Chinese UN staffers donate food, tents to Haiti orphanage

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese staffers with the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti on Saturday donated two large tents, some food and drinking water to a local orphanage whose building sustained cracks in the Jan. 12 earthquake.

A member of the Chinese anti-riot police team in Haiti holds an orphan in his arms at the orphanage "solidarity and fraternity" in Port-au-Princes, capital of Haiti, Jan. 30, 2010. The Chinese anti-riot police team in Haiti on Saturday donated relief materials to 40 orphans here to help them tide over the difficulties after the recent earthquake. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)

The Chinese police force working with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) decided to make the donation after learning that the orphanage with 40 children aged between 4 months and 14 years old had to settle its minors in two small tents on the lawn of its yard and had the older children sleep with its staffers in the open air during the night for fear of lethal aftershocks.

The two large tents given by the Chinese donators are big enough to house all the 40 children.

Madam Rachel, daughter of the founder of the Orphelinat Solidarite et Fraternite in the Tabarre quarter of Port-au-Prince, said the Chinese donation was the first assistance her orphanage had got after the temblor.

The Chinese police force even brought to the orphanage what they had saved from their daily rations of biscuits and fruits. They also gave the orphans some stationeries, hoping they could soon resume classes. 

Founded in 2005 by Madam Devastey, the orphanage was lucky not to lose a single kid in the deadly earthquake that has reportedly claimed more than 170,000 lives.

Hu Yunwang, deputy chief of the Chinese police force with the MINUSTAH, said that his team would closely follow the situation in the orphanage and would offer further necessary assistance.

Madam Rachel and the kids expressed their gratitude to the Chinese police representatives.

Before the Jan. 12 devastating quake, there were nearly 100,000 orphans in Haiti. UNICEF has said that the quake made lots of Haitian children lose contact with their families and international institutions have been identifying these children before confirming a definite number of earthquake-orphaned children in the Caribbean island country.