15 years on, Wenchuan survivors helping others in need

"I would never have imagined that the township could recover in such a short time and become this beautiful after seeing the way the earthquake ruined it," Ma Qiongxia said over a cup of tea at a local tea house.

The 58-year-old was trapped under the remains of her house after it collapsed, with only her head and one hand free from the rubble. "I have only been able to think about what happened calmly in recent years. It's true that time is the best cure, people have finally started to move on."

Seven villages and a community were rebuilt from scratch within three years. All the houses are now quake-proof, and capable of withstanding a magnitude-8 earthquake.

When Ma moved to her new house in 2010, 53-year-old He Kairong became her new neighbor.

During the earthquake, He's house near the banks of the Minjiang, collapsed into the river and she had to scramble back to the riverbank as large stones fell from the mountains. "Many children died in their schools, including my niece and nephew. This is the most painful thing to have happened to Yingxiu, until today," He said.

After being made homeless by the quake, the two women both found temporary accommodation in a shelter put up by disaster relief forces, among them the People's Liberation Army and firefighters. In the face of such tragedy, they were traumatized and depressed.

"The volunteers at the shelter noticed that we were not in a healthy mental state, so they comforted us, telling us that things would only get better because the whole country was helping. Their actions helped us get through tough times," Ma said. "That was also when I first learned about the idea of volunteering."

After Ma and He settled in their new homes, they decided to start their own team of volunteers in Yingxiu to help others in need. It now has over 60 members, mostly women, and is headed by Ma. The group has taken part in a series of disaster relief projects since it was founded in 2013.

"We know exactly how people affected by disasters feel, and what they need, so it's natural that we offer our help whenever we can, and we try our best," Ma said.