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Transcript of O.N.E - May 2010
May 2O1O
Emergency: Earthquake in ChinaOn 14 April, a massive earthquake hit the northwest at 7:49am. At 3am, on 17 April, Oxfam arrived with supplies. Based at Oxfam Hong Kong’s office in neighbouring Gansu Province, Aman Yee reports. He also took the photo (above) of children in a temporary camp in Jiegu, Qinghai Province.
Two Years after the "5.12" EarthquakeNew roads, earthquake-resistant schools, gender-sensitive ways of working… The changes are many. Oxfam has assisted hundreds of thousands of people in about 200 impoverished communities since that day, 12 May, 2008.
THE BUSINESS EDITIONOne Person in CSR – Woo Pat-NieMeet the person behind one of the first Sustainability Reports to use Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) in Asia.
CSR in Hong KongOxfam Hong Kong launches its second survey on the CSR efforts of 42 Blue Chip companies in Hong Kong.
CSR in Mainland ChinaOxfam and an institute of the Ministry of Agriculture research CSR practices of large agricultural/food corporations.
Poverty and Wealth in Hong KongPoverty is a relative concept in many cities, and must be seen alongside wealth, writes Professor Hui Po-Keung.
O.N.E May 2O1O 2
OXFAM in QINGHAI
Sun, 18 Apr, Oxfam Live (in Qinghai), Al Jazeera TV
Aman Yee in an Oxfam tent on 22 April, Earth Day
When I left Oxfam Hong Kong’s Lanzhou office for Qinghai, the
information coming in was that people’s basic requirements would
mostly be tents, blankets and food. Yet, that is for physical needs. When
I reached Yushu, I met people who had become so emotionally fragile by
the earthquake that they remained too shocked and afraid to leave their
tent once they were provided one. Too afraid to go out, some people are
having difficulty receiving enough supplies.
I interviewed a woman named Lang Jie suffering from a severe condition
of anxiety and panic. She had frequent nightmares, and a deep fear of
leaving her tent, which she shared with her 9-month-old baby, elderly
mother, and husband. She and her family were initially provided instant
noodles and rice by the local temple.
The kind of food aid is another matter. A massive amount of instant
noodles has been donated, but as I talked with survivors, I learned that most
of them would prefer roasted barley, butter and other basics in the Tibetan
diet. Oxfam Hong Kong is working closely with local groups to respond
appropriately. Ren Qing Da Wa, President of Jiang Yuan Development
Association, says, “We will make good use of the donated food, but it is
very important to provide healthy food to survivors.”
Lang Jie says it is painful to think about the families who didn’t survive
the earthquake. When I parted with her, she seemed optimistic. We did not
say ‘goodbye’ but ‘cai yan’ which means ‘long life’ in the local language
in Yushu.
Aman Yee is Deputy Programme Manager of the Rural Development and Disaster Management Team of Oxfam Hong Kong. He is based in Lanzhou, in Gansu Province, China.
NOTES FROM AMAN YEE
14Earthquake strikes at 7:49am
Oxfam prepares response with NGOs and government units in China
15
Oxfam plans to initially spend HK$2m (US$258,000) on response
173 am Oxfam’s first relief team arrives in Jiegu, Yushu, Qinghai
early morn Oxfam delivers relief (quilts, blankets, etc) to 2,000 people in Jiegu camp
Sichuan Airlines sponsors a flight of supplies from Kunming to Xining
18
Oxfam arrives in Shiqu, Sichuan, 4,600m high, with supplies for 4,000 people
19
Oxfam delivers aid for 2,000 people in 3 remote areas west of Jiegu, 4,300m high
Oxfam plans public health work in Jiegu to reduce risk of disease
20
Oxfam delivers tents in Zhaxike, Yushu, especially for migrant workers
21
Flags at half-mast in Hong Kong and across Mainland China
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
Fri, 16 Apr, Oxfam Live on CCTV
Oxfam supplies for remote communities 80 km west of Jiegu town
16
O.N.E May 2O1O �
A MAN AT CENTRAL: WOO PAT-NIEBy Madeleine Marie Slavick
Woo trained as an accountant and
could have stayed in that profession
life-long, but in 2005, he decided
to join the family business: Central
Textiles Group, called ‘Central’ for
short. He is now a Director.
