NZCFS Earthquake Projects in China, May 2009 The earthquake of May 12, 2008, with its epicentre in Sichuan, killed over 70,000 people, several million were left homeless, and many farmers’ livelihoods were destroyed. New Zealand China Friendship Society (NZCFS) made a major fundraising effort nationwide, in many places in partnership with other organisations such as the Chinese Association. A total of $36,741 was raised. NZCFS executive members Sally Russell and Dave Bromwich spent several … [Read more...]
2006-2007 Cooperatives Project, Shandan
In 2006-2007 the International Committee for Chinese Industrial Cooperatives (ICCIC), Shandan Cooperative Federation (SCF), Shandan Bailie School, Shandan Women’s Federation and the New Zealand China Friendship Society worked together to develop rural cooperatives in Shandan County. . The benefits of establishing a cooperative was introduced to a large group of villages and from this eight producer cooperatives were established in four townships. One cooperative began to market these … [Read more...]
NZCFS and ICCIC work together in Sichuan Earthquake Relief Projects
Following the Sichuan earthquake, NZCFS executive members Dave Bromwich and Sally Russell were accompanied by ICCIC Executive Secretary General Du Yintang to Chengdu in August 2008. They visited earthquake affected rural communities in Pengzhou county, and together developed two projects to assist these two areas:..The first project provides finance for materials required for the reparation of the farmers irrigation channels in Huang village of Tongji township. The main … [Read more...]
2008 Scholar – Shen Qianqian
Shen Qianqian was chosen as our 2008 He Ming Qing Scholar in Hebei Province. She was 20 years old and vcame from a remote village in the Taihang Mountains, south of where Kathleen Hall was working. Shen received no support from any other source than her family, who are poor farmers. She was an average student but had a strong commitment to her profession. Dave Bromwich reported that Madam Ma Baoru took Qianqian under her wing and called her “Daughter”; Qianqian called her “Auntie”. Mao … [Read more...]
2007-2008 Northwest China Projects
After the successful project in 2005-06 to introduce co-operatives to eight villages a further twelve cooperatives will be formed in Shandan to harness the enthusiasm and demand from villages to participate. Four of these will be based on non-production activities which may include forming a rural credit cooperative for management of cash flow within the membership, a consumer cooperative in which members benefit from the bulk purchase of goods and services, including materials required for a … [Read more...]
Quanzhou Women’s Federation (2008)
The Quanzhou Women’s Federation (WF) have asked us for assistance with a project to train 400 women in the production tomato, chilli peppers and sanmu herb and pig husbandry.Quanzhou is 200 kilometres to the north of Guilin and the project township Dongshan is remote and borders Hunan Province and has a population of 32,000 of whom 80% are of the Yao ethnic group. The main farming income is from rice and men leave the villages to look for work in the cities and women are left to farm the … [Read more...]
China Earthquake Appeal
We have all been shocked and moved by the images of the damage on the earthquake with its epicentre in Sichuan. At the NZCFS National Conference held 16-18th May 2008 an appeal was launched to assist the people affected by the earthquake. There is great capacity within China to deal with the immediate disaster relief period and the current media attention is eliciting strong responses from many sources. NZCFS wish to target the period of community reconstruction or rehabilitation phase. In the … [Read more...]
Sunflower Seed Training in Shanglin County (2007)
NZCFS supported a project to provide training in sunflower production as a way to increase poor rural people's income in Shanglin County, Guangxi.Sunflowers are grown in the winter between rice crops. The seed is sold for either eating or oil production, and the stalk is used as organic fertilizer, or as feed for water buffalo or in fish farming.Before the project started the Shanglin Women's Federation (SWF) had discussions in several villages where sunflowers are already growing to … [Read more...]
First Recipient, 2006 – Wei Yunjie
Wei Yunjie was the first recipient of the He Ming Qing scholarship. She was born in 1986 and comes from Chuang Shang Village in Huanjiang County southwest of Guilin. Wei Yunjie is Maonan, one of the smaller ethnic groups in China with approximately 90,000 mostly living in Guangxi. Huanjiang is the only Maonan Autonomous County in China. Wei Yunjie says she wants to be a nurse because the Huanjiang hospitals are not good and need better-qualified staff; her father had liver disease from which he … [Read more...]
2005 Scholarships presented to Shandan Bailie students
2005 NZCFS Silk Road tour leader, Royden Smith, presenting scholarships on September 10 to two very deserving Shandan students to enable them to continue their studies. The recipients were Ye Ying and Wang AiXu.The criteria for the scholarships as stipulated by the NZCFS were:The successful applicant will be undertaking a course of study in rural studies, which may include agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, and/or forestryOne scholar will be male, one will be … [Read more...]
1996 – 2005 Kathleen Hall Scholars
He Ming Qing (Kathleen Hall) Memorial ScholarshipFrom 1996-2005 the NZ-China Friendship Society Inc. in association with N.Z. Nurses Organisation Inc. awarded the Kathleen Hall Centennial Memorial Scholarship to provide an award of $1,500, later raised to $3,000, for a New Zealand Registered Nurse to undertake graduate study in an area of nursing in the community.Past winnersThere have been 9 scholarship winners since then, all of whom captured the spirit of Kathleen Hall in their … [Read more...]
Micro Credit Project in Shangling County (2005)
Micro credit projects operate by providing small loans with no interest or at low rates to people who have no assets and find it difficult to borrow money. The Guangxi Women's Federation (GWF) has a long term project to introduce micro-credit for women farmers. They have found that when they provide small loans in conjunction with training, the success of the project is greatly increased.In 2005 NZCFS supported a micro credit project in Shangling County. 1100 women received training in pig … [Read more...]
