Mission Statement: Our aim is to bring hope and opportunity to China’s poorest and most vulnerable children by working with their communities to improve children’s health, education and life skills.
The
ChangAi Children's Project commenced its activities of providing education and
well-being grants; extending micro-credit loans and vocational training; running creativity workshops; providing a critical health fund and running
community-based health education programs in March 2008. By the end of the
project's first year, ChangAi had reached over 300 beneficiaries across four
villages. After the successful trial of activities such as micro-credit loans
and education grants, the project is expanding coverage to additional
beneficiaries in 2009, with indirect positive impacts being reported not only
at the individual and household levels but widely across village communities.
With ChangAi's current funding coming mainly from the
private contributions of the founding
partners,the ChangAi team is
looking for alternative ways, ideas and resources to be able to geographically
expand project activities to reach children in other communities. Promotion of
sustainable development and the utilisation of local knowledge and expertise
are central to the implementation of ChangAi's five year model, details of
which are outlined below.
Our beneficiaries
Villages 1 & 2
This year:
- 46 villagers are using micro-credit loans for
pig-raising, sugarcane growing or crop raising (corn and rice). The 2008
first-round loan recipients were invited to take part in a focus group to share
experiences of having a loan and to discuss any difficulties or challenges they
faced with farming or with managing loan repayments.
- 12 children are participating in weekend maths
classes so that they can catch up to their peers. Some have missed months
or years of school due to family hardships.
- 22 children are receiving education and
well-being grants to assist their families pay for tuition fees, board and
study materials.
- 2children have meat added to
their meals each week at school to boost their nutrition levels to those
of their peers.
- 5 families have access to
ChangAi's critical health care fund.
- 1 student is receiving a living
support allowance to attend university.
2008
- 23 loan recipients successfully repaid 50% of their loan
as scheduled,contributing to an
overall 100% repayment rate. (The model requires 100% repayment over two
years).
-40 children and
teens attended a health education training workshop.
-31 adults attended
a workshop on child psychological health and life skills.
- 24 adults
participated in child health education training.
-47 families
participated in pig raising training.
-46 families
participated in sugarcane growing training.
-5 families accessed
ChangAi's critical health care fund.
-15 participants
took part in a theatre workshop run by Hua Dan exploring and building mother-daughter relationships.
Villages 3 & 4
This year:
-35 children are being taught to
play Calabash music, attending 2
classes per week.
-31 children are receiving an education grant.
2008:
- ChangAi funds were used to establish
a Child Activity Room, dedicated to
art, music and theatre activities for children and teens.
- 6 children received an education grant.
- Children from Village 4 are
participating in weekend maths classes
so that they can catch up to their peers. Some have missed months or years of
school due to family hardships.
