By Zhang Hongyi, Zhang Rongfeng
MIANZHU, China, May 10 (Xinhua) --Ten years after the deadly 8.0-magnitude earthquake in Southwest China's Wenchuan, local education authorities have been pushing the mental rehab on campus taking the advantage of sports.
"Don't let our children live under the shadow of the earthquake. We need a means to shake that off, and we find that sports are the best thing we can turn to," said Peng Bo, director of the Mianzhu county education bureau, in reviewing their 10-year effort of educational rebuilding after the Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008.
Peng said Thursday that the earthquake, which caused nearly 70,000 casualties in Southwest China's Sichuan province, killed 970 kids in Mianzhu county, many of whom were from Hanwang town. The disaster left a huge and deep scar on those who survived, especially children. Helping those mentally affected kids to grow up healthily has been a great concern for the local education authorities.
"Mianzhu is a county with few sports resources. We made contact with an education reform program -- the National School Sports League, which proposed a new-style campus sports like 'specialized sport for different school' and 'sports meet involving everyone'. This program meets our need perfectly," said Peng. "Ten years after the quake, the county education found the much valued role sports has played in students' mentality rehab. To me, I think sports can have a profound influence on this in the coming years."
A taxi driver named Li was at his sister's birthday party in Yingxiu town when the earthquake struck the whole area, including his home town Hanwang at 2:28 on May 12 ten years ago. Li needed seven days to finally manage to return home for quake caused isolation, immersed in great worries for his wife and son.
"My son was taking a nap that day before he was suddenly flipped to the ground. He was scared, crying and running out of the door, willing to find his mom. This is what my wife had told me later after myself escaped the trap in Yingxiu town at that time," Li said of his memories about the quake.
Li's son is 18 now, in 12th grade in Nanxuan High School, which is approximately a 30 minutes' drive away from the Hanwang town ruins. Throughout the ten years, Li has expected nothing more than his son to be healthy, body and mind.
"Some of his friends had been taken away by the earthquake. For a long time after the quake, he (Li's son) has been suffering from nightmares, waking up crying at midnight. We hope the earthquake won't lead to psycological and mental harms on his whole life," said Li.
The physical marks from the Wenchuan earthquake has been vanishing over the years thanks to the strong support nationwide, but the hurt in local residents' mind still lingers on.
A 11th grader in Nanxuan high school said: "It (the quake) happened during our nap time. Our classrooms collapsed and some of the classmates were buried and dead..." He could hardly continue the interview when talking about the quake experience even after ten years.
"When you visit schools in Minzhu county, you'll find we develop a good education system complying with nature. Here, the most valued thing is health for everyone, physically and mentally," said Peng. "School sports are just helping our children to get that."
A group of suntanned students indulged in the fun of playing softball on the playground Thursday in Xiaode school in Mianzhu county. According to Li Shu from the National School Sports League, the school is specialized in softball and almost every student can play the sport.
"Everyone is encouraged to get involved in softball playing in Xiaode school. Softball training are carried out three times a week, and that really has brought a lot of fun and strength to them," said Li Shu.
