OREANDA-NEWS. February 01, 2013. Since 1995, ICBC launched program to help the poor in Sichuan's Nanjiang County, Tongjiang County, Wanyuan City and Chongqing's Chengkou County located in Qin Ling and Ba Mountain, according to the schedule of CPC Central Committee and State Council. Over the course of 17 years, ICBC poverty alleviation programs focusing on the "four problems" (transportation, education, drinking water, medical care) in these poverty-stricken areas are aimed at making a better life for the people through their self-improvement and addressing the salient issues that restrict the development there, reported the press-centre of ICBC.

The two-pronged approach give due consideration to the economic and social conditions in these areas. ICBC has sent 75 senior staff there to coordinate the effort. More than RMB 92 million donation (money or in-kind) and RMB 1.5 billion loan have been provided to support the programs related to people's livelihood and infrastructure construction. The Bank has been successful in "alleviating poverty through education, sanitary improvement, green initiatives, programs and disaster relief efforts" and makes own contribution to help the poor on the road to riches and improve the poverty-stricken areas.

More than 102 townships, 520 villages and 100,000+ people benefit from ICBC poverty alleviation programs, which drives the economic and social development and brings significant changes to these areas.

Bring Hope through Education - To Help the Poor, Educate Them First
ICBC study showed that the teaching facilities and environment of the primary and secondary schools in these poverty-stricken areas are lagging behind, no teaching aids, no school ground, no canteen, not enough blankets, mattresses in student dormitory. Poor kids even can't go to school. To improve the situation as early as possible, ICBC has donated RMB 21.70 million to the schools there.

In 2012, at the ceremony to open the new Voice Lab donated by ICBC to Tongjiang No. 2 Middle School, guests were all moved by A Thankful Heart, a song sung by students of "Self-Improvement Class", a class jointly sponsored by ICBC and China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation. A total of 150 first-year high school students who come from impoverished families in these poverty-stricken areas with outstanding academic performance are selected for the Class. Each student receives a grant of RMB1,800 a year for three consecutive years to finish high school education and fulfill the dream to go to university. If the students successfully pass the university entrance examination but cannot pay the tuition fee, ICBC will continue the subsidies.

Since 2003, ICBC has donated RMB 6.35 million to these poverty-stricken areas. ICBC organized "ICBC Assistance Program to Impoverished University Students with Academic Promise" for nine consecutive years and "ICBC Outstanding Village Teachers Program" for ten years in these poverty-stricken areas. Under these two programs which earn high respect from the local governments and residents, 1100 poor students with high academic achievements and good characters received ICBC subsidies to go to university, 740 outstanding village teachers were encouraged to stay in the mountainous areas to teach.

Besides providing subsidies for poor students with high academic achievements and good characters and outstanding village teachers, ICBC takes all necessary means to create a nice environment for them to learn and live. Liangshui Hope Primary School in Nanjiang County is a school sponsored by ICBC. Since 1997 the school has received donation (money and in-kind) from ICBC totaling RMB 1,567,400. With the new teaching buildings, new student dormitories, new multimedia classrooms, new book shelves, over 500 students are now studying in a very nice environment. Liangshui Hope Primary School is only one of the nine Hope primary schools in the area subsidized by ICBC. The Bank has donated more than RMB 6 million for Hope schools there to build teaching buildings, dormitories or school ground.

Under a new policy, small village schools in these areas are merged. Dormitory students have no place to live as a result. To address this issue, in 2012, ICBC donated another RMB 2.15 million and cooperated with China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation to build new dormitories (over 500 square meters) in Wanyuan Batai Center School, Tongjiang Zhibao Center Primary School and Nanjiang Zhengzhi Huaiqiao Primary School. The new dormitories expected to be completed in 2013 which wlll improve the teaching facilities of these schools significantly.

Meanwhile, ICBC provided funding to address the shortage of teaching facilities in poverty-stricken areas. Under ICBC sponsorship, five secondary and primary schools start multi-media remote e-learning. 600 new beds for students, nearly 33,000 school supply items, 20,000+ free books worth more than RMB 3 million have helped the schools improve teaching conditions. ICBC also donated RMB 456,000 to some primary schools there in the form of 4,001 "Care" stationery kits. The donation brings the warmth and concern from the society to the impoverished students.

