“Connecting Sichuan” Year One Report
It has now been over a year since the devastating 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck China’s Sichuan Province leaving more than 70,000 people dead or missing, more than 300,000 injured, and millions without shelter. Soon after the disaster, Cisco offered its support to the Sichuan Provincial government and launched “Connecting Sichuan”—a three-year public-private partnership to aid the rebuilding effort, with a focus on improving healthcare and education in earthquake-damaged areas. (Read the Connecting Sichuan year one report) (pdf document)
Consider the experience of Ma Yuanjiang who lost his left hand and suffered other trauma while trapped in earthquake wreckage for 179 hours. He is learning to use an artificial hand and during a trial run of a Cisco HealthPresence environment in the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital in Chengdu, Mr. Ma conferred with health experts in Hong Kong using a high-resolution video and audio connection.
While the earthquake also devastated many of the schools throughout the Province, Mr. YANG Xingquan, Principal of ZunDao School stated, “‘Connecting Sichuan’s model fundamentally challenges the traditional teaching and learning. It will transform how we teach and will put the school on a fast track of improving students’ quality, especially in the area of creativity. It also gives the rural kids the access of the world-class education.”
While there is still much work to be done, it’s inspiring to see the true impact that the business community can have when working alongside the public sector, citizens and other organizations.
Watch the Connecting Sichuan video:
Posted by Robyn Jenkins Blum at 01:33PM PST
Hayley Aug 22, 2009
Really nice of you to support a good cause like this.