Pengzhou, in Sichuan province was one of the worst-hit areas by the earthquake. Whilst people in the cities have received help, rural villagers in the vicinity of Pengzhou are desperate to hear from outside world.

"We need shelter dry blankets, food, medicine, and everything", said Wang Shunfu, the village head Huangcheng Village in Pengzhou area.

Unlike the populous town centre, the death toll in the Cifeng township of Pengzhu has been lower than the towns further north, where many people were buried when their houses collapsed.

"When the earthquake hit, most of us were in the field, which saved our lives", said Wang Shunfu.

According to him, among Huangcheng village's 1300 inhabitants, eight were found dead, 16 were injured and seven are still missing.

However, over 90% of the houses have either collapsed or severely damaged.

"Most of our villages are now flattened", he added.

Many villagers spent the first few days and nights in a state of shock, fear, cold, and darkness as the rain poured relentlessly.

Whilst the main focus for the government is on the life-saving rescue work in bigger towns, the rural villages are somewhat neglected.

ActionAid's response
To meet the immediate need of the rural villagers, ActionAid's emergency team sent food, water, flashlights and hundreds of tents to Huangcheng Village and Yonghua Village two days after the earthquake.

"We have lost everything. Everything is buried down there." said Zhou, a female villager, "We don’t even have a cooking pot."

Even now the villagers are still terrified.

"You should really go to see it. The mountain was literally torn apart. It's something you can never imagine on your own", said Zhou Jingfeng, referring to the massive landslides took places all over the mountain ranges in the area.

With 5 million people become homeless after the earthquake, the country seems to have run of the emergency tents.

Yonghua village, where majority of its 2,800 villagers have become homeless, has received less than 10 proper tents from the government.

ActionAid have allocated 40,000 RMB (£3000) to spend on tents from wherever they can be purchased. We have also acquired 3,000 square metres of waterproof materials, along with scissors and ropes so villages can make temporary shelters in the meantime.

Compared to the mountain area further north, where whole villages were destroyed, villagers in Cifeng might be considered lucky - they still have their farms.

"The wheat harvest will start in a couple days, and hopefully, we can rebuild our village", said Luo.