Uygur businessman makes huge quake donation
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A Uygur businessman drove thousands of kilometers to deliver 580,000-yuan (US$84,953) worth of relief supplies to victims of the Yushu earthquake, China Youth Daily reported on April 25, 2010.
On April 14, 2010, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province, killing at least 2,200 people.
On hearing the news, 33-year-old Ahat Tohsun, from Aksu Prefecture of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, decided to go to Yushu immediately. "I want to do all I can to help the quake victims," he said.
Over the next five days, he bought 2,000 coats and quilts, three tons of rice, 10,000 loaves of Nan bread, as well as necessities such as washbowls, buckets and glasses. He also brought two giant caldrons and the spices and other ingredients needed to make pilaf rice – Xinjiang's local dish.
Ahat, who runs a bus company in Aksu, set off for Yushu on April 20 in four trucks along with eight employees of his company.
Aksu is located south of the Tianshan Mountains, more than 3,000 kilometers away from Yushu. Ahat and his team had to travel through the vast Taklimakan Desert, the Gobi Desert and desolate mountainous areas before arriving at their destination.
No-one in the team had been to Qinghai before and they had to repeatedly ask for directions along the way.
When the team arrived at their destination, Ahat said, "I want to adopt some orphans from the quake zone and bring them back to Xinjiang to get a good education. I'm quite well-off now and I want to do what I can to help others."