Centra l was s tar ted by h i s
grandfather, Vincent Woo. Actually,
it is the second textiles company that
Vincent set up. The first, Dai Chung,
located near Shanghai, had to be
abandoned during the war: Vincent
left the city on the last plane out, and
started up again in Hong Kong with
just one loom. Nine years later, Central
would open its first spinning factory.
The factory was in Tsuen Wan,
where the headquarters remain.
In the 1980s, when I lived there,
the neighbourhood was filled with
factories and I will always remember
a dye factory (of another Hong Kong
company) that once stood at the
corner of my street. It polluted the
stream so badly that the air also stunk.
It is gone now.
These days, Central is a leader in
sustainability: social, environmental
and for the business. “We’re in this
for the long term,” Woo Pat-Nie said
a few times during the O.N.E magazine
interview. “The previous business
model was obviously unsustainable,
but Central is a family business,
and families last. My grandfather
worked so hard to build up Central
and I see myself as a steward for this
generation.
“Central has always put an
emphasis on the welfare of our staff
members. The previous CEO is now a
consultant and has served for a total
of 50 years. The current CEO got his
first job at Central and has been with
us for about 30 years now.”
In the five years he has been in
the family business, there have been
many signs of sustainability. In 2005,
Central began using certified organic
cotton; in 2008, Woo Pat-Nie founded
the Sustainable Fashion Business
Consortium; and in 2009, Central
became the first spinning and weaving
company in Asia to issue a Global
Reporting Initiative report. The next
challenge is getting his factories in
Mainland China certified Fair Trade.
Woo sighs. “The textiles industry
is very tough. Very tough. Very
competitive. Margins are squeezed
to the extreme. Many people in the
business have given up, gotten out.
They say to themselves, why not buy
property and live off rent – it’s a lot
less stressful.” In the five years Woo
has been with Central, he says two of
the four other spinners have closed
their factories.
When I ask him what his grand-
father might have thought about all
of this emphasis on sustainability and
corporate social responsibility, he says
that even though Vincent was from a
different era, he would have thought
it worthwhile.
Woo Pat-Nie was in conversation with Wong Kwok-Ho, who works on Corporate Social Responsibility with Oxfam Hong Kong, and Madeleine Marie Slavick, editor of O.N.E.
Central Textile Group is the first Asian spinning and weaving mill to issue a Global Reporting Initiatives report.
Issued in March 2009, the report received an award from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
Woo Pat-Nie addressing colleagues about CSR reporting, November 2009.
Oxfam Hong Kong co-hosted this seminar at Clothing Industry Training Authority.
O.N.E May 2O1O �
Oxfam Hong Kong Survey Shows Size Matters on CSRHang Seng Companies: Big Market Cap, Small CSR By Wong Kwok-Ho and Thomas Lau
“If you are the biggest, you are
also expected to be the strongest.”
That is the public expectation of big
corporate companies when it comes to
corporate social responsibility (CSR).
This makes sense, as large companies
generally have more resources, and
can institutionalise CSR throughout
their operations, including their supply
chain. Yet, are these companies really
good enough to be a role model? In
April, Oxfam Hong Kong released the
findings of its CSR survey on forty-two
Hang Seng Index (HSI) constituent
companies.
The HSI or Blue Chip companies
were rated in six areas: 1) CSR Strategy
and Repor ting ; 2 ) Stakeholder
engagement ; 3 ) Workplace ; 4 )
Environment Performance; 5) Supply
Chain, and 6) Community Investment.
They were ranked into three groups:
1) Leaders (60-100 points) – 29%, 2)
Mainstream (40-59 points) – 45%, 3)
Laggards (below 40 points) – 26%.
The Hong Kong Blue Chip Index
is the main indicator of overall
market performance in Hong Kong.
Of the 42 constituent stocks, 25 are
headquartered in Hong Kong, 16 in
Mainland China and one in England.
They span 10 industry sectors, and
represent over 60 per cent of total
market capitalisation of the Hong
Kong Stock Exchange. Collectively,
these companies have enormous
impact and influence on the economy
as well as on environmental, social and
governance issues. They also account
for a very large workforce, with 31
per cent of constituent companies
each employing over 100,000 people.
It is therefore crucial to understand
their behaviour with regard to their
contribution to poverty alleviation.
