By Dawn Tay

BOTH crippled from a young age, Mr Du Jianfu (top right), 35, and Mr Huang Gan (top left), 42, lost their only sons when the earthquake struck Sichuan province on May 12.

The path to healing for the two fathers lies in their new calling: Counselling quake survivors who have suffered similar losses of limbs and loved ones.

But, while recounting their experiences, the demeanour of the two gave way as suddenly as the walls that killed their children - they dissolved into tears.

Said Mr Du: "Though we have come to terms with our loss, when we counsel others who talk about their kids, we grieve all over again."

Providing health and education facilities, and sanitation and livelihood-assistance projects remain high on the agenda for various Singapore charities like TCSI, Mercy Relief, World Vision Singapore and the Singapore Red Cross.

In total, international donors have contributed about 4.4 billion yuan (S$941 million) to relief efforts, said the China government in aWhite Paper yesterday.

In a visit to disaster-hit areas in the province with TCSI and Mercy Relief, I was confronted by emotions as myriad as the individuals who expressed them.

I spoke to still-grieving parents like Mr Du, who demanded answers to the collapse of schools that snuffed out their children's brief lives.

Others who have made their homes in makeshift housing for a year expressed resignation over their future.

Then there were grateful villagers who had benefited from the efforts of Singapore's charities. "Our living conditions have improved tremendously. Life is better now," said Madam Wang, 65, who resides in a damaged old folk's home that was rebuilt by Mercy Relief after the quake. Here are some of their stories.

HELPING OTHERS	A LIFE LOST
Flanked by S'pore counsellors, Mr Huang Gan (second, from left) and Mr Du Jianfu (right), know too well the pain of losing a child. Both disabled, they lost their sons in the disaster. A shared grief enables these men to counsel other bereaved parents and those injured by the earthquake.	Mr Du's 11-year-old son, Chengwei, was among the 5,335 students who died last May. He alleges the boy was told by his teacher to stay put in the classroom when the earthquake struck.
TRANSIENT DWELLINGS	ORPHAN IN OLD FOLK'S HOME
Tiny rooms in Dujiangyan are temporary homes for urban residents displaced by the quake. Towering above them are new, permanent flats housing people from surrounding villages.	Nine-year-old Wang Xuebing, with a toy given by Singapore singer Stefanie Sun in January. The home in Ziyang prefecture was rebuilt by Mercy Relief after its collapse.
RECONNECTING LIVES	GETTING BY
Anyue county villagers standing on a newly constructed bridge that connects both sides of the village. When part of the bridge collapsed in the disaster, supplies and school-going children had to be carried across for seven months.	Primary-school pupils in a school in Tian'er village in Ziyang prefecture, which was hit by the quake. Next door, construction for a new school is underway. Meanwhile, these pupils continue classes in the damaged classroom.
LEFT BEHIND 1	LEFT BEHIND 2
One of the few damaged buildings that was left uncleared in Dujiangyan.	A pile of rubble and personal belongings are all that is left of the nine-story residential building, which collapsed on its residents. It is not known how many people were killed.

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