Countless stories have emerged telling of selfless sacrifice made to defeat the coronavirus, but one stands out for its connection to the international community. With a touch of drama, a parent from the British School of Nanjing (BSN) has organised a helicopter airlift.
Mother of two at BSN, Zhang Dan, admits that she saw the news of the Wuhan outbreak as early as (western) new year, but paid it little attention.
In late January, friends in Wuhan informed Zhang of the true situation. She immediately decided to set about assembling the resources to purchase masks, protective clothing and other items that would be of help.
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Zhang personally donated 1,500 sets of protective clothing. Another 500 came from Ms. Li Yue and someone wishing to be known as “Don’t Ask Who I Am”.
Later, she joined a large group of volunteers, in which there are many with the financial means to make a big difference. Zhang took charge of organizing, liaising, and connecting with the doctors in Wuhan who so urgently need medical relief.
Having assembled the supplies, they then needed to be taken from Xiantao to Wuhan, a journey of 100 kilometres. With normal transportation options extremely limited, the decision was taken to charter a helicopter for an airlift.
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The helicopter touched down in Wuhan’s Xinhua Lu stadium, reported the Hubei Daily yesterday. It had flown first from Wuhan to Xiantao to collect the supplies, a flight of 37 minutes.
The fully-loaded aircraft could only carry 30 boxes of protective clothing. With 50 more on hand, Zhang revealed that she and other volunteers are now preparing a second batch of donated items. This time a truck will be hired for the purpose.
Hailing from Huai’an, Zhang spoke with Nanjing Breaking News, saying, “Throughout this campaign, I’ve admired the [Communist] Party’s strength. With its help, together with the assistance and positive energy showed by my partners, and under challenging circumstances, the difficulties of Wuhan’s front-line doctors shall absolutely be resolved”.
