Interim Progress Sharing

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The children of China have been suffering from poverty for generations. Thanks to the support we have received from each and every one of our World Vision China Partners during the first half of 2011, World Vision has been able to carry out various development projects that help improve the lives of the poor. In this interim sharing report, we would like to briefly share with you one of the important scopes of our work – rural and urban livelihood improvements – and give you deeper insight into how we respond to the needs of the poor.

China has experienced rapid economic growth in recent years, resulting in the large and continuous influx of impoverished rural farmers to the cities. Out of a total population of 1.3 billion, nearly half now live in the cities. However, this shift has not eradicated the problem of the wide disparity between the rich and the poor. Those staying behind in rural areas are still living in poverty, but the situation is not much better for those who have migrated to the cities as they are lacking in all sorts of social and medical support.

World Vision China Partners has been giving support to the poor over the years in the hope that the livelihood of the rural families can be improved. In response to the phenomena of "left-behind children", "floating children" and "straying children" as a result of the population shift, we have developed corresponding measures to take care of these children. Apart from the continuous support given to help their families get out of poverty and onto the road of self-reliance, we strive to meet these children's needs for spiritual development and growth to let them regain love and care.

In the first half of 2011, World Vision China Partners has launched 10 projects in six different regions to improve the livelihood of those living in rural areas, with emphasis in the following directions:

Care for "floating children" and "straying children"

Currently, over 260 million of the population of China can be described as "floating". Many children follow their parents to the cities to seek a living. Apart from the need to adapt to the environmental change, these children also face an education struggle. They are not eligible to go to public schools due to the different household accounts and their only option is to attend the poorly run yet more expensive private schools, which is another added burden to their already struggling families. To target the needs of these floating children, World Vision has set up activity centres to follow up closely on their health issues and education difficulties to give them the help they need. Simultaneously, through outreach services and the establishment of the children and youth centres, World Vision provides the basic needs, lodging and counselling services to the straying children and works hard on reuniting these children with their families.

Needs of Rural Migrant Workers and Left-Behind Children

In recent years, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of rural farmers migrating to the cities and leaving their children back home. Statistics suggest that there are more than 50 million "left-behind children" all over China's rural regions. These children are deeply troubled emotionally because of a total lack of parental care. This has a far-reaching impact on their growth and development. World Vision's work includes the provision of vocational and technical training for the rural migrant workers in the cities on one hand, while on the other hand it also provides psychological, social and safety support for the left-behind children. For example, to help teachers, communities and carers adopt a holistic approach to children's development, to organise activities to promote mental health, character building, personal growth, peer support group at schools, prevention of accidental injuries, parent-child communication, etc. Special emphasis is placed on improving the quality of parent-child communication. At the same time, schools are encouraged to set up resources and activities centres to provide safe recreational facilities for the left-behind children and create a supportive environment for them to grow.

Better Utilisation of Resources to Improve Livelihood

A lot of China's impoverished farmers depend on the readily available resources in their surroundings in order to make a living. However, the lack of resources and the effects of climate change have made their already difficult lives even more so. World Vision works hard to encourage the farmers to better utilise the natural resources such as biogas and solar energy to improve their quality of life, while at the same time reduce the need for tree felling to help preserve the environment and the local eco-system. We also help build water cellars and other water facilities for those villages that lack sufficient water to strengthen the health of the villagers and improve farming and irrigation.

A Guiding Light for Left-behind Children

"I don't give a second thought; I just do whatever I want to do, so I always end up annoying my classmates. Afterwards, I realise that I was wrong, but I just couldn't control myself." This is the trouble of primary 6th grader Ming Sheng.

Ming Sheng lives in a remote village in Shaanxi. He has no one to turn to when puzzled with growing up and inter-personal relationship issues since his parents are always not around. What he learns at school is pure knowledge and offers no help at all to the problems he is facing.

To Ming Sheng, this semester means a lot because the school has launched a new course, "Let us build a wonderful life together", in which the teachers cover topics such as "developmental changes", "secrets to making friends", etc. Through the use of games, students are able to absorb these new concepts in a stress-free environment. A happy Ming Sheng said, "this is exactly what I have been longing to learn".

