"The main inhabitants of the homeland are elderly people and pensioners ... They will live here for one or two years before being moved to new apartments."

According to experts' appraisals, only 30 percent of the homes are still safe to live in. "We're trying to help as many people as possible to move into them. But the problem is that the number of such houses is too small," Lan says.

The Happy Homeland school opened on May 24, providing education from kindergarten to high school. Already, there are more than 400 students, many of who are from neighboring communities.

Five of the canteens function from classrooms after classes are over because they are the only rooms equipped with fans and TV sets. Each room holds classes for two grades, and the subjects being taught include Chinese, English, maths, sport and music.

Moreover, two psychology counseling classes are held for students every week to help them overcome the trauma. "More than 40 experienced teachers have been selected from across the city to teach here," says Xu Wei, vice-principal of the school.

"Other temporary schools too are under construction in the city, and the local education department is trying to send all the students back to class by the middle of next month," she says.

Eight-year-old Li Yangyang's teacher chose him as a team leader for grade-one on Sunday. Though the little boy does not have any idea why his teacher did so, he is determined to be a role model for the rest of the class.

"I have so much to do. I have to stop my classmates from fighting or talking in class," he says with excitement. "I like my new school because it's a safe place." Medics walk through his classroom spraying disinfectant during the break.

About 62 doctors and nurses, all of them from Dujiangyan No.2 Hospital, are working in Happy Homeland.

And 10 departments are already functioning in the makeshift hospital, including those for women and children, internal medicine and a diagnosis laboratory.

"So far there has been no threat of an epidemic breaking out," says deputy director Deng Xueping.

The hospital was badly damaged in the quake, and they could only grab basic medical equipment from it. "What we need most now are medicines for gynecology and dermatology patients."

A security team, including two community policemen and 10 assistant cops from the local county government, has been formed to guard the homeland. Police say the residents should not worry about how to identify themselves even if they have lost their identification documents.

"They should report to their own community where officials and policemen have already gathered some knowledge about the residents, which will make it easier to identify them, says policeman Zhang Jun. "A temporary identification card will be issued to such residents before their cases are solved permanently."

(China Daily May 28, 2008)