On May 12, 2008, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit China’s Sichuan province. The quake, whose epicenter was just 50 miles northwest of the densely populated city of Chengdu, affected over 15 million, injured 350,000 and tragically claimed the lives of an estimated 70,000 people.

Although official numbers have not been confirmed, it is believed that among the fatalities were more than 9,000 children who died when 7,000 school buildings collapsed around them.

Operation USA responded rapidly to the disaster, deploying a team to the hardest hit area to assess the damage and needs of those affected.

OpUSA has partnered with Honeywell Hometown Solutions, the philanthropic arm of Honeywell Corporation, to reconstruct a village-level primary school that will serve over 450 students. A ribbon-cutting for the school was held in May 2009.

Future plans also include the construction of a primary care clinic that will serve the same population.