Emergencies
(Copyright: Save the Children Australia)
Qilai Shen/Panos/Save the Children

China earthquake

  • Donate online .
  • Download a China earthquake emergency appeal donation form [Adobe PDF, 89 Kb] and post it or fax it to us, or
  • Call our toll free number 1800 76 00 11 and donate over the phone.
  • Send us a cheque/money order payable to Save the Children Australia. Forward it to China Earthquake Emergency Appeal, Save the Children, PO Box 340, Fitzroy VIC 3065. Make sure to enclose your name and address for receipting purposes.
  • Donate to the Save the Children China Earthquake Appeal at your local ANZ branch.

As of Sunday 22 June at noon, Xinhua quotes the State Council Information Office report of 69,181 death tolls, 374,171 injured and 18,522 missing from the Wenchuan earthquake. By Sunday, about 1.47 million quake survivors had been evacuated.

Following the initial search and rescue efforts conducted by the Chinese military and rescuers – the Chinese government has now appealed for international assistance – and Save the Children has been approached to provide assistance in the areas of education and child protection

Although there are no official statistics available, the estimated number of children victims is very high. Currently, there are over 4,000 children separated from their families, many of whom might be orphaned already.

We have 150 staff in 6 offices across the country and 7 international emergency support staff.

Save the Children's priority is to keep children safe. We will be keeping children's issues on the agenda – setting up child friendly centres for children whose families are homeless and for children separated from their carers.



  • 770 children have benefited from the 7 Save the Children Child Friendly Spaces in Mianzhu, An, Qingchuan, and Pengzhu counties.

  • Save the Children has distributed schools supplies to 3,525 students and 373 teachers in seven schools in Mianzhu and An counties. The distributed school supplies include blackboards, fans, desks and chairs for students and teachers. Save the Children is procuring more school supplies to meet the needs of 6,000 students in the coming month. 

  • Save the Children are working with those who have been rescued, providing hygiene kits, a safe temporary shelter for young children including orphans and those separated from their parents. Using the experience we gained in the Tsunami and other disasters, we will work with the local Red Cross and Chinese authorities to create centres that can provide children with a safe, warm and comfortable environment while work to trace their parents progresses.

  • Save the Children has signed an agreement with the Chinese Red Cross to set up child friendly spaces in temporary shelters in Deyang and Mianyang - two of the worst affected prefectures. These spaces will be supervised areas where children can interact, play, talk about their experiences and have access to books and learning materials.

  • We are working in partnership with the Educational Bureau in Mianyang and Deyang to set up temporary schools. These will provide schooling to children between 6 and 12 years. We will be training 200 new teachers and develop a special curriculum for a transitional period following the disaster. This will include psychosocial support and hygiene education. Working with the local Red Cross, we will set us children’s activities centres alongside the local Red Cross temporary housing in Deyang Prefecture.

Eye witness accounts

Twelve year-old, Xi Zhengmaio has been living with her family in a stadium since the earthquake left them homeless. Read her story here.

Save the Children's John Bugge, is writing a blog of his experience in China for Sky News. Read his blog here.


We still need your help. Critical supplies are still needed. Please donate now:

  • Donate online .
  • Download a China earthquake emergency appeal donation form [Adobe PDF, 89 Kb] and post it or fax it to us, or
  • Call our toll free number 1800 76 00 11 and donate over the phone.
  • Send us a cheque/money order payable to Save the Children Australia. Forward it to China Earthquake Emergency Appeal, Save the Children, PO Box 340, Fitzroy VIC 3065. Make sure to enclose your name and address for receipting purposes.
  • Donate to the Save the Children China Earthquake Appeal at your local ANZ branch.

We're also responding to the children affected by the Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (Burma). Click here to see you can help.