A rescue team deployed by the SAR government to Sichuan province was thrilled to pull a woman alive from the rubble of a collapsed hostel seven days after the earthquake jolted the area.

The woman is the first survivor to have been pulled out by the team working in Hanwang. Prior to that, the team had dug out 24 bodies since its arrival in the disaster zone six days ago.

The team was working near the ruined hostel on Monday when they were told by the People's Liberation Army that a woman buried under the rubble was still alive. The team immediately rushed to the rescue.

The woman was taken to an ambulance on a piece of wooden board that was once a door.

One of the team members, Fire Services Department division commander Tam Tai-keung, told RTHK that the news has boosted the morale of the team.

"All of us are excited. It is really amazing that the woman survived seven days under the rubble," he said.

The team has nearly completed its mission in Hanwang, and will then liaise with mainland authorities in regard to their next mission.

Meanwhile, non-governmental organizations in Hong Kong are planning to help rebuild the quake-devastated province.

Eddie Au, chairman of Sowers' Action that is reputed for building schools on the mainland, said they plan to rebuild 150 schools, most of them in northern Sichuan and Gansu provinces.

For the time being, the group will build temporary classrooms, which only take about one month to construct, to meet the immediate need of the children.

"The temporary classrooms will make it possible for the children to attend school during winter," he said.

Volunteers of the group will visit the affected areas to work out detailed building plans.

World Vision chief executive officer Kevin Chiu, who returned from Sichuan on Monday, said the group would establish children centers in the affected area.

The group had established such centers in the earthquake-stricken Southeast Asia in 2004. The centers were intended for temporary use, but one of them operated for two years.

The centers will function somewhat like a school. Volunteers will provide counseling services to and play with the children.

Some of the children lost their parents in the earthquake; while some did not receive care from their parents because they are either working in other provinces or busy searching for their missing relatives.

Chiu said the reconstruction of the devastated zone will be challenging.

In Shifang alone, some 90,000 homes need to be rebuilt.

Temporary housing which costs about two billion yuan will have to be provided before the reconstruction is completed, according to Chiu.

Oxfam Hong Kong, another relief organization, is also planning to help rebuild Sichuan. Its spokesman Lum Kwok-choi said it is considering providing vocational training to the villagers.

(HK Edition 05/21/2008 page1)