Traumatized Sichuan schoolchildren sparkled by theatre

Video

Play VideoVictim´s traumatic experience remains an issue Play VideoQuake student in process of recovery

By Gong Yidong

BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- When the 15-year-old Wu Shuang entered the shabby and leaking classroom for his first ever exposure to theatre last October, he was not aware that the new experience would be built into his journey of psychological recovery and personal growth in the wake of Wenchuan Earthquake that left more than 87,000 people dead or missing.

In a thirty-minute theater entitled Life before the eight-session workshop was over, Wu played the dual roles of a teacher and a kind-hearted volunteer assisting his hometown to recover from the tragedy. "By playing the drama, I have all the more cherished life, in spite of my crooked foot," he says.

Like Wu, more than 5,000 children and adults in the quake-stricken Sichuan Province have experienced a similar level of rehabilitation with the help of Hua Dan (literally meaning a female role in the traditional Chinese opera), a Beijing-based non-profit organization dedicated to harnessing the power of arts to improve people's lives.

When the earthquake hit on May 12 last year, Wu's house and school in Shuimo Town, Wenchuan County, were instantly torn into pieces. His family survived the catastrophe, but the psychological painfulness stayed on.

"The house perished, for good. For a long time, I didn't dare to stay in-house or sleep by myself. It seemed that the mountains surrounding the town would fall at any time. Our daily necessitieswere buried deep underneath the house, and we couldn't get them back by all means. "