It has been raining incessantly; very unseasonal weather for this time of the year. According to local wisdom, the climate has changed because of the massive earthquake that rocked this region in early May. Whatever the cause, it is clear that since the earthquake, people here have yet to see warm and sunny days and they no longer have clean water in their homes.

Displaced and Elderly

Guo Xiangqing, a spritely lady approaching 70 years of age, walks on the muddy, dirt track towards a water point with a cooking pot in her hand. She and her husband, along with 200 others, have been living in a resettlement camp for three months since being evacuated from Hongya village in the mountains. The water point set up by the Red Cross has been their only source of drinkable water.

The elderly couple lives alone in a self-made simple transitional shelter. The roof, built at a cost of 720 Yuan ($102 US dollars) protects them from the rain but the walls cannot stop the wind. Timber used for the shelter was salvaged from the ruins of their old home, and they had to pay 200 Yuan ($30) for someone to carry that wood down from the mountains. This is a typical situation for everyone living in the resettlement area. Although they are entitled to get 2000 Yuan ($290) per family from the government to build transitional shelter, this is barely enough to cover the cost of rebuilding, even with the materials salvaged from their old house.

"We have been badly affected," Guo Xiangqing says and it is not difficult to see that she is deeply sincere. On May 12, the old couple managed to scramble safely out of their house before it collapsed, but didn't bring any belongings with them. "Not even a shallot," says Madam Guo with a wry smile. Their torn and tattered clothing which they still wear was the only thing they salvaged. Half of the village was buried by a massive landslide, along with many neighbours they had known for decades. A few of the survivors made a fire to warm themselves on the first night before continuing their way out of the mountains the next morning.

Red Cross responders

Until the Emergency Response Units (ERUs) provided by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to provide water, sanitation and base camp facilities became functional in early June, the old couple had been living with other displaced villagers for over two weeks without access to sufficient food, water, or medical supplies.

For three months, the ERUs and their hardworking personnel provided people in the surrounding villages and camps with emergency water and sanitation and a direct humanitarian support that helped give them the hope and confidence that they could, one day, rebuild their lives.

Post Emergency phase

The emergency phase is now over - the operations of the ERU have been handed over from the IFRC to the Red Cross Society of China.

"Thank you so much for the help and concern you have shown us," the elderly couple says repeatedly. But worry is etched deeply on their faces as they grapple with the fact that a harsh winter is fast descending on them.