Photo exhibition of Sichuan village reconstruction opens

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-07 22:01

BEIJING - A photography exhibition showing a village's post-earthquake reconstruction in China's southwestern Sichuan Province opened here Thursday.

The exhibition at the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall is held by the Operation Blessing International (OBI), a United States based humanitarian organization, and the China Association for International Friendship Contact, a Beijing-based social organization. It is called "Little Chen's Village and the Great Sichuan Earthquake."

The exhibition, which includes 150 photographs and 3 short videos, is in four parts, "the Aftermath," "the Recovery," "the Rebuilding" and "the Hope."

David Darg, director of International Disaster Relief for OBI, said the exhibition showed the reconstruction process through the eyes of an eight-year-old boy, Chen Qi, because "it was something to do with hope."

"Despite all of the sadness you saw at the beginning, little Chen Qi still had hope and joy in his part," said Darg.

After the magnitude 8.0 quake in Sichuan last May, Darg went to Yaojin Village in Beichuan County, one of the worst hit areas, and shot more than 4,000 pictures there in the following months.

"The village was completely destroyed," said Darg. "We knew that we had to do something to help them rebuild the village."

From last May to this March, the OBI provided 2.8 million yuan (US$0.41 million) to rebuild 54 houses in the Yaojin Village, said Bill Horan, president of the OBI.

Together with local government's help and the villagers' effort, the construction work was finished by March 12, only ten months after the disaster.

"This is a perfect example of how villagers, government, non-government organizations and even foreigners can work together for the recovery of disaster victims," said Horan.

The exhibition runs until next Tuesday, when it will be moved to Hong Kong and reopen at the Central Library.