Transparency is an essential
criteria for these blue chip companies
to achieve a high score on our
survey. Our latest survey findings
indicate that there is a strong linkage
between companies who responded
to the survey and inclusion with the
leader (with a score of >=60%) and
mainstream (40-59%) categories. Of
the 31 companies listed in the leader
and mainstream categories, 29 of them
returned the questionnaire. For those
companies that did not respond, our
research consultant CSR Asia, would
then gather information from public
documents, such as annual reports, as
to complete their questionnaires. Only
two non-respondents had enough
publicly available information to make
it out of the laggard (<40%) category.
How well do companies report their
CSR practices? From our survey it
shows that 57 per cent of them
have, on their own, published a CSR
report, but only 40 per cent use the
Global Reporting Initiative, the most
widely used sustainability reporting
framework worldwide. Among these,
only half of them score well enough
to ensure them a place in the leader
category.
Supply chain management is
another area that remains largely
neglected. Thirty-six per cent have
no dialogue with their suppliers
regarding CSR issues. This reflects that
almost a third of the HSI companies are
not introducing CSR into their supply
chain; ten companies scored 24 per
cent or less while seven scored zero.
The situation didn’t fare any better
for companies which have a supplier
code of conduct in place, including but
is not limited to, the request for their
suppliers’ compliance on fair labour
practices and good environmental
standards. Our findings show that
69 per cent of companies actually
already have this code of conduct,
but only 36 per cent implement it
across all of their operations. This is a
serious implication on ethical practices
because of the extensive nature of
these big companies’ supply chains.
In the area of workplace quality, we
looked into some corporate practices
beyond statutory requirements.
Paternity leave, for instance, has
yet to be enforced by legislation.
Only 23 companies in the survey
provide this entitlement for their
employees, neglecting the caring duty
of fathers. It appears that to leave the
companies to their own devices is not
To read the full report: www.oxfam.org.hk/fs/csr/HSI2009_en.pdf
To read the report from 2008: www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/47872
Kalina Tsang coordinates Oxfam Hong Kong's private sector engagement efforts.
O.N.E May 2O1O 5
Rank Name of Company Total Score Percentage
1 HSBC 80%
2 CLP 77%
3 China Mobile 76%
4 Cathay Pacific 74%
5 MTR Corp 71%
6 Hong Kong and China Gas 69%
6 Foxconn 69%
8 Swire Pacific 67%
9 Hang Seng Bank 66%
10 HK Exchanges & Clearing 63%
10 Sun Hung Kai 63%
12 Li & Fung 61%
13 HK Electric 56%
14 Tencent 56%
15 Sino Land 53%
16 New World Development 52%
17 China Resources Enterprise 51%
17 Esprit 51%
17 China Shenhua 51%
17 Henderson Land Development 51%
21 Sinopec 48%
21 China Construction Bank 48%
23 Ping An 47%
24 China Unicom 46%
25 Bank of East Asia 45%
26 Bank of China (Hong Kong) 44%
27 China Resources Power 43%
27 Hang Lung 43%
29 PetroChina 42%
30 ICBC 41%
31 Bank of China 40%
32 CNOOC 38%
33 China Overseas 33%
33 China Merchants 33%
35 Bank of Communications 31%
35 China Life Insurance 31%
37 Aluminium Corp of China 30%
38 Hutchison Whampoa 29%
39 CITIC Pacific 25%
40 Wharf Holdings 20%
41 Cheung Kong Holdings 16%
42 COSCO Pacific 13%
effective enough for them to adopt
comprehensive CSR practices. This
necessitates the public authorities to
enforce some mandatory measures to
make it happen.
On the environmental side, it
was encouraging to see that 43 per
cent of the companies are setting
reduction targets on, at least, one of
four items: greenhouse gas emissions,
energy, water and paper. However,
performance varies significantly.
Only the leading companies have set
reduction targets on all four items.
Group- or division-wide tangible
reduction targets are less likely to
occur in companies, leaving much
room for improvement.
In the first survey in 2008, our
findings indicate that the majority
of the HSI companies contributed
generously for charity causes. In this
second survey, we investigated their
community investments as a long-term
strategy. The survey found that only 19
per cent of the companies align their
community investment goals with the
UN Millennium Development Goals
or national development goals. Only
29 per cent have systems to measure
the impact of their investments. This
indicates that many companies have
failed to adopt a strategic approach
to community investment.
