“Not a good place to sleep” : UNICEF China report

That’s the assessment of Dale Rutstein, UNICEF China Communications Chief, about the conditions in the town of Jiegu on the 4,000 meter high Tibetan plateau. Listen to his interview with UNICEF Radio about the challenges.

UNICEFChina/2010/Jerry Liu

Students from the collapsed dormitory building of Yushu School for Orphans, Qinghai Province.

Leveled by the 7.1 earthquake, Jiegu has been the site of rescue operations for a week. Its location, high in the mountains of northwest China, proved an obstacle for disaster relief–about 200 rescuers have been forced from the area by altitude sickness.

For those accustomed to the altitude, the hardships of being homeless are just as debilitating. Temperatures drop below freezing at night and families and children are struggling to keep warm in the open air.

At the request of the authorities, UNICEF is preparing to supply 2,000 children’s winter boots, 5,000 student kits and shoulder bags, school tents and blackboards – as well as ambulances, generators and medical equipment – to the earthquake zone.

Today is an official day of mourning across China in honor of the more than 2,000 people killed in the earthquake.