Funds raised in hope to help Wuhan

For John Chan, there were no banquets and parties as he spent Chinese New Year's Eve on long-distance phone calls with a public health official in China.

Like many Chinese immigrants in the United States, Chan, president of the American Chinese Commerce Association in New York, has been closely watching developments with the spread of the novel coronavirus in China, leaving him determined to contribute to the relief efforts. And in Chinese communities around the world, people have been rallying to help out in whatever ways they can.

"I felt deeply sad and worried when I saw the news of the virus spreading in Wuhan. It reminded me of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in 2003," said Chan.

In a Jan 23 meeting, the day before the Chinese New Year's Eve, Chan's association decided to donate medical face masks to hospitals in Wuhan, the most severely stricken area of the outbreak.

"Luckily, a member of our association is an importer of medical supplies, so we were able to secure 1 million masks by the New Year's Eve," said Chan. The funding was raised by the association.

Chan was later connected with the Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese in Hubei province, which told him that the medical aid could be sent to the Hubei Charity General Association.

On Wednesday morning, Chan got confirmation from China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines that the 1,000 cases of masks, weighing 5 tons, would be loaded on to two passenger flights and arrive in Guangzhou and Fuzhou, from where the masks will be transported to Wuhan.

"As far as I know, all Chinese communities on the East Coast have been organizing donations. But I think money can't save a life directly; what the hospitals need the most is medical supplies, so we will continue leveraging our resources to purchase the most needed supplies, like medical gloves and goggles," said Chan.

He said he has already ordered 1 million pairs of medical gloves for Wuhan.

According to an article by the Wuhan University Alumni Association of Greater New York, the organization has raised more than $804,000 to assist the relief efforts in China. But only $124,980 had been spent by Monday night because of the scarce resources.

"The American manufacturers need time to manufacture the supplies and restock, and we have experienced delayed orders," the association said in the article."We are trying to expand our sources according to the needs of the frontline hospitals in China."

The association is soliciting partnerships with medical suppliers, manufacturers and hospitals. It also provides transportation channels for those individuals who have amassed medical aid but have no resources for delivery.

Over the weekend, a group of 12 Chinese American students, organized by the Hanlin Education Foundation of America, a nonprofit organization based in Fremont, California, held a fundraiser to help purchase face masks and protective coveralls for a hospital in Wuhan.

With the help of two other organizations－the BRI Foundation and the US Hunan Association－the students raised more than $24,000 in three days, said Betty Yuan, chair of the Hanlin Education Foundation.

Chinese in other parts of the world are also offering help to Wuhan.

The Chinese Students and Scholars Association in the United Kingdom, the largest such grouping in the country, opened an online channel on Wednesday to raise funds for medical supplies for Wuhan.

"We learned that hospitals in Wuhan and other places were extremely short of medical supplies and the situation was very grim," the statement said.

The association's fundraising goal is to purchase 100,000 N95 masks, 10,000 items of disposable medical protective clothing, 50,000 disposable medical gloves and other medical supplies in the UK, and send them to China.

At least two UK-based logistics companies, STO Express and 51Parcel, which specialize in UK-China routes, have issued statements that they will mail donated materials to China for free until the outbreak is over.

"When our country has difficulties, as a Chinese logistics cross-border company in the UK, we will do everything in our power to help the country," STO Express said.

In Africa, the same spirit is spurring similar fundraising efforts among Chinese groups. Enterprises and ordinary members of the Kenya Overseas Chinese Association and the Kenya Chinese Women Association got behind the cause to raise $70,796, which was transferred to the Hubei branch of the Red Cross Society of China on Wednesday.

By Wednesday, the member companies of the Kenya Chinese Chamber of Commerce had donated around $12,000.