All said and done, we find that the
biggest companies are not necessarily
the strongest, when it comes to CSR.
Commitment to create board level
responsibility for CSR and develop
CSR policies based on international
standards offer a valuable starting
point for those companies lagging
behind.
In addition to calling on blue
chip companies to improve their
CSR policies and practices, Oxfam
Hong Kong also calls for stronger
regulations on them by the Hong
Kong SAR Government and the Hong
Kong Stock Exchange, leveraging on
the ongoing Companies Ordinance
Rewrite effort to strengthen the
disclosure of non-financial corporate
data based on the GRI standard. As
far as listed companies are concerned,
Oxfam Hong Kong recommends
that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
should require companies to publicly
disclose their CSR or sustainability
performance as a mandatory listing
principle. Oxfam Hong Kong believes
both voluntary efforts of companies
and mandatory measures imposed by
regulators would create – and sustain
– the momentum for bringing CSR to
a higher level in Hong Kong.
Wong Kwok-Ho works on Corporate Social Responsibility with Oxfam Hong Kong; Thomas Lau is a member of the Communications Team of Oxfam Hong Kong.
At A GlAncePublish an independent CSR Report 57%
Use Global Reporting Initiative 40%
Set environmental targets 43%
Offer paternity leave 55%
Code of Conduct with suppliers 69%
Community investment aligned with national or Millennium Development Goals
19%
System to measure impact of Community investments 29%
Stephen Frost, Executive Director of CSR Asia, a consultant for the survey
O.N.E May 2O1O �
We Do Not Stand Alone: CSR in ChinaText and photos by Cai Rui
Adherence to Corporate Social
Responsibility standards has a direct
and substantial impact on small
producers’ livelihoods. This applies
in any context – in a garment factory
or on the land. Recent research on
the agricultural/food industry in four
provinces of China indicates a tenuous
situation, with fledging CSR policies
and basic contractual agreements
being the exception rather than the
rule.
For the past two years, Oxfam
Hong Kong and the Research Centre
of Rural Economy of the Ministry of
Agriculture have been researching
the profit mechanisms between
farmers and large agricultural/food
corporations (known as ‘Dragon Head
Firms’) in Hebei, Inner Mongolia,
Liaoning and Sichuan. The companies’
CSR policies and practices were also
assessed. The 39 corporations primarily
process pigs, chickens, fruit, seafood
and dairy cows. On the producer
side, the research included interviews
with 43 livestock/dairy farmers, and
workers at 24 breeding bases and five
farming cooperatives.
In general, the study reveals a weak
partnership between agricultural
corporations and farmers. In Inner
Mongolia, for instance, merely 30 per
cent of the surveyed dairy farmers
have a contract with the company:
the majority falls outside of legal
protection. In the face of the toxic
milk crisis in 2008, some affected
companies tried to recover losses by
delaying payment to dairy farmers,
lowering their offered prices, and
cutting down purchases by raising
standard requirements. Some dairy
farmers had no way out but to dump
their milk, with some even killing their
cattle to reduce their loss. Conversely,
when the supply of milk is low and
prices should theoretically surge,
most farmers told Oxfam that they
still sell their milk to corporations at
the normal price. Yet, there are also
positive examples. Despite being hit
by the global financial crisis, many
companies are still paying contractual
prices to ensure farmers’ income.
One company opened a separate
HEBEI PROVINCE: Farmers checking their pay from an agricultural/food company.
O.N.E May 2O1O �
impacts of their supply chains; should
publicise their CSR assessments,
and should engage stakeholders in
constructive dialogue. This applies
to multinational food corporations
too, not only Chinese ones. In the
context of globalisation, multinational
c o r p o r a t i o n s ’ i n v e s t m e n t s i n
developing countries can influence
local government decisions, farmers’
livelihoods, and rural community
development. We are seeking dialogue
with companies to ensure that farmers
in China and around the developing
world all have an equal ground for
development.
Oxfam does not stand alone.
We can not walk alone. We need
the participation of domestic and
multinational corporations , the
Chinese and foreign governments,
and society as a whole. We believe
that change is coming, one step after
another.
