOOTHED BY GRATITUDE

Love across China was felt by bereaved or injured children in the quake zone, most of whom got presents on their own holiday.

Zhang Hong, 11, was busy counting the gifts she received in Beichuan --  a teddy bear, books and pens. Along with her parents and five-year-old brother, the family trekked for a whole day after the earthquake.

"I have never walked for so long," she said. "But I see so many people caring for us, I know I should be stronger and more brave."

"Can you help me buy 100 blank cards," Liu Tao asked the nurse while lying in a hospital bed. "I want to write to whoever helped me in the past fortnight. Do you think 100 would be enough?" he asked.

Yong Qing from the Qiang ethnic minority was practicing with her classmates for a chorus.

"Last year we had a party for the children's day and each class had a program," she recalled, her arms marked with bruises and scars that resulted when she escaped the quake.

"This year, maybe the party couldn't be as grand, but we still prepared a program," said the 11-year-old. This time, they wanted to sing the song "Grateful Heart."

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