From the Social Venture Group:
“Apparently, having a private charity foundation with your name attached is no longer a privilege reserved for the wealthy. According to a report by the Beijing Times (March 31st, 2009), the only requirement is to wire a minimum of 5 RMB (USD 0.73) per month to the Chinese Foundation for poverty Alleviation (CFFPA), a government-run foundation.”
Read the full article here.
The Global Institute for Tomorrow and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy have some ideas, which they will be discussing at a special forum this Friday. Attendance is open to all. You can download the flier here. RSVP for the few remaining spaces.
Participants on the 2011 Global Leaders Module – a component of the annual Senior Management Programme at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy – are working to produce a set of strategic recommendations for CMC, to aid the organisation in its efforts to create a future and a hope for every migrant child. These recommendations will be presented at the forum and will provide the basis for further discussion around the wellbeing of migrant communities in the region.
The Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT), The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and Compassion for Migrant Children (CMC) cordially invite you to join us for an afternoon forum.
Spaces are limited. If you would like to attend please RSVP before July 1, 2011 with your name, organisation, and contact info to Karim Rushdy krushdy@global-inst.com or call +852 3571 8103 for more information.
Asian Perspectives on the Urban Migrant Community
14:30-17:00 on Friday, July 22, 2011 at The Beijing Marriott Hotel Northeast
26A Xiao Yun Road, Chao Yang District, Beijing
Meixin Lee’s story is an incredible one. As an infant, she developed a rare disease that was supposed to render her unable to walk or take care of herself for the rest of her life. But she persisted and recovered, and started the Gift of Hope Foundation. Through it, she helps others with disabilities gain the skills and confidence to support themselves, while also changing people’s perception about disability. Phoenix Tso sat down with Lee to hear more about the experiences that led her to found Gift of Hope, and what the organization hopes to accomplish.
Tell us about Gift of Hope. Gift of Hope is a social enterprise that is 100 percent operated by disabled people. Our motto is, “instead of giving the fisherman fish, we teach the fisherman to fish.” The four of us who started Gift of Hope met at the Paralympic Games. We are all different ages and had different disabilities, and we were all struggling in our lives. We wanted to do something to change that. So we started working together, planning charity events together, and more and more people joined us, many with disabilities. The principle of this organization is to share everything. We’re willing to help anybody who is willing to get help. This is a group of disabled people supporting disabled people.
How did you come up with the concept of Gift of Hope? I got an illness at 18 months old, and again. When I first got this illness, I was half paralyzed. Supposedly, the doctors said there was a high possibility that I would be brain damaged, and would not be able to take care of myself. But I got better, and the more I progressed, the more I questioned myself: “Out of all of the thousands of people who didn’t get better, why did I?” I wanted to give something back to people like me, because I felt like I could talk to them and relate to them more easily. That’s why I volunteered at the Paralympics. Volunteering there allowed me to meet really talented people, but I realized that they still go through many of the same struggles as other people with disabilities. Another thing we wanted to change is the inability, or unwillingness, to accept people with disabilities in China. Of course, ordinary people are willing to help disabled people here, but it’s always with an attitude of them standing above you, like, “I pity you.” This is an attitude we want to change. We want to say, “Okay, we are disabled in some way or another, but we have other abilities.” And instead of begging for money to live on, we’re trying to change the situation, not just for us at Gift of Hope, but for others who want to learn skills that will allow them to live on their own, and to get back their lives and their dignity.
What kind of skills do you teach? We teach skills that are based on Beijing folk art. We make handicrafts and art and sell them as gifts, mainly corporate gifts. We also sell our services, by training people to pick up these skills as well. The people I met at the Paralympic games all specialize in one kind of folk art, which is disappearing now. So one of our goals is to help disabled people, and the other is to preserve this disappearing folk art.
Explain how you sell training skills. If you want to learn Beijing folk art skills, you’re invited to attend our regular workshops. We will teach you these skills. If some people just want to have some fun on the weekend or during holiday, you can spend a couple of hours having fun with us. In that way, we create more awareness about disabilities, and at the same time, you can learn a folk art. You can learn how to make lanterns, cloth art, or how to do paper cutting. You also get to know some disabled people, and learn about what is going on in their lives.