Based in Beijing, Cai Rui is Programme Officer of Corporate Social Responsibility with Oxfam Hong Kong. The agency has been advocating Corporate Social Responsibility in Mainland China since 2006, with the business sector, government departments, civil society, and the general public. A current emphasis is on the agricultural/food industry.
BEIJING: 9 April 2010, Oxfam Hong Kong workshop on CSR: participants of the workshop included officials from the Ministry of Agriculture as well as academics, NGOs and corporate executives.
HEBEI PROVINCE: A cow breeding facility visited by Cai Rui (right), Oxfam Hong Kong's Programme Officer of Corporate Social Responsibility.
bank account for each partner dairy
farmer to make timely payments in
a transparent manner. Some farmers
who keep their cows in breeding bases,
larger farms or breeding associations
are given partner companies’ stock
options, thereby sharing both profits
and risks with the corporations.
One might ask, is this transfer
of risk simply a marketing ploy?
The answer i s ‘no’ i f one sees
farmers and corporations as being
the interdependent parties that
they are. A company with a healthy
strategic vision does not follow the
‘profit comes first’ business model,
but one that fosters the mutual
and sustainable development of
all stakeholders. Even corporations
badly hit by the financial crisis can still
protect farmers’ interests, guarantee
stable purchase orders, and abide by
the contractual prices: this will ensure
quality products for the company and
will secure farmers’ income too: a win-
win situation.
In China, these ‘Dragon Head Firm’
receive subsidies and preferential
policies from the government to
stimulate the economy; at the end
of 2008, there were 81,500 such
companies. With such an arrangement,
the government is certainly in a
position to leverage on this and to
urge the companies to protect the
livelihoods of farmers and workers.
With the support of the Ministry
of Agriculture, Oxfam commissioned
research to look at these companies’
CSR practices, such as mechanisms
for monitoring, transparency, and
s takeholder engagement . The
research also worked to identify
potential intervention and policy
improvement areas regarding food
safety, smallholders’ access to market
benefit s . Oxfam presented the
research to Ministry officials and
businesspeople from Dragon Head
Firms in Beijing in April 2010.
Oxfam Hong Kong believes that
business should be accountable for
the social, ecological and economic
O.N.E May 2O1O �
Poverty and Affluence Must be Studied TogetherBy Prof. Hui Po-Keung
Hong Kong schools have shown a
recent interest in encouraging students
to explore their local communities as
part of their Liberal Studies or civic
education classes, hoping students
could learn through v iv id l i fe
experiences outside of the classroom
and the textbook. On poverty issues,
teachers may take students to low-
income neighbourhoods or to a
‘rich vs. poor banquet’ to help them
understand poor people’s everyday
life.
Giving students the opportunity to
engage with a low-income community,
if not done too superficially, does help
students with a relatively privileged
social background to broaden their
horizons. Focusing on poor people’s
material life in this kind of poverty tour,
however, imposes a non-traversable
limit of cognition, because poverty
is largely a relative concept in high-
income cities such as Hong Kong.
As pointed out by sociologist Jean
Baudrillard (1981), in modern capitalist
society, poverty is not determined by
objective biological imperatives such
as calorie intake, but by capitalist
society’s most fundamental logic of
operation. In the process of capital
accumulation, most wealth and
resources flow toward rich people,
while the residue defines the basic
needs of low-income groups.
In contemporary Hong Kong, high-
profit luxury homes have always been
the first priority for land developers.
Our best land and other resources are
hence reserved for wealthy luxury
home-buyers; the residue is then
channelled to meet poor people’s
basic needs, such as constructing
public health facilities and low-income
housing. In other words, the needs
of poor people are determined by
the logic of capital accumulation and
reproduction: poor people can only
consume leftovers from rich people,
instead of securing basic inputs
(defined by biological imperatives)
for survival.
Baudrillard reckoned that modern
consumerism is governed by the logic
of difference. By constructing linguistic
signs, modern capitalism’s production
and consumption systems create
differences (e.g. classes and genders)
among everything in the society.
Individual “needs” form only after a
system of signs distinguishing such
differences emerges. For example, the
symbol of “luxury homes” demarcates
its class differences with “public
estates”, generating our needs for
“first home buying” and “upward
purchasing” (i.e. buying larger and
more expensive homes). In other
words, consumers’ personal needs are
being produced and summoned by the
operation of capitalism.
Baudrillard denied the existence of
“real” or “essential” needs, asserting
that needs are not inherent but
determined by differences specified
in the capitalist system of signs. As
different societies possess distinctive
logic of differences, their “basic
needs” differ. For example, clothing
can be an expression of taste, not
merely a display of wealth or the
lack of it. Thus, the meaning that a
sign signifies is not universal. Needs
are created by the entire capitalist
/ photo: Madeleine Marie Slavick
production and consumption system,
and our necessities and desires are
constructed by signs.
Thus, it is impossible to isolate
poverty as a subject of research
because poverty is not a separated
and autonomous entity. Poor people’s
“basic needs” are defined by the
residue of the wealthy class. The
formation of poverty is also at the
same time the construction of luxury
consumption. Therefore, poverty and
affluence must be studied together;
visiting poor people should also be
complemented by understanding
the formation of the rich’s opulent
lifestyle.
Reference:Baudrillard, Jean (1981): ‘The Ideological Genesis of Needs’ and ‘Towards a Critique of the Political Economy of the Sign’ in For a Critique of the Political Economy of the Sign, translated by Charles Levin. Telos Press, 63-87 and 143-163.
Hui Po-Keung is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cultural Studies at Lingnan University, Hong Kong. Translation by Bonnie Kwok of Oxfam Hong Kong. This article first appeared in the March 2010 edition of MoKung, Oxfam Hong Kong's Chinese-language magazine.
O.N.E May 2O1O �
TWO YEARS ON
THE 3-KILOMETRE VILLAGE ROAD, BEFORE AND AFTER, IN JINNIu, SICHuAN
Qin Yongzheng, 25, (bottom photo), lives in Jinniu Village with her husband and child (pictured). ”My husband worked 12 days for free to build this road,” She says. “We want our son to walk on a good cement road, instead of the muddy road before. We knew that it would be so much easier to bring our vegetables, pigs and chickens to sell in the town centre, so we were happy to work for free. We even contributed our own money.” Oxfam provided 657,053 Yuan in funds while Jinniu residents themselves raised 15,000 Yuan to build the road. (Photo: Li Hong /Oxfam Hong Kong)
Donations from Individuals HK$79,007,674.86
49%Corporate Donations HK$30,027,115.72
19%
Oxfam Affiliates (Oxfam Australia, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam Germany,
Intermon Oxfam, Oxfam New Zealand) HK$4,677,616.58
3%
Hong Kong SAR Government Disaster Relief Fund HK$3,510,000.00
2%
Fundraising Appeal in 2008 by the Home Affairs Bureau,
Hong Kong SAR Government HK$44,255,188.30
27%
Financial Resources (as at March 2010)
SHAANXIRelief Projects: 2
Rehabilitation Projects: 8
GANSURelief Projects: 5
Rehabilitation Projects: 30
SICHUANRelief Projects: 15
Rehabilitation Projects: 50
Total Number of Oxfam Projects: 110
SHAANXIHK$3,869,637.20
6%
GANSUHK$16,337,804.43
26%
SICHUANHK$41,885,960.81
68%
Total expenditure: HK$62,093,402.44 (From May 2008 to 31 March 2010)
The earthquake of 12 May 2008,
with a magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter
Scale, affected hundreds of thousands
of people across western China: 4,834
communities officially designated as
impoverished were hit by the disaster.
Oxfam Hong Kong has assisted more
than 750,000 people in about 200
of these impoverished communities.
In its five-year strategic plan from
2008-2013, Oxfam Hong Kong plans
to allocate HK$90 million in Sichuan,
and about HK$71 million in Gansu
and Shaanxi.
people to restart their means of a
livelihood. These projects have been
implemented alongside 54 partner
organisations.
To read the full ‘Two Years On’ report, please visit: www.oxfam.org.hk
The agency ’s 110 relief and
rehabilitation projects to date include
building new schools, village roads,
and water supply systems; running
training sessions in gender sensitivity,
participatory models, and financial
management; and enabling poor
O.N.E May 2O1O �
O.N.E May 2O1O 10
tWO YeARS OnOxfam Hong Kong Partner Organisations
GOVERNMENT UNITS• Anxian County Office Sichuan Qianfo Mountain Conservation Zone
• Chengdu Women's Federation
• China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation
• Guangyuan Lizhou District Committee of Communist Youth League
• Hui County Poverty Alleviation and Development Office
• Langzhong City Poverty Alleviation Office
• Longnan City Poverty Alleviation and Development Office
• National Population and Family Planning Commission of China
• Bureau of Civil Affairs of Kang County, Longnan City, Gansu
• Pingliang City Bureau for Ethnic Minority Affairs
• Population and Family Planning Commission of Wudu Prefecture, Longnan City
• Post-Quake Rehabilitation Office of The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development (LGOP)
• Poverty Alleviation and Development Leading Group Office of Ningqiang County
• Poverty Alleviation and Development Office of Chencang District, Baoji City, Shaanxi
• Poverty Alleviation and Development Office of Cheng County, Gansu
• Poverty Alleviation and Development Office of Kang County, Gansu
• Poverty Alleviation and Development Office of Liangdang County, Gansu
• Poverty Alleviation and Development Office of Luojiang County, Deyang City, Sichuan
• Poverty Alleviation and Development Office of Lushan County
• Poverty Alleviation and Development Office of Wudu District
• Poverty Alleviation and Development Office of Yanting County
• Poverty Alleviation and Development Office of Zhongjiang
• Poverty Alleviation and Development Office of Zi Tong County, Mianyang City, Sichuan
• Poverty Alleviation through Food for Work, Lixian County, Sichuan
• Poverty Alleviation Office of Anxian County
• Poverty Alleviation Office of Baoxing County, Yaan City
• Poverty Alleviation Office of Chaotian County, Guangyuan Prefecture, Sichuan
• Poverty Alleviation Office of Jiange County, Guangyuan Prefecture, Sichuan Province
• Poverty Alleviation Office of Lizhou County, Guangyuan Prefecture, Sichuan
• Poverty Alleviation Office of Nanjing County, Bazhong Prefecture, Sichuan
• Poverty Alleviation Office of Santai County
• Poverty Alleviation Office of Wangcang County
• Poverty Alleviation Office of Youxian District, Mianyang City
• Poverty Alleviation Office of Yuanba District, Guangyuan City
• Poverty Alleviation Office on Lueyang County of Shanxi Province
• Qingchuan County Poverty Alleviation Office
• Qinzhou District Education Bureau, Tianshui City
• Poverty Alleviation and Development Office of Xihe County, Gansu
• Program Office of Anding Educational and Sport Bureau
• Wenxian County Poverty Alleviation and Development Office
• Zhen Yuan County Education Bureau, Qing Yang Prefecture, Gansu Province
UNIVERSITY / RESEARCH INSTITUTES• Department of Sociology, College of Humanity and Development, China Agriculture
University
• Lanzhou University Community Development Center
• School of Ethnological Studies, Southwest University for Nationalities
• School of Huaxi Public Health of Sichuan University
LOCAL NGOS• Donghua Women's Health Education Centre, Huating County, Gansu
• Gansu Yixin Psychological Counselling Centre
• Global Village of Beijing
• Shaanxi Mothers' Environmental Protection Association
• Shaanxi Provincial Research Association for Women and Family
• Service-Technology Service Center for Rural Women in Shaanxi
• The Youth from Red Cross (YFRC)
• Western Rural Development Center
• Institute for Civil Society, Department of Anthropology, Zhongshan University
NEW SCHOOL, HuAXIANXI, GANSu
Education for children has been a priority for Oxfam in Gansu. When the Huaxianzi Primary School in Anding District was so damaged that it was no longer safe for the 208 students, Oxfam allocated 429,898 Yuan to rebuild the school to meet safety standards (pictured).
“Before, during the winter, it was freezing in the classroom,” a student says. “The icy wind blew right through the crevices in the mud wall. Now, it’s warmer in the brand new classroom.”
Principal Wang Hong says, “The new school is very safe, so the parents no longer worry about the security of their children. And our school is near the village, so parents would rather their children be here than anywhere else. Hence, this semester, we have ten new students in kindergarten; before we had only three.” (Photos: Sha Lei / Oxfam Hong Kong)
TRAINING WITH PARTNERS, CHENGDu, SICHuAN
Su Yunzhi, 44, (left in left photo) and Li Chunrong (standing in right photo), 30, attended Oxfam Hong Kong’s seminar on Participatory Management Methods and Project Management Training.
Su is an accountant with the Poverty Alleviation Office in Luojiang County. She says, “I learned a lot about financial management from Oxfam’s finance officer. He clearly explained how to monitor projects, as well as Oxfam’s ways of working. We will follow these procedures to meet Oxfam’s requirements.”
Li Chunrong, a leader of Weixing Village in Sichuan, says, “We [the village government] apply the participatory approaches in our work, but after this, I understood why we need to appeal for participation. I see that villagers have fewer complaints if they take part in every aspect of the project. It definitely helps my work of communicating with people in my village.”
O.N.E May 2O1O 11
52
MOKUNGThe focus of the March edition is on attitudes,
commitments and values while shopping, especially when
purchasing items connected to various causes.
In Chinese, MOKUNG means both 'infinity' and 'no
poverty' – there are so many things to be done to stop
poverty and its injustice.
Published by Oxfam in Traditional Chinese, MOKUNG is
available for free at various locations across Hong Kong, by subscription for delivery to
any Hong Kong address for HK$20/year, and on-line at Oxfam Hong Kong website.
To subscribe: www.oxfam.org.hk/public/bookstore/?lang=big5
Every day, Oxfam Hong Kong works alongside hundreds of groups
around the world, from small NGOs to international bodies, from
government departments of developing countries to community groups
based in Hong Kong. Here are 25 ‘partner organisations’ that we are
supporting for the first time.
N E w PartnerOrganisations
CHINA Beijing • School of Civil, Commercial and Economic Law, China University of Political Science and Law
• Gender Equality Policy Advocacy Group
• Research Center of Journalism and Social Development, Renmin University of China
• Global Call to the Action against Poverty (GCAP)
• Beijing Mu Lan Culture Center
Guangdong • HANDA Rehabilitation & Welfare Association
Guangxi • Department of Ethnic Affairs of Donglan County, Guangxi Autonomous District
• Department of Ethnic Affairs of Lingyun County, Guangxi Autonomous District
Guizhou • Chinese Communist Youth League of Puan County
• The Science Association of Weining Yi, Hui & Miao Minorities Autonomous County
Hebei • Qianxi Women’s Law Service Center
Henan • Luohe Women’s Federation
• Population and Family Planning Commission of Henan Province
Shaanxi • Poverty Alleviation Office of Lueyang County
Sichuan • Poverty Alleviation Office of Wangcang County
Yunnan • The People's Government of Xundian County
• The People's Government of Jianshui County
• The Peoples Government of Dongchuan District
• The People's Government of Wuding County
• Nanhua County Poverty Alleviation Office
• Chuxiong Municipal City Poverty Alleviation Office
• Xiangyun County Poverty Alleviation Office
• Midu County Poverty Alleviation Office
Zhejiang • Hangzhou Grassroots Education and Advisory Services Center
VIETNAM • Quang Tri Department of Planning & Investment
In this edition of O.N.E, we highlight HANDA Rehabilitation and
welfare Association
Established in 1996, HANDA is a non-governmental, non-
religious, and non-profit community organisation registered with the
Department of Civil Affairs of Guangdong Province and supervised by
the Department of Health of Guangdong Province. It also functions
as a branch of the International Association for Integration, Dignity
and Economic Advancement (IDEA), with which Oxfam Hong Kong is
also associated.
HANDA focuses on assisting people with Hansen’s disease, or
leprosy. It helps patients through an approach that merges the social,
psychological, physical and economic. It also works to eliminate the
stigma that patients face, and the discrimination.
While HANDA is based in Guangdong in the southeast, the project
carried out with Oxfam’s support is in a village in Yunnan, a considerably
poorer province in the southwest. The village of Ma Liutang is a
community for Hansen’s Disease patients where HANDA has been
working since 2006, primarily by offering residents there interest-free
loans. The land is not very fertile, resources have been limited, and
trading difficult due to inaccessibility.
Funds pooled from HANDA and Oxfam Hong Kong helped set up
a new community development fund to support various community
development activities, such as road repair and training on raising
livestock. The project period continues until December 2010.
For more information on HANDA: www.handa-idea.org/en/
ONEOxfam News E-magazine is published monthly, at www.oxfam.org.hk/ONE.
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O.N.E (Oxfam News E-magazine) is published monthly by Oxfam Hong Kong, 17th
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