HONG KONG │13 June 2008│ Thousands of tents, sleeping bags, water-proof pads and emergency kits have been delivered to China earthquake victims through the efforts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In late May through early June, the Church provided and supervised the distribution of hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars worth of badly-needed supplies to survivors of the devastating earthquake that struck China’s Sichuan province on May 13th. The contributions were made possible by voluntary donations from Church members around the world.

Working through LDS Charities, the humanitarian arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and in cooperation with other aid agencies and Chinese government officials, over 4,000 tents, sleeping bags and pads, and 10,000 emergency kits were distributed. Other relief efforts and aids being considered and worked on include additional tents, wheelchairs, medical and school supplies.

The Church representatives and relief workers from Hong Kong were welcomed by local government officials, and China’s military helped unload the donated tents from the trucks that brought the supplies to the disaster areas and distribute them to the needy.

The destinations for much of the aid materials include Mianzhu, Shifang and Mianyang in Sichuan province, where the majority of the citizens were left homeless by the earthquake, reports Stanley Wan, a Hong Kong-based Church official who heads the humanitarian operation throughout the Asia Area.