Summary

The four-year-old boy Liu Zhengtao and his family lived in the Qingping Mountain. The May 12th earthquake entirely destroyed their house and little Zhengtao has lost his mother forever. In a long period after the earthquake, Zhengtao used to wake up in the midnight and cry for mum. When he came to the centre for the first few times, he was quite shy and introverted. He did not talk with other children and always asked his grandmother to accompany him.

After little Zhengtao got used to the new environment, he began to play with other children and made lots of new friends. Liu Zhengtao becomes easy-going and optimistic now. He comes every day and there is no need for his grandmother to come along with him. He dose not wake up and cry in the night any more. When talking about his mother, Zhengtao recalled and talked about happy memories of her, though he still misses her. Today is his birthday, so we bought a birthday cake and held a birthday party for him. He was very happy for he shared a delicious cake with his friends and family. His father and grandmothers appreciate us for the care we gave to Zhengtao.

Liu Zhengtao 's Story

"I was in the play ground of the kindergarten of Qingping Shan Primary School when the earthquake came. I saw the building shaking and at first I thought someone was pushing the building. Then we heard somebody shout ‘Earthquake! Earthquake!’, so we ran out of the school gate. When we were outside the main gate, we looked back and saw the whole building collapse. Our home was destroyed too. I wish to go back to the kindergarten and want to continue the study.

After we came to live in the tent camp in Mianzhu, my grandmother began to take me here to play. I like to come here. Now I know lots of children here and have made 3 good friends. Before the earthquake, my mother used to teach me singing songs. Now the teachers here teach us singing songs every day and I like to sing together with them. The teachers also teach us drawing. I have learnt to draw the tadpole and the cucumber. I also learnt to count: 1, 2, 3…

There are many toys here, much more than that in my tent. I like to play the badminton especially. I often play the jigsaw puzzle, toy bricks and plasticine. A couple of days ago, I made a huge snowman out of the plasticine.

I like the teachers here too. I’d like to come here every day."

Pictured Above: Zhengtao blowing out the candle of his birthday cake.

Pictured Right: Learning to count with this toy.

(Photos: Save the Children)

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