Local Chinese try to aid quake relief effort

Association explores ways to raise money to send to China

He Junchang/xinhua
AP

People injured in Monday's earthquake receive medical treatment Friday inside a makeshift clinic in Heishui county, which neighbors the quake-hit areas of Wenchuan, Lixian and Maoxian, in southwest China's Sichuan province.

One hundred and four hours.

That's how long Mount Pleasant resident Bonnie Feng waited to hear that her parents in China were alive after a devastating earthquake on Monday killed tens of thousands of people. She counted every hour, she said.

The phone call more than four days later was quick. They are alive. Their apartment building is OK, but they can't stay inside because of the aftershocks. They spent days in a bus. Now they are living in a tent. They will call again when they can.

Feng's parents, Degen Feng and Wenxin Li, of Maoxian County, survived the 7.9 magnitude quake in the country's Sichuan province. It toppled buildings and buried perhaps hundreds of thousands of people in the rubble.

Now Bonnie Feng, like other members of the Chinese Association of Greater Charleston, is trying to raise money for the survivors.

The group met Saturday morning in Charleston to discuss fundraising options. They hope to soon announce a time and place for an event with Chinese food and entertainment.

Meanwhile, Medical University of South Carolina students are working with the association and have been soliciting donations for the earthquake victims at the Mount Pleasant Wal-Mart, Feng said. She said the students will continue that effort this week.

The Chinese government is doing all it can do, but they need help," association President Bing Pan said. "We will make sure the money gets to the victims."

Bonnie Feng is relieved that her parents made it through, but she knows there are many other families suffering in China. "We need to help those people out," she said.

Reach Nadine Parks at nparks@postandcourier.com or 937-5573.