After the Chengdu Sports Aid visit to Xiaoyudong on Sunday 11th May 2009, Jonny Dallas, head of Chengdu Sports Aid, wrote this moving ‘Thank you’ letter.
Chengdu Sports Aid volunteers, donors and friends,
Today we completed another successful trip up to the earthquake zone and spent the afternoon with some great kids.
Today’s event had a huge significance to me personally, in three different aspects. Firstly this week is the first anniversary of the May 12th earthquake, and as we drove up those now familiar roads towards Pengzhou, it was heartening to see some progress in the form of new homes, new bridges and finished roads. I even noticed one of the blue roof temporary villages being demolished, which means some lucky few will move back to a permanent home. As we got deeper in to the Longmen mountains though, progress is not so apparent and Xiaoyudong village itself is still a pretty depressing site, with many leaning and fractured buildings still needing to be demolished, hundreds of blue roof temporary homes and not much sign of commerce to kick start their economy. The people as always were very pleased to see us, especially the village kids and the village leader himself. We had a busload of 20+ volunteers who jumped right in to games of rugby, soccer, badminton, ultimate frisbee and basketball with over 100 kids.
The second significance of today was that it was my birthday. When my wife, Kim, asked me what I’d like to do on my birthday, there was never a doubt that I’d like to spend it on a Sports Aid event. So the family plus my father in-law, Steve, packed the van and had a blast.
The third significant aspect of today was with respect to my sister. Today’s event was supported by funds from “Irish Friends in Kircubbin” and dedicated to my sister Karen. On this exact day three years ago my sister unfortunately passed away, at 37, and it was a brutal blow to our family to lose someone so young. As I ran around today, there were several times I thought about how much she would have enjoyed being there with us today. She was a very active volunteer back in Ireland, and spent many summers in the housing estates of Co. Derry, running camps and events, just like today, for underprivileged kids. Friends and family from Karen’s church back in Kircubbin, Co.Down collected money after the earthquake and we were able to put the money to use today.
This all built up a case for today’s trip to be very special, and it was. It was one of those days that motivated me to continue and reassured me that we are making a bit of a difference in quake relief. We set up a rugby game with six boys and after 15 minutes coming to grips with the rules, they started really having fun. For those of you who have participated in many of these events, there’s always one of the kids that is not shy at all, and instantaneously becomes your favourite. Today was no different, the most energetic boy was Xiao Pengyou (Little Friend). I could only name him XP because he was too busy playing and organizing the rugby, to tell me his real name slowly enough for me to understand. Anyway XP became his name and he was a natural Stephen Ferris (Irish rugby player). When he scored his first points it was all worthwhile for me. The look on his face when he scored the try was priceless, even though this was the first time he had seen a rugby ball, never mind play the game, he was so excited. For those 10 seconds of exhilaration he did not notice the crumbling mountains, buildings and roads around him. He did not feel sad that his village is not progressing as fast as everyone promised. He was not angry that the world had moved on to the next media-hyped disaster and forgot about the people of Xiao Yu Dong. He was just ecstatic that he scored for his team. For those 10 seconds of glory he experienced the same thrill every sportsman in the world gets, the pride he felt when all his teammates hugged him and celebrated his score, the nod to the old Auntie on the sideline who really just cheered and wept because she’s happy to see him smile. Xiao Pengyou was THE man and no one was going to knock him off his perch. That’s the universal joy of sports and why I feel Sports Aid can bring a little bit of joy into the lives of hundreds of unfortunate kids in Sichuan, as their communities keep chugging away at rebuilding over the next 3-5 years.
Thanks to all who volunteered today.
Jonny Dallas
Chengdu Sports Aid
