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June 5, 2008
   

(CNN Student News) -- June 5, 2008 Quick Guide China Quake Lake - See how some young survivors are coping after China's recent earthquake. CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Just two days to go before we take off for summer break. How many days are left for you? Thanks for spending part of this Thursday with CNN Student News. From the CNN Center, I'm Carl Azuz. First Up: China Quake Lake AZUZ: First up, authorities in China are anxiously watching the water rise toward the top of a dam created by last month's massive earthquake. They're waiting to see if a spillway that was built to relieve pressure on the barrier will hold up against the threat of major floods. If you've been following our show, you know that this dam was formed by landslides that blocked up part of a river, creating a so-called "quake lake." About 200,000 people have been evacuated from the danger zone. Many of the victims of this earthquake were students, like you, who were in school when this thing hit. The recovery process can be a long and difficult road after this kind of disaster. But Wilf Dinnick shows us how some of the youngest survivors are slowly returning to normalcy. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WILF DINNICK, CNN REPORTER: It is all too much for four-year-old Shang Tian Zhoo: his first time back to class since that day. He fled his school during the earthquake, then watched it collapse. He cannot go above a first floor, says his mother, near tall buildings, and he wakes up most nights, yelling earthquake. Difficult for some of the littlest victims of the quake. Children now have makeshift schools, replacing the ones that were destroyed. Here in the city of Shifang, tents were donated, toys from parents and volunteers trying to make life normal, like celebrating a fourth birthday. "Our first goal," says principal Shuan Jia, "is to make the children feel safe. And only then can you talk about what they experienced." Psychological counselors have been dropping into schools like these. Stanley Siao is from Peiking University. "To help these children, you must use teamwork," he says, "and make sure they know they are not alone." So, they sing a song everyone knows: Making Dumplings, something you love, that you share and care for. "What we try to do," says this teacher, "is show the children they are together and loved." This is desperately needed; nearly seven thousand schoolrooms, according to the government, were destroyed in the earthquake. These are the fortunate children; at least one parent still alive. This school is in a city with good teachers, but still resources are stretched. "There are so many children with nothing now," say Shang Tian Zhoo's mother, "they really need good doctors. No one counted on so many of the other children, like mine, needing good help, too." "Do you want to come back to school later?" she asks. "No," he says. "I want to be with my mom." Still not sure when little Shang Tian Zhoo will be ready to start school again and can get his life back as a child. Wilf Dinnick, CNN, Shifang, China. (END VIDEO CLIP)