Who are CCTF?
CCTF is the oldest Chinese Government Charity established in 1973. It is responsible for government policy on everything from the school curriculum to practical ways in which to help narrow the gap between the early life experiences of urban and rural children and teenagers in China.
What are their main programs?
CCTF go beyond survival towards developing a model for healthy development. They run a wide range of programs across the countries. These three highlight the diversity of issues with which CCTF deal:
a) Green Community Centre in Sichuan
CCTF have worked with KPMG, Arup, the University of Cambridge, Moser and Integer to build a state of the art sustainable community centre building in the area affected by the earthquake in 2008 (see press release for details);
b) Children’s Health Insurance Program
A nation-wide systematic insurance scheme to help with medical expenses has not yet been established in China, and many children are not covered under the current social security and welfare system. For example, there are 30K- 40K new leukaemia cases in China each year, and about half of them occur among children. Unfortunately, more than 70% of these children cannot be treated properly simply because their family cannot afford the expenses for medical treatment. The disease has claimed many young lives.
Many people were touched by China Premier Wen Jia-Bao’s personal giving to help a boy with leukaemia, little Lirui, in Yu County of Hebei Province in Spring of 2009. Following this kind gesture Premier Wen asked CCTF to set up a sustainable system to help many more children in the nation with similar needs. Responding to Premier Wens call, CCTF China Children Insurance Foundation (CCIF) is working hard to be a supplementary force to support Chinas social welfare and healthcare system. They designed an innovative mechanism to make financial aid available to the children and their families struck by similar misfortune. A donation of 50 RMB (5 pounds sterling) covers children against 12 critical illnesses. Kodak and Hainan Airlines have contributed towards establishing this fund in China.
3) Project Springbud (Women’s vocational training)
In 1989, China Children and Teenagers’ Fund (CCTF) launched the Spring Bud Project, which aims to assist girls in poverty stricken regions without access to education, and to help them get back to school. According to an independent agency survey, during the past 18 years the Spring Bud Program has successfully helped sponsor the education and practical skills training of more than 1.7 million girls in China.
Do CCTF go global?
CCTF already have an office in the UK. In New Year 2009, they looked into potential new charity partners in Australia and New Zealand. In 2010 they will extend their operations to the US. CCTF are currently restructuring their English website but you can find further information at:
http://baoxian.cctf.org.cn/fund_EN/index.html
and
http://en.cctf.org.cn/sys/html/lm_6/2009-09-17/141230.htm
Charitarian comment
I have worked with Ben Xu (International Department of CCTF) for over five years. One of the first projects we undertook together was a fundraising party in Hong Kong during the football world cup in 2003. We hosted a 150 clients of the law firm where I was working to watch the quarter finals. Ben travelled down from Beijing and we auctioned some incredible ink drawings that a famous Chinese artist had made of the key footballers (e.g. Beckham morphing into a lion in ink pen). Ben was followed by a TV crew in HK and I realised then that he was representing a substantial Government charity.
Another memorable occasion was a forum on Sichuan Relief. Ben had been working in the aftermath of the quake for weeks, but turned up at our business forum looking smart and professional. He made an inspiring presentation. As I watched him speaking I thought of the pictures he had sent me a week earlier of the devastation he was witnessing. I was impressed by his composure. It is this calm consistent commitment of bilingual altruists like Ben Xu that will form the backbone of the Professional Chinese Charitable Sector in the future.
Reaching Out to Build a Better Future
China Children and Teenagers’ Fund (CCTF) is the first independent, non-profit charity organization in China, established in 1981 by individuals dedicated to resolving youth welfare issues. CCTF operates under the governance of the All-China Women’s Federation and the supervision of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the PRC. CCTF is a strong and well connected charity that helps hundreds of thousands of children and teenagers every year.
In order to reach out and build a better future for China’s children, our mission is and has always been to care for, foster, and educate children and teenagers in China, especially in the minority and impoverished regions.
Introduction to Major CCTF Projects
The Spring Bud Project
Over the past 20 years since its inception in 1989, the Spring Bud Project has helped over 1.8 million young women return to school and to acquire relevant work skills. The vast majority of these young women now support themselves financially, while many others have set up their own businesses. The project has received broad recognition, including the China Charity Award and a nomination for the UN Millennium Development Goal Award.
Under the Spring Bud Project, there are now over 800 Spring Bud schools, 6,300 Spring Bud classes, and 30 skill training centres all across China.
Safe & Healthy (“Ankang”) Growth Project
CCTF has established a broad network of Children’s Community Centers across the nation, operating in over 500 communities. Each center provides services to help keep kids in school and away from crime, prevent children from injury and illness, and to help them acquire relevant skills.
After the May 12th earthquake in Sichuan, CCTF took immediate action, launching the “CCTF Emergency Relief Fund.” CCTF sent emergency supplies and psychologists, and built 22 temporary schools and 120 libraries. It also worked together with a corporate donor to build the Ankang Homes for Sichuan orphans. 712 children (over 500 orphans) who were temporarily placed in Beijing and Shandong now have a permanent home environment with access to advanced facilities and educational resources.
Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
Our Training for Employment and Entrepreneurship projects provide support to enable hard-working disadvantaged youth in towns and villages to obtain vocational skills and a job, or start up a small business.
Healthcare Programmes
CCTF has recently established the first insurance fund in China for children so that poor kids can receive treatment that they would otherwise be unable to afford. Over the past decade, CCTF has successfully treated over 2,000 children under the age of 13 with amblyopic eyesight disorder, and treats children with hearing impairment. International superstar Jackie Chan has sponsored more than 400 children through this program.
Environmental Projects
A new and exciting project underway is the “Cifeng Rural Community Centre Project.” Funded by KPMG and with local input and construction extensively using bamboo, alternative energy sources and latest communications technology bringing connectivity to disparate village groups, this center aims to be an exemplar for rural community center development when it is completed in early 2010.
CCTF is also implementing a pilot project in Chicheng county, Hebei, which provides a small biogas (methane) plant for schools, fueled with animal waste, as a charitable grant. The solution yields climate friendly energy to the school at almost zero cost and will hopefully be the first of many similar projects that grant makers and companies can support.
Working with CCTF
CCTF actively seeks support from grant making foundations, trustees, individuals, and companies seeking opportunities to help disadvantaged children. With a constant flow of innovative projects and financial support from kindhearted donors, we will continue to expand our projects and give new life and hope to underprivileged children in China.
In terms of transparency and accountability, we work to meet each supporter’s monitoring, reporting and performance criteria. Our finances are audited by Deloitte LLP and are always open to inspection.
For more info, please call us at (8610) 6522-5319 or visit our website:
Chinese: www.cctf.org.cn English: www.cctf.org.cn/English/index.htm
As seen in the Charitarian Issue 1 – January 2010
