Painting a bright, colorful future

Industry giant brings art into the lives of rural children in China

The Hope Primary School in Dongxiang county in Gansu province has taken on a whole new look for springtime with colorful walls and a new art classroom courtesy of Nippon Paint, one of the largest paint manufacturers in Asia.

The school is enjoying the fresh start of the company's "Color, Way of Life" program, which aims to improve the teaching environments of rural school campuses.

Early this month volunteers from Nippon Paint China and China Daily, the program's new charity partner, visited the school to deliver free paint and set up the classroom.

"Schools in China's rural areas hardly ever have any painting supplies, let alone an art classroom. Nippon Paint is here to add a splash of color to the children's lives," said Ariel Wu, the company's PR, CSR and brand communication director.

Wu said the company has used its best materials to ensure the safety of the children and to protect the environment. The environmentally friendly, corrosion-resistant product will also last longer that other paints, she said.

The "Color, Way of Life" project was started by Nippon Paint in 2009, after the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan province on May 12, 2008, which claimed the lives of more than 87,000 people.

"In 2008, we rebuilt dozens of schools in some of the worst-hit areas. But seeing the dull and empty buildings we realized this was not enough. We had to figure out other ways to brighten up children's lives," Wu said.

"It dawned on us we could use our products to beautify their campuses and support art education, an area often neglected but in great demand."

So far, the project has provided free painting supplies for more than 200 rural primary schools, trained 120 art teachers and established 195 art classrooms, bringing new color and creativity to tens of thousands of children.

Wu said she and her team have expanded the program into what she calls "an open and constantly evolving platform" for anyone who is interested in public services, and more than 30 other companies and dozens of artists have joined their effort.

Organizers have called on Weibo bloggers, too, to help attract more wall painting designs, ideas and volunteers.

The initiative helped Nippon Paint China win three awards at the fourth China Charity Festival in January: Best Annual Philanthropic Group, Best Philanthropic Project, and Best Annual Philanthropic Person, for Nippon Paint China President Eric Chung.