Feature: Quake survivors struggle to rebuild life

By Qiu Lin, China Features

CHENGDU, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Jiu Bing lost his home, farmland and livelihood when the May 12 quake shook his hometown Wali township, Qingchuan county in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Now working on two makeshift buildings not far from their damaged home, Jiu, father of two children, plans to build a relatively comfortable house where his family can live for the next couple of years.

"I will put bricks on the floor," Jiu says proudly. Most of hisfellow villagers have already finished building makeshift residential buildings. They used simple materials, such as asbestos roofing, bamboo and wood.

More than 5 million people were left homeless after the earthquake. In Wali, more than 3,800 people lost their homes. Now the survivors are struggling to establish new lives.

The government has given 2,000 yuan to each family that lost their home to build makeshift accommodation in remote villages. In cities and towns where survivors live more closely, the government is building thousands of temporary timber homes.

The central government has designated 19 provinces and municipalities to each aid a county in the worst hit quake areas. These provinces are helping to build temporary homes, and to rebuild schools, hospitals and other infrastructure projects such as roads, and electricity and gas supply systems.

Xie Xiufang feels more comfortable in her temporary timber home. Her five-storey house, which she spent her lifetime savings to build, was damaged in the quake.

"The days when we slept in the tent are gone," she says. "I didn't sleep well at all then. I was sad that we lost our house and worried about the aftershocks."

The temporary home of about 20 square meters has electricity. It can protect its residents from the summer heat. There are communal kitchens, toilets and bathrooms.