What do you do with the profits that come from selling these products? We make sure that our artists get paid fairly. If they sell their products at street markets, the price that they get is the same as the price that people get if they sell products made by a machine. That’s unfair, so we want to pay our artists the price that they deserve for hand making all of these products. For example, if you made two lanterns in one day, it’s not fair that you only get paid RMB 10 for them. So part of our profit goes to paying them fairly, and another part goes back into the organization, so that we can cover costs and organize more programs, which mainly involve providing free training to people who have disabilities, so they can become more skilled in Beijing folk art.
Tell us a little bit more about your Open Day program. Open Day came out of another program we run called Trip for Change. A group of at least three people sign up for Trip for Change. They come to us and we give them an opportunity to participate in a workshop and to buy our products. We have a Trip for Change in Beijing, and the profit is used to train more disabled people in making art. We also have a Trip for Change at an orphanage that’s near the Shaolin Temple in Henan. You can join us when we make trips there, and actually see the children that you’re helping. You can also know that the money you’ve paid goes to helping these people. Open Day is for individuals who want to visit Gift of Hope and its sites, but don’t have enough people to organize a Trip for Change. There are set days where anyone can visit our artists’ workshops in Beijing. All you have to do is pack a bag and come over. That is the idea of Open Day. It’s the day that we’re open to everyone, and we use this opportunity to talk about what we’ve accomplished and what we would like to share. We give a short speech about disability issues, or orphan issues if you join the Open Day in Henan. It’s all about creating awareness and selling products at the same time.
Is there anything else you want to tell us? If somebody comes to us just to help I will thank them and they can go on their way. If you take the time to say that you understand our struggles in life, then you are more than welcome to come here. Then we can talk and work together. We’re hoping that people will help give us an opportunity to create a win-win situation for everybody. We don’t want to become baggage for anyone, and we don’t want anyone with a nice car to give us handouts. We want to help ourselves as well. We would really appreciate it if people can give us their help in doing that.
Qiu Qingqing, director of the social innovation initative and Heidi Huang, deputy secretary general of the YouChange Foundation, and Sonia Wong, development and program officer of the Grameen Foundation
The mission of the YouChange Foundation is simple: they seek to alleviate both physical and spiritual poverty, by advocating new ideas to relieve the systemic problems that keep the vast part of China’s population living below the poverty line. Janae Martin met with Qiu Qingqing, Heidi Huang and Sonia Wong to learn more about the foundation’s challenges and goals as it moves ahead.
Is it hard to get people to think of projects in terms of social enterprise, rather than charity? QQ: After the big earthquake in Sichuan in 2008, people really started thinking about whether just giving donations through charities was enough to rebuild the community that had been devastated. A lot of people were sitting on their donations, waiting for other people to go and help them, and some of the foundations at that time were just trying to get people out there to help. A big problem is that the attention span of the public is short. After the Sichuan earthquake there were disasters in Qinghai and other regions as well. The media jumped from one place to another, and people forgot to ask what’s going on during the rebuilding efforts. That’s why it’s so important that people think about creating businesses and reconstructing their own communities. If you use microfinance and teach people skills, they can stand on their own feet.
What prompted you to launch your training programs for social entrepreneurs? QQ: At first we were visiting institutions of philanthropy and trying to introduce a more business-like model to improve their corporate efficiency. But we found it hard to work with them individually because what you need is not only money or one-on-one help within your area. A lot of different things were still missing. So, gradually, we moved to different platforms and visited different areas first to collect different resources, including skill sets, personnel, experts, and help from the government. One of the things we try to do is see where the potential for help lies within crisis zones. Right now, not many people have the resources or the energy to look at these problems. We try to be there first to see what kind of social services these people really need. That way we can determine the kinds of partnerships those people really need, rather than just having the government funnel money into them.
How does spiritual poverty differ from material poverty? SW: I think that poverty comes in many different forms. When you look at places like Rwanda, or rural areas in China or India, you see a very stark material poverty. It’s physically obvious. But then you have spiritual poverty, which happens inside a person and perpetuates itself. When you see a person gradually come out of poverty and double their income, you see them become confident. A woman may be hiding behind her veil, but she’s happy to look you in the eye, which she wouldn’t before, because she felt ashamed and un- worthy. That’s where the spiritual aspect comes in.
