Music universal language for P

Erik Jonnaert did not understand the Chinese language, but he could understand perfectly from the beautiful songs of the children their joy and good wishes for a beautiful future.

"Music is a universal language that we all understand. Music can not only heal but also help us find the true meanings of life and happiness," he said during a concert performed by both Hope School children and volunteers of Procter & Gamble (P&G).

The vice president of P&G Asia External Relations visited P&G Hope School in earthquake-stricken Mianzhu recently to witness the launch of the Project Hope Happy Music Campaign.

The music education program was initiated by China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF), the founder of Project Hope engaged in building schools and improving educational conditions in China's impoverished rural areas.

P&G contribution

P&G China, as one of the most prominent Project Hope sponsors, will promote the Project Hope Happy Music Campaign to its 170 Hope Schools.

The campaign includes activities to mobilize the public to make donations for musical facilities in Hope Schools, recruiting volunteers to teach music courses and training music teachers for the schools as well as sponsoring the national Project Hope Happy Music Festival.

P&G China has partnered with CYDF to build Happy Music classrooms in 100 P&G Hope schools, with facilities of each valued at 25,000 yuan.

P&G China will partner with CYDF and its branches at provincial levels to jointly organize the Project Hope Happy Music Festival in Sichuan province in October, when students and teachers from Hope Schools around the whole country may enjoy the music festival together with the children from earthquake-impacted regions.

Jonnaert said that although this is his first Project Hope event since he transferred to his Asia role last summer, Project Hope and the P&G Hope School are not new to him. "Project Hope is a well-known social cause to many P&Gers," said the Belgian, who has been working for the Fortune 500 company for 24 years.

US-based P&G started its support of Project Hope in China in 1996. By May 9, 2009, it had collectively donated 49 million yuan to CYDF to build 170 P&G Hope Schools, which cover 28 provinces and autonomous regions and benefit more than 100,000 children.

The world's No 1 household products provider also holds the record for building the largest number of Hope Schools among multinational companies in China. And it has announced a goal of making that number reach 200 by 2010.

P&G also has promised to improve the communities around P&G Hope Schools and cultivate the schools as the education, information and cultural centers of the new countryside.

Jonnaert noted that the company's support for Project Hope presently focuses on Sichuan.

"Our focus will be on helping to reconstruct schools and can be summarized as 'five 20s'," he said, referring to the 20 Hope Schools, 20 computer classrooms, 20 hygiene hand-washing facilities, 20 sports yards and 20 Happy Music classrooms expected to be built in Sichuan's earthquake-impacted areas between 2008 and 2010.

Music education

Being one of the compulsory classes in Chinese schools, music education plays an important role in aesthetics, creativity and culture, which is also beneficial to the spiritual growth of children, according to CYDF Secretary-General Tu Meng, who added that music education is nevertheless poor in rural China's primary schools.

CYDF hired Beijing Sunny-Wise Consulting Co Ltd to conduct a survey on the conditions of music education in 106 Hope Schools in 11 provinces and autonomous regions in central and western China.

The survey revealed that 77.4 percent of Hope Schools did not have full-time professional teachers and 79.2 percent had no professional facilities. Less than 10 percent of these schools owned the 18 kinds of instruments specified in the List of Necessary Musical Instruments for Primary Schools promulgated by the Ministry of Education. In surveyed Hope Schools, only 54.6 percent of the students were aware of and able to sing by reading musical notes.

However, 93.8 percent of the students enjoyed music classes.

With the goal of making all rural children receive an education, Project Hope has begun to focus on the equality of education software, in accordance with the new education policy in China.

The Project Hope Happy Music Campaign is one of several charity projects concerning happy education launched by CYDF, after the Happy Sports Campaign and Happy Movie Campaign.

(China Daily 05/25/2009 page10)