YAO JIN, China - Covered with tattered gloves, the women's petite hands lift rough bricks from a disheveled pile. One by one, the heavy bricks are organized in a wheelbarrow for delivery to the construction site.

Despite the gloves' protection, the ladies' hands are worn and calloused from months of arduous and repetitive work. Yet still, the mothers, grandmothers and daughters of Yao Jin smile.

With each brick moved, they are one piece closer to rebuilding their village and rebuilding their lives.

Help bring a family home! For gifts of $1,000 or more, your name will be displayed on a plaque in Yao Jin village and you'll receive a photo book showing the village’s dramatic transformation.

“They are really the stars of this show because they’re doing the manual labor that’s keeping this project running,” said David Darg, OBI’s director of international disaster relief and special projects.

That manual labor not only includes moving bricks but also toting buckets of cement, hauling 50-lb. packs of roofing tiles in woven baskets slung over their shoulders, doing metal work and shoveling loads of dirt.

Heavy load: Women help carry and unload 50-lb. packs of roofing tiles.

When a massive 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit China in May 2008, these same women watched as every building in their village crumbled to the ground. Five million people lost their homes, including every family in Yao Jin.

OBI restored Yao Jin’s water supply and built new shower and bathroom facilities. Then, they committed to rebuild the entire village. And, the women of the village committed to help.

Now, everyone pitches in to reclaim their community. Children clean bricks. The men dig and lay bricks. And the women sort and move all 1.5 million bricks. At night, these same ladies attend to regular household tasks like cooking and getting fresh water.

There are no days off. But no one seems to want to rest.

Fifty-five homes of mortar and brick have taken shape. The roof beams and tiles are being placed, and the women of Yao Jin are beginning to imagine their new lives here.

"These incredible ladies with big smiles on their faces are working really hard all day – every day,” Darg said. "They’re shoveling dirt, doing really tough jobs, and still so joyful."

HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help by making an online donation toward OBI's disaster relief efforts. With your support, we can continue to provide emergency relief and recovery. Please make an on-line donation today.

 

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