"Working Together is the Most Important" - On a day at the resettlement site of Shulan No.3 Middle School, we worked together to prevent floods and provide disaster relief
After the shower, a hint of blue squeezed out from the low dark clouds, and dragonflies flew densely around the playground of Shulan No.3 Middle School in Jilin Province. A flood broke the tranquility that the campus should have had in August.
The meteorological forecast shows that Shulan City, which recently experienced the impact of Typhoon No. 5, is facing the threat of Typhoon No. 6, Kanu, starting from the 12th.
"In response to Typhoon 'Kanu', 499 people have been transferred and resettled here." Upon seeing the reporter, Principal Sun Guomin's voice was hoarse, with bloodstains in his eyes, as he carefully checked the registration form of the transferred personnel.
Shulan No.3 Middle School, which was newly built in 2020, is the largest resettlement site in Shulan City during this flood season. In addition to receiving personnel from Ping'an Town, affected areas such as Jinma Town and Qili Township have also been gradually relocated from the evening of the 3rd.
Sun Guomin and his teachers have been busy since the morning, inspecting the resettlement dormitories, verifying personnel changes, understanding the medication needs of the elderly, and handling possible emergency situations.
"Almost all of our teachers have returned to school," said Sun Guomin. In the face of the disaster, all the teachers in the school responded to the call and arranged accommodation, opened the cafeteria, and set up viewing points within a few days, so that the villagers could live in the resettlement site without any worries.
"In order to calm the emotions of the disaster stricken villagers, the school also arranged for teachers to chat with everyone and provide psychological counseling in a ratio of 1 to 10," said Sun Guomin.
In the school corridor, several young people wearing red vests shuttle through the crowd carrying medicine boxes. They are student volunteers here, some of whom are graduates from Shulan No.3 Middle School.
16-year-old Sun Liyuan just graduated from junior high school and chose to volunteer when she saw her hometown suffering from disasters. Distributing disease prevention flyers, door-to-door evacuation notices, and serving disaster stricken people at school... This summer vacation will be unforgettable for her.
On August 11th, villagers received medical supplies issued by the Red Cross Society of Shulan City at the resettlement site of Shulan No.3 Middle School. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yan Linyun
"In the countryside, there was an old man who was afraid we were thirsty and picked his own plums for us to eat. In the school cafeteria, the villagers always asked us to go eat first." Sun Liyuan said emotionally, "In the face of disasters, working together is the most important thing."
Near the dinner point, the smell of pork stewed with pickled Chinese cabbage wafted from the back kitchen of the school canteen. Song Xiaobo, the administrator, was busy arranging villagers to queue up for dinner. She, who has just undergone surgery for cholecystitis for a month, still feels a slight pain at the incision.
"Although we are nearing retirement, we still need to do something within our capabilities," said Song Xiaobo. "Some villagers take the initiative to help us clean the tables and floors after dinner. As long as everyone is satisfied, it's worth it no matter how tired we are."
For Sun Guomin, the most unforgettable day is the 8th day of the beginning of autumn. The town government staff led everyone to make dumplings at school, with 100 pounds of noodles and two large pots of meat filling, together "sticking autumn fat" to ensure safety.
On August 11th, villagers ate in the cafeteria of Shulan No.3 Middle School. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yan Linyun
After dinner, the villagers gathered on the playground to cool off, and soon a "symposium" was held. "Thanks to the village cadres' efforts to relocate, 'now we have enough to eat and live warmly,' 'we feel sorry for the losses suffered at home,' 'as long as people are still here,' 'yes, people are here, we can definitely rebuild.'"
As the night grew deeper, the settlement gradually quieted down.
