Friday, May 16, 2008

Wolong has Desperate Medical Needs

It’s night again in Wolong. Day 5 didn’t bring much sunshine to the people and pandas who have managed to communicate a list of desperately needed medicines and medical items. The earthquake region has nothing to offer them. The Red Cross is overwhelmed in the area. Some food has been left by the Army helicopters for the population of 3000, but flights and fuel are now also in short supply. The remaining medicine and supplies from both the human and veterinary clinics won’t last past two days at the most. Some vital emergency items were used long ago and they still need to stop the bleeding, soothe the pain, give antibiotics, treat crushing injuries, and do surgeries.

Pandas International has become Wolong’s Red Cross. It’s not just about pandas anymore. It’s about rescuing the people, who have spent their days and years saving an endangered species for us and our world.

There isn’t enough praise to give to Sherry Lummis, an American Pandas International Board Member, long-time resident and business woman in North East China. She’s nearly as far from the quake region as possible in China, but she’s saving lives in Wolong. Using her contacts and experience plus her impeccable reputation combined with Pandas International’s, she and her employees spent their day obtaining government permits, purchasing, packing, and air freighting the requested life saving medical items. Every 15 minutes last night I received an email with questions and reports of progress as she convinced the government, the hospitals, and the Red Cross to do what had to be done. Government paperwork went quickly, hospitals sold cases of supplies at cost, and the Red Cross is flying it across China. But in the middle of these preparations, another 5.6 shock hit the Wolong area. We have no news of its aftermath. We know the medical care elsewhere in the region is overwhelmed or unavailable. We know, in Wolong, the medical and veterinary personnel are working constantly side by side, day and night.

Crate after crate, labeled with our logo, will soon arrive in Chengdu, to be met by trusted friends and transported quickly through various arrangements into the mountains to Wolong. There is no one else but Pandas International who can bring help to them now.

Pandas International has always made direct purchases of veterinary supplies and medical equipment and delivered it into the hands of the vets, our office & utilities are donated, the Board works as volunteers, we pay our own expenses for travel, and we make every cent really count.

During this tragedy, you are truly the lifeline for the pandas and the people of Wolong.
With hope for Wolong,

To make a tax-deductible donation, please send checks payable to Pandas International at P.O. Box 620335 , Littleton , Colorado 80162, or view daily updates and donate online at www.pandasinternational.org.


Chair of Pandas International