(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-21 07:15

MIANYANG: Donated vans came from another province; American students arranged storage for supplies; others sang songs and danced to put smiles on the faces of children.

Linking them all is Heart to Heart International, a US-based humanitarian group that is putting foreign volunteers and Chinese together to get help to survivors of China's worst earthquake in decades.

"We pay our own way to come here and help. People say, 'Why do you do that?' I say: 'One day we'll have this need. We'll need to have the world help us'," Gary Morsch, founder of Heart to Heart, said.

China's response has been impressive, he said.

"I think the response here has been as great and quick as anywhere I've seen," he said.

Heart to Heart set up an office in Chengdu 11 years ago to work on a variety of projects, including medical training and disaster management.

Over the past week, about 100 volunteers a day have streamed through it, dropping off supplies and offering to join relief teams. About half are foreigners, including Koreans, Americans and Germans.

"We live here in Mianyang," volunteer Aaron Cyboron, an American studying Chinese at a local university, said.

"When the quake happened, we were desperate to help."

Two days after the quake, he and fellow American student Aric Berger joined a group of Heart to Heart volunteers in hiking to the town of Beichuan, carrying supplies.

"It was surreal, the destruction there. I didn't recognize the place," Berger said.

The students also helped find storage for supplies and recruited volunteers.

"Everyone I know has been completely willing to jump in on this," Berger said.

The response from the Chinese has been even more astounding, Morsch said.

"What we're seeing is a massive outpouring of support by Chinese. It's wonderful to see," he said.

One donation came from the Jiang Huai automotive company in Anhui province, which loaned 200 vehicles to the relief effort.

"We sent out cars on the first day of the quake," employee Nick Xiong said.

"We just want to help."

The chance to be a part of a bigger effort is part of the motivation for many volunteers.

Watching events unfold on TV in Beijing, three Americans traveled to Chengdu and showed up at Heart to Heart.

They planned to join a relief team, but were told there was a need to work with children.

"We were open for anything," Gabriel Mellan, said.

So Mellan and his friends, Doug McGee and Josh Kidwell, went to a refugee camp outside Mianyang that is housing 20,000 people.

The three pulled out a guitar and the kazoo and put on a song and dance show for dozens of children.

Shouts of laughter rang out from the giant circle as the kids giggled and chased their new friends.

As Morsch watched the children, a wide grin stretched across his face.

"You don't have to be a brain surgeon. If you have a good heart, you can contribute. This is about ordinary people helping each other," he said.

"They are my heroes."

Agencies

(China Daily 05/21/2008 page5)