"Sweet Little Kitchen" is another program sponsored by ICBC. In the afternoon, school children cannot go back home after school due to inconvenient transportation. Yet the village schools are shortage of funds to set up kitchen facilities. A number of primary and secondary school students in poverty-stricken areas do not have lunch. This affects their learning and health in the end. In view of this, ICBC donated RMB 3.6 million for 67 schools to set up kitchens equipped with cookers, buy tables, chairs and tableware for the students to have lunch. More than 60,000 students have been benefited from the ICBC program.

Light the Future - Medical Help for People
In poverty-stricken areas, poor medical facilities, low standard, no access to medical care for farmers are common. To address these issues, ICBC lent further support for local governments to improve the conditions so that residents can get medical treatment when they need it.

Many people in these areas suffer from cataracts. Most of them cannot afford the expensive medical treatment and live in darkness. In 2007-2008, ICBC donated RMB 1.7 million to the "Love Forever - Brightness - ICBC Helping the Blind", a program launched in collaboration with the China Foundation for Disabled Person. Under the program, 1,700 impoverished cataract patients in poverty-stricken areas were relieved and had their second sight after surgery for free - "subsidize one person to gain back eyesight, help one family end poverty". Madame He lives in No.2 Da Shi Village in Nanjiang's Hongguang Township. She and her second son had cataracts since birth. In May 2007, under ICBC "Brightness" program, Madame He and her son received surgery to remove the cataracts. Today, Madame He and her son open a snack shop and earn more than RMB 8,000 a year. Life is getting better with new TV, washing machine. ICBC "Brightness" is a long-term program. Besides giving free surgery to impoverished cataract patients, a team of eye doctors have been trained up who are "Always in Service", an ultimate solution to solve the problem of poor cataract patients who have "no money to see eye doctor".

"Happy Mother & Child 120 Program" (120 stands for 1 family, 2 babies, 0 risk) is a program jointly sponsored by ICBC and China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation since 2009. ICBC donated a total of RMB 2.1 million to subsidize 3,500 poor mothers in these areas to give birth in a hospital. This greatly reduces their risk of giving birth and newborn mortality rate. Further, in 2012, ICBC donated RMB 360,000 to three Maternal and Child Care Service Center. Each center received a new ambulance equipped with B-ultrasonic machine. The new ambulances allow the three centers extend their services in a wider area, let more mothers and children get medical care when needed.

Besides the above two programs, ICBC donated RMB 6.54 million for 6 townships in two counties to set up new clinics and 8 "Loving Clinic". ICBC also donated large amount of medical drugs and equipment to large clinics in townships and provided funding for two "Loving Clinic" to buy ambulance, improving local farmers access to medical services. Meanwhile, ICBC organized over a hundred medical experts to carry out studies on endemic diseases in remote villages. Over 100,000 people had the opportunities to see doctors.

Green Future - Sustainable Growth in Village
Tian Congyuan is a farmer living in Qiujiaping Village, Chaya Township of Wanyuan City, yet he has another role - a technician under the biogas project of the village. He is very proud of the biogas facilities in the village, "We also use biogas in our house, just like the city folks, clean, protect the environment, available in 24 hours. Our life has completely changed". Now, Tian Congyuan and his family use biogas for cooking food and boiling water, no more choking by the wood fire like a few years ago. In 2008, villagers in Qiujiaping Village started using biogas for their living instead of wood, no more trees are cut down, ecological environment is protected, less pollution on agricultural products from insecticide/chemical fertilizer. Farmers live and work in a clean environment. Now, everyone in Qiujiaping Village unanimously agreed that the village is very clean.

The biogas project in Qiujiaping Village is an epitome of ICBC's "Poverty Alleviation through Green Initiatives". Over the years, poor sanitation and hygiene is a serious issue in the villages in Nanjiang, Tongjiang and Wanyuan. Livestock are raised in different places. Besides, local farms tend to grow few crops. Villagers cut trees or stalks as wood fuel for cooking or heating. Vegetation in these areas is heavily damaged, leading to vicious ecological cycle. Under a new green initiative, ICBC took 9 villages in Chenhe Township of Tongjiang County, Changchi Town of Nanjiang County and Chaya Township of Wanyuan City to run a pilot. Starting from 2008, ICBC invested RMB 8.68 million for 1,800+ villagers to build about 1,400 biogas pools. Massive renovations on the facilities (roads, courtyards, kitchens, toilets, corrals, dams) were also started to create different ecological home models - "husbandry, biogas, orchard", "husbandry, biogas, vegetable", "husbandry, biogas, foodstuff". This new, green, recