Volunteers help reunite anxious families

CHENGDU: A desk of the nursing department of the Huaxi Hospital in southwest Sichuan province bears the sign Xun Qin (seeking families). Volunteers man the desk, sifting through files containing the personal information of patients.

"We work from 8 am to 8 pm, receiving people looking for their relatives. We have been very busy, although in the past few days it has been rather quiet," a volunteer surnamed Deng, said. He works for a technology company based in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.

Deng is just one of many thousands of people who are doing voluntary work. Although their backgrounds might be different, they all have one thing in common - to the help quake victims and their families.