QQ: In China there’s an urge among the rich people to donate. They want to feel that action; they want to find their inner peace and help people find outer peace. But we think that the traditional way of donating is not really connecting the source to the cause. They’re giving money, but at the same time they’re contributing to the situation because they don’t know the root problems. So one thing we want to achieve through our programs is to empower both the people who need help and those who want to help others.
HH: Poverty is really just a symptom. There’s a more in-depth cause, and the YouChange Foundation wants to take this on. We keep this in mind with every platform we build, be it microfinance, disaster relief, or social entrepreneurship. We also focus on training the next generation. We try to give people a channel through which they can reach a balance between the spiritual and the material.
How does YouChange help foster an international and cross- sector community? QQ: I think one of YouChange’s responsibilities is to help our partners on the local side. A lot of our international partners have work teams who aren’t as effective because they don’t know much about China and how things work in China. Part of our mission is to help them at different levels so that they can be really influential.
HH: I worked for oversees foundations in this industry for some time, and people always feel that the money they give is not enough, and that it’s hard to build a grantee, grantor relationship. You also can’t expect people that work outside of China to really understand the needs of Chinese people. YouChange’s value in this sector is that we are redefining philanthropy, and giving people other choices in how they choose to contribute.
You talk about the relationships between individuals, the individual and society, and the individual and nature. How does this influence your work? SW: Hexie or “harmony” has been a really hot term for the past few years. I think it’s really appropriate, because right now, both Chinese organizations and the government are really thinking about bringing industry to different places. They see this as a way to ensure the sustainability of local society. The YouChange Foundation, however, sees sustainability in layers. In the first few years of an industry the fiscal quality of an area improves. But when you look at it from a broader perspective, the people are leaving their hometowns and moving to cities, and the natural environment is being destroyed. That’s not sustainable. So, when we propose a certain project, we make sure that it follows the natural growth of that place, including how people interact with each other and how they interact with nature.
What kinds of challenges do young social entrepreneurs face? QQ: They have to think about managing a team, and how to find a product or service works in the market. They have to figure out how to generate revenue, even if it’s through donation. I think that right now, it is important that they balance their passion and idealism with realism. Young social entrepreneurs have to learn to incubate their ideas a little longer. They have to build up their team and their management skills, and it’s important that they have organizations to help them out.
What do you see for the future of YouChange? QQ: Right now the social sector has more challenges than the mainstream, and it’s hard to get people with skills and experience who share our spirit. One part of our future will be to find more people who want to get into this area. Secondly, we want to be more active in terms of interacting with the international community. Before it was hard for Chinese organizations to practice because they lacked experience and knowledge, and I think it’s an important responsibility for YouChange to share their progress with the world.
What is a social enterprise? How does it differ from an NGO? What is its place in the world, particularly in China? If you’re confused as to how a social enterprise works, and about its positive impact so far on solving social problems in this country, then rip out this cheat sheet that Phoenix Tso has written to get you up to speed.
The Definition Many people confuse social enterprises with NGOs, or other non-profit organizations. Social enterprises adopt an altruistic business model, just like any not-for-profit group. However, they don’t depend mainly on do- nations or government funding, but generate profit by offering goods and services, much like a for profit business. Their profits however usually go towards promoting a social good, such as paying laborers a fair wage, or investing in alternative energy. Think of social enterprises there- fore as a hybrid between an NGO and a traditional business, with the bottom line going towards making positive change.
How social enterprises are recognized in China Similar to NGOs that want to operate in China, it’s very difficult for any local and foreign social enterprise to register with the Chinese government, who fears that letting civil society organizations have too much support will undermine its authority. Social enterprises that do want to register here have to go through years of red tape in order to succeed in this respect. Many local social enterprises register as small businesses with their local district, while many foreign social enterprises who wish to head- quarter themselves here register with their home country, or with a nearby location like Hong Kong. In the future though, registration on the mainland might get easier. At the 17th National Congress, Hu Jintao called for a policy that was more inclusive of “social organizations,” in order to help China solve some of its recent social problems.