Although Ming Sheng has many friends, he does not really know how to get along with them. After joining this course, he begins to understand more about the different stages of development, to learn more about himself as well as others, to learn to appreciate other people's merits and to be more understanding by trying to stand in other people's shoes, etc.

To instill confidence in these rural children, and in particular to cater for the needs of the left-behind children, World Vision has launched various courses in moral studies in collaboration with the villages' local schools in Shaanxi, Jiangxi, Guangxi, etc. The aim is to build up the children's confidence, adaptability and inter-personal skills through various games.

After completing the course, Ming Sheng examined himself and came to realise that he is the impulsive type and very often knows only how to view things from his own perspective during discussions. "Xiao Fei is my best friend in class but we always quarrel. Now I try to focus more on Xiao Fei's merits and consider the consequences before I speak out my thoughts."

World Vision strongly hopes that such a seemingly simple course can serve as a guiding light for these left-behind children and give them direction and confidence when they have to walk alone on the road of development.

The course 'Let us build a wonderful life together', jointly organised by World Vision and the schools in rural areas, has helped Ming Sheng and other left-behind children learn how to face the various problems while growing up.

Education and Training - Helping young people on the road to university

In Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou, we continue to sponsor impoverished secondary school and university students with living and learning expenses. At the same time, we encourage them to get involved in voluntary work so that they can make themselves useful to other impoverished children in return.

Wei Xian from Guangxi meant to give up his education at one stage because he could not bear to let his disabled and illiterate mother continue working hard to support him. Luckily, Wei Xian received timely sponsorship from World Vision, and this has enabled him to realise his dream of continuing his education. He has also become a volunteer through World Vision and has come a long way from not knowing how to communicate with people to "understanding from firsthand experience that although I have given a lot, the reward in the form of happiness and satisfaction is way beyond comparison". Wei Xian fully understands that there is always a lot of joy to be found in sharing – irrespective of whether you are a giver or receiver.

Wei Xian (Left) was able to realise his dream of going to university – thanks to a subsidy from World Vision. He feels happy to be a volunteer and to serve other children in need.

Orphans and Children with Special Needs - Helping autistic children open their hearts

Children with special needs who come from impoverished families all too frequently miss out on rehabilitation and educational training, and may never have the chance to learn the basic skills of living and to communicate with people.

In Hunan, we sponsor autistic children to enrol in special training centres. Kang Kang was diagnosed with such a condition when he was one year old. Although Kang Kang's mother has been very caring, the situation had not changed at all. Kang Kang's mother learned about World Vision's involvement in sponsoring impoverished children to receive rehabilitation and educational training, and she applied for it. After a short period of training, Kang Kang has already achieved marked improvement. Kang Kang's mother shared, " In only one month, Kang Kang is able to call papa, mama, and say words like want, give, eat, etc. He is also able to communicate with people. I am truly happy and I am really grateful to World Vision for enabling Kang Kang to receive such special training."

With World Vision's rehabilitation and education subsidy, Kang Kang is able to enrol in the special training centre to learn the basic skills of living and to communicate with people.

Healthcare - Medical subsidies help save children's lives

World Vision believes that every child's life is equally important. This is why we work hard to provide assistance for the impoverished children who have emergency medical needs so that they can have access to operations and gain relevant treatment in time.

Three years old Xiao Jun has hydrocephalus and lives in a social welfare facility. He would always cry loudly which led his teacher to discover that his belly was constantly swollen, and the condition was so bad that he could not even straighten his waist. On top of this, he also suffered from constipation, making his belly even more painful. He was eventually diagnosed with mega-colon. His teacher was very worried that Xiao Jun's life would be threatened if there was any delay in receiving treatment. She immediately applied for World Vision's emergency medical subsidy so that Xiao Jun could undergo operation in time. After being treated for two months, Xiao Jun is well on the road to recovery. It is most pleasing to see the long absent smile on Xiao Jun's face again and him to be full of energy when trying to complete the various rehabilitation exercises.

The emergency medical subsidy from World Vision has enabled Xiao Jun to undergo operation in time and thus saved his life.

Rural and Urban Livelihood Improvements Stories of the children Snapshots for Other Projects

The road to alleviating poverty is long and arduous. With your regular support, impoverished people in China have a chance to start a new life and move towards self-reliance.

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