International student returns home to aid her country

RELEASED: July 3, 2008

DANVILLE, KY—On the morning of May 12th, 2008, America awoke to tragic news: China had been hit with a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killing thousands of people in and around the Sichuan Province. For Centre student Ying Wu, the news served as a call to return home to her family where she's been aiding in the national recovery efforts sponsored by the Red Cross ever since.

"I was still at Centre, studying for my last final, when the earthquake happened," Wu says. "I tried calling home for about half an hour, but I couldn't get through to either of my parents' cell phones. Finally, I got through on a landline and my father answered. When I heard his voice, I just wanted to cry."

On the ground in China, Wu reports that all of her family members are safe but that many of their apartments sustained some type of structural damage. "Some of them lived in tents for a few days in the event of the aftershocks."

When Wu first arrived in China, she organized volunteers to work in different areas depending on their background and kept records of the new volunteers who poured in daily. She also played a role in keeping records on the donations, which were sent from all over the world to enhance relief efforts. She later worked for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as a translator.

"We went to the hardest hit areas and checked the distributions of the tents and other supplies," Wu says.

Wu's efforts have been bolstered by a steady stream of support. She says, "So many professors and friends have emailed or called me, asking about my family at home. Their support and words mean a lot to me and remind me that I'm not alone."

Wu will return to Centre as a senior in the fall and plans to graduate in 2009 with a double major in art and economics.

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