Popular social enterprise topics
Migrant Children/Education With millions of former Chinese peasants migrating to major cities every year, urban resources have become strained, and migrant workers struggle to find adequate housing, healthcare, and schools for their children, and other basic necessities. Many social enterprises in cities like Beijing focus on migrant children education, since they don’t have the hukou necessary to enroll in local public schools, or the money to afford a private education. A great example of this is the Dandelion School, the only officially recognized high school for migrant children. Along with teaching the State-mandated curriculum to its 650 students, the Dandelion School has emphasized arts education, with children creating gift products that help the school sustain itself.
Environment In addition, social entrepreneurs like focusing on environmental issues, namely on developing products that generate or run on clean, alternative energy, and selling them at a discounted prices to poorer households. DLight, a Hong Kong-based enterprise, designs kerosene lanterns as a safe, clean, and cheap source of electricity for poor households. Similarly, Kunming Rongxia manufactures safe cooking stoves for use by rural peasants in Yunnan, while DLLD sells hydropower micro- generators to villages in Guangdong that provide electricity for cooking, heating, powering a television or radio, and providing nighttime lighting.
Loans/Microfinance You might have already heard about Wokai, an online platform that allows people from all over the world to support small business owners in rural China. Since its founding in 2007, Wokai has supported farmers in Sichuan and Inner Mongolia, with a repayment rate of 99.5 percent. Taking another tack, Chinese-American Calvin Chin’s business, Qifang, provides a peer-to-peer student loan community for Chinese students who want to attend university, but otherwise can’t afford it.
Where social enterprises in China get their funding and support
Venture Philanthropy Funds Much like a venture capitalist searches for the next big for- profit entrepreneur and idea to fund, venture philanthropists look for promising social enterprises, and give their organizations the start up capital necessary for them to become self-sustaining, if not profitable. One such fund in Beijing to know about is LGT Venture Philanthropy, which has so far poured its resources into Driptech, a social enterprise that provides sustainable irrigation solutions to Chinese farmers.
Narada Foundation The Narada Foundation provides “seed money” to promising public welfare projects in China. They were established under the supervision of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in China, a sign that the Chinese government wants to make good on their pledge to support civil society and social organizations. In addition, to their incubation of non-profit organizations, the Narada Foundation provides start- up grants to social enterprises that seek to provide essential services to China’s disadvantaged.
Ventures in Development Founded by Carol Chyau and Marie So, Ventures in Development is a social enterprise network and incubator, and aims to nurture sustainable business ideas that will also bring social and economic development to China. So far, Ventures in Development supports Shokay, an enterprise also run by Chyau; So, which sells knitwear made from Tibetan yak fur; and the Mei Xiang Cheese Farm, run by a Tibetan family from Yunnan. Ventures in Development also runs monthly Social Innovation Salons in Hong Kong and Shanghai, where people brainstorm innovative solutions to social problems.
Famous Chinese social entrepreneurs
Jet Li In addition to launching the One Foundation, one of China’s biggest philanthropic organizations, Jet Li can also add social entrepreneur to his impressive resume. This year he officially launched Taiji Zen International with Alibaba’s Jack Ma. Taiji Zen’s aim is to promote well being through the practice of Taijiquan, and to preserve this art form’s practice and philosophy.
Jian Yi This director founded the IFChina Studio in June 2009 to train locals from Ji’an in Jiangxi province to produce and make documentary films about the people and places in the surrounding region, and to develop the filmmaking and arts infrastructure in Ji’an.
Zheng Hong Zheng Hong gave up a 20-year career in academia in order to found the Dandelion School, the migrant children educational institution that we mentioned before in this article. As headmistress of this high school, Zheng is taking on the enormously difficult task of giving marginalized children the education they need to better their lives for themselves and for future generations.
As a former English professor, a local politician, as the founder and head of a training center for rural women, Wu Qing has spent over 50 years trying to improve China’s political system and society, namely through women’s empowerment. Phoenix Tso met with her to learn how she uses her position in government and in civil society to help women in Beijing, and how doing so will improve Chinese society as a whole.
How did you first get interested in women’s empowerment? When I was a little girl my mom told me that I’m a human being first, then a girl. So to me women are not inferior, because I’m a human being first. If you work hard, nothing is going to block you from going forward. In the real world, though, men have more opportunities and women have to work two or three times harder to get recognized. That’s why I got interested in women’s empowerment. In 1989 I became a Canadian international development agency’s gender expert. That task has provided me with the opportunities to go to rural areas. That was the first time I saw poverty and how women, my sisters, were treated in remote areas. And that’s why I think it’s so important for women to think that they are human beings first.
“If you change a woman, you change a whole family and a whole generation. That’s why I think it’s so important for world leaders to emphasize educating women and girls”
How did you start the Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women? We first had a magazine called Rural Women Knowing All. This was started by Xie Lihua, my friend, who is the deputy chief editor of China Women’s News, which is an organ of the All China Women’s Federation. She started the magazine to raise money for the federation. Their first grant came from the Ford Foundation, who subscribed to 10,000 copies of the magazine free of charge, which helped us promote our magazine. Then it became a vehicle for hearing the demands of Chinese rural women, and we started all kinds of projects for them, like literacy projects. In 1996, we started a club for female migrants, because more and more women have come to the cities, especially Beijing. At this club we offer legal and professional training, and also programs to learn English, to gain computer skills, to raise their level of putong hua, and other programs that contribute to their empowerment. After that, we founded a school, the Changping Center for Rural Women. We changed the name to the Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women in 2001. In all, we’ve been around for 18 years.
What impact has this center had on women who use its services? Most of all, women have started to know how important it is to have self-esteem, self-reliance, and independence. Every single person is a gold mine, with great potential and enthusiasm. You just take away the lid, and everything comes out. It’s so easy! The thing is that they’ve been there. They’ve been creative before, they have been change makers, but they haven’t been recognized, not even by themselves, because people keep saying, “Women are nothing. They can only play a supportive role.” But they have been playing a major role, just without any acknowledgement. So it’s great to see them gain confidence. Before they wouldn’t even look you in the eye. But after the empowerment training, they look you in the eye, they talk to you.
What needs to change now to bring about gender equality? Men and women both need to change their mindsets, because every single person should be treated equally. Every single person is a person. That’s why I think it’s so important to stop following kong lao er ideals, especially the Confucian hierarchy. He [Confucius] discriminated against ordinary people, even men. So we have to do away with him. You have to know where you are, your culture, and then expel the things that constrain you. We are all human beings. This whole world is moving forward. We have to be change makers and reach out to people, to build love and trust in this world. That’s why I said that I want to be a global citizen. We should all try to be global citizens, because this world is really getting smaller and smaller.
What impact do you think it would have if more women participated in Chinese government? I feel that women are the first teachers to their kids. So if you change a woman, you change a whole family and a whole generation. That’s why I think it’s so important for world leaders to emphasize educating women and girls. They have to be well-educated. They need this worldly perspective, so that they can not only participate in public life, but also bring up global citizens.
How does your work as Haidian District People’s Deputy inform your work with rural women? Both men and women constituents come to see me, but I find that women are more persistent. Another thing is that government people usually think that men are a threat, and that women are not. This is a universal notion. Today, on the television, there were women and children who were protesting in a different country. But because they are women, the attitude is that they are easier to deal with. There’s a fencing problem in China where the government is taking land away from peasants. A lot of women come to see me, representing other men and women from their village. They’re very persistent, visiting courts at all levels to assert their rights. These people know which law and which document to use. I really admire them. They’re really fighting for their rights. It’s wonderful to see them and talk to them. They make me optimistic about the future of China.
Tell us about the farmer’s market that you’re starting. I’m so proud of it. [Laughs] This market is in a very narrow lane, a back lane, and because of need and demand, it has existed for five or six years. But because these vendors can’t get a license, they’re considered illegal, so sometimes the chengshi guanli (“urban management”) would come and smash things up or take everything away. I’ve always gone out there to protect them. But last week I was told that it has been decided that everything has to go. They will come out on Monday, and “it is advised that you should not come out.” So I immediately called the district government. I told them everything. They said, “Ah, then we should let it stay.” I said, “Okay.” On Saturday, I held a meeting for all of the vegetable vendors there. I asked, “Do you want to sell?” They said, “Yes! We want to sell.” The problem is that, because people took their vegetables up the road, it’s very difficult for people to walk through. So I said, “If you really want to sell, we’re going to draw a line here. You can sell everything behind the line. And you’re going to keep the space clean, and the scales should be very strict, and you shouldn’t cheat people, and then you can stay.” We had that meeting and they said, “Yes!” And now they have four representatives, and, hopefully, they will become autonomous.
Lasso China 