New hope

Children from Hope Schools particiapte in Go! 2008 - West China Project Hope Happy Sports Games.

Firewood on a snowy day is better than more flowers on brocade, goes an old Chinese saying, but Procter & Gamble (P&G) is doing both for Project Hope.

As the top donor for the philanthropic education program Project Hope, the world's leading personal care household commodities producer will not only further support school construction in poverty-stricken areas but also help improve sports and arts facilities and education in the schools.

Project Hope was initiated by China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF) in 1989 to build and repair primary schools in poverty-stricken areas. Thanks to a philanthropic fund of 4-billion-plus yuan raised by CYDF, there are now more than 14,000 Hope Schools in China.

Since 1996, when the first P&G Hope School was established, P&G has donated over 32 million yuan to CYDF to set up 134 Hope Schools and help them improve education facilities and train teachers in 28 municipalities, provinces and autonomous regions in China, where more than 7,000 children have benefited.

Sports education

According to Christopher D Hassall, vice-president of P&G China, the company aims to set up a total of 200 P&G Hope Schools by 2010 and donate money and send volunteers to improve both "hardware and software" conditions in those schools, which involve sports and arts facilities, teacher training, as well as educational materials.

"Education opportunity is the basis and children of the Hope Schools should be happy and develop comprehensively," says Hassall.

Sponsored by P&G China and organized by CYDF, Go! 2008 - West China Project Hope Happy Sports Games was held in mid-May in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous regions. It attracted nearly 28 teams composed of nearly 500 Hope School students from 12 municipalities, provinces and autonomous regions across China, such as Chongqing, Shaanxi, Gansu, Guizhou, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and Tibet.

"I am very impressed by the children's smiles and laughter," says CYDF Vice-President Gu Xiaojin, who participated in basketball game between P&G volunteers and a Hope School team composed of schoolchildren from Hope Schools and CYDF volunteers.

Gu says P&G is a pioneer in "Hope School Happy Sports Action", a new charity product under the Hope Project for promoting sports education in those schools.

In line with the CYDF's plan, the foundation will raise money to sponsor annual athletic games in each Hope School, provide sports training and awards and/or long-term financial aid to students and teams with athletic potentials.

The athletic initiative is based on research conducted by P&G last year, Gu says. According to a survey across the nation, no Hope School has a full set of sports equipment and facilities completely meeting the standards issued by the Ministry of Education and 47 percent of the Hope Schools has no specific sports venue. Hope School principals say the athletic equipment they need most are table tennis tables, basketball goals, horizontal bars, parallel bars, and volleyballs.

P&G is taking the lead in promoting the "Hope School Happy Sports Action" in 134 Hope Schools. In addition to installing standard sports equipment, it held athletic contests in the schools during February to April and provided professional training for teachers and principals in a training camp in April in Beijing.

"Support for Project Hope in China is in accordance with our global corporate social responsibility motto of "Live, Learn and Strive", which focuses on improving lives for children in need, and has proved to be successful," says Hassall, adding that further aid for "Hope School Happy Sports Action" will be extended to include art and music.

Yu Changqing, 10, of Ningxia P&G School, won a medal for shuttlecock kicking, a traditional Chinese game. Though it took a three-day and night train trip to bring her to the games, the girl with big eyes and red cheeks was excited and cheerful during the events.

"It's the first time I've left home and I am really happy to win the medal," she said, saying that shuttlecock kicking used to be the only sport available in her school in a mountainous area.

"But beginning this year, we can play basketball, volleyball and table tennis," she adds.

According to CYDF, a set of national-standard sports facilities for a primary school costs around 20,000 yuan, while sponsorship for a session of athletic games in a Hope School is about 1,000 yuan.

"But the impact on children cannot be valued by money," says Gu. "Physical education not makes them happy and healthy but also nurtures an optimistic life view and inspires their teamwork spirit."

The deputy president regards the newly initiated "Hope School Happy Sports Action" as " adding flowers on brocade".

New schools

P&G's Hassall stresses that the company will not stop building more Hope Schools in China.

"This year is our 20th anniversary in China, we will donate 4 million yuan to build 20 new P&G Hope Schools here," he says, emphasizing that the global Top 500 Company will consolidate and expand its partnership with retailers and suppliers, downstream and upstream, its corporations and encourage more P&G volunteers to take part in Project Hope.

P&G China began its co-operation with retailers and suppliers in 2003. Among the current 134 P&G Hope Schools, three were donated by corporate staff or P&G volunteers and 31 depend on joint efforts by the company and 17 business partners, including Beijing Hualian and Lotus.

Hassall says that the company is striving to inspire more people to be involved in the education charity program and initiate more new ideas.

Besides new school construction and education promotion, P&G plans to open the resources of its Hope Schools, involving sports facilities, libraries and computer classrooms, to the communities.

"Our Hope Schools can be educational, cultural and information centers for rural communities," he adds.

(China Daily 05/26/2008 page8)