Students’ Dining Hall With German Funding Completed in Earthquake-Hit Areas

From October 12 to 17， 2009， at the invitation of the Sichuan Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (SIFA)， our German friend Madam Carla Michel， leading an Association for Germany-China Friendship Hamburg (AGCFH) delegation， visited the area.

The delegation included two teachers and five students of the Gymnasium Farmsen in Hamburg，who were very interested in China and the work of friendship associations. During their visit to SIFA， they saw a silk banner given by Guangping Primary School of Jiange County， one of the worst earthquake-damaged areas in Sichuan. As soon as they were told of the meaning of words written on the banner， “with heartfelt concerns and giving a helping hand to Guangping Primary School， donations sent from thousands of miles show true love”， they were very moved and took photos to remember reconstruction work supported by SIFA and the AGCFH.

Immediately after the Wenchuan Earthquake on May 12， 2008， the AGCFH began to solicit donations， and was able to provide Guangping Primary School with nearly 300，000 Yuan to build a new student dining hall. This was completed after more than six months of construction.

After a long journey， the delegation arrived at Guangping Primary School and attended the unveiling ceremony for the completion of the hall， together with 700 teachers and pupils， as well as the local people. When the headmaster of the school and Madam Michel lifted the red silk covering the signboard together， revealing the name “Hamburg Hall”， there were waves of applause and cheers. The delegation brought to the school the newly-collected donations of 1，265 euros and a great number of small gifts， and some pictures， teaching aids， stationery and sports equipment. They also presented several landscape paintings to the school， which represented a wish that the Guangping Primary School in the mountainous areas and the coastal city of Hamburg should join hands and ensure German-Chinese friendship lasts forever and be “l(fā)ofty like the mountain and deep like the ocean”. Teachers and students of both sides gave impressive performances and shared their teaching experiences， and had lunch together in the Hamburg Hall. As the time came to part， they exchanged gifts， and wrote to each other words of encouragements and signed their names， showing a reluctance to say farewell.

In July 2009，SIFA President Qin Lin led a delegation to Guangping Primary School to evaluate the damage caused by the earthquake and since then， she had shown great concern for its reconstruction. She arranged many foreign delegations to visit the place， among which three of them were from Germany， and actively recommended the reconstruction project to foreign friendship organizations. President Qin Lin personally started making donations from her own book collection to the school， and many foreign public charity institutions presented school desks and chairs， teaching materials and aids， as well as sports equipment.

Madam Michel visited Guangping Primary School in October 2008 and brought with her the contribution collected by AGCFH. This time， she saw with her eyes the great changes that had taken place in the earthquake-hit areas， and felt satisfied with the achievements of the recovery and reconstruction. She sincerely appreciated the Sichuan people’s tenacious and optimistic attitude.

For the seven teachers and students of the GymnasiumFarmsen， it was their first visit to China that left a deep impression. They felt encouraged by China’s great achievements and deeply touched by the sincerity， kindness， hospitality and perseverance of the Chinese people. Just as the President of the AGCFH said before: “I can tell， definitely they will actively participate in the cause of Germany-China friendship in future.”