Moving Forward after the Earthquake—Jun-jun's Story

On May 12th, 2008, Jun-jun, a student at Hong Xing primary school at NanZheng County of HanZhong City, came back to the classroom after lunch. It was only a few moments after the bell rang that all the students felt the violent shaking of their classroom. First Jun-jun felt he was being pushed from behind. The next thing he knew, he woke up scared stiff and stumbled out of the classroom. 

Fortunately, Jun-jun did not suffer any physical injuries. But after the earthquake, he and his classmates had to study in the temporary shelters. Some students whose parents were working as migrant workers in other cities were removed from school to go live with their parents. The students study courses were interrupted by frequent aftershocks. 

After the disaster, Plan China took swift action and constructed a new teaching building for Jun-jun’s school. Plan organized some activities for students like painting, and essay writing. The design used for the new school came from an exercise where the children were asked to describe and paint their ideal learning environment.  By working with Plan, the children also learned about their rights and responsibilities. Through a variety of participatory activities, the children gradually recovered from the shadow of the earthquake and began looking towards the future.  

Looking at the upcoming robust new teaching building, big smiles appeared on Jun-jun and his classmates’ faces.  

“Studying in the new classrooms, we will never have to worry about earthquakes. We also have some new teaching equipment,” said Jun-jun. “Now, we look forward to the new books and bookshelves from Plan China’s uncles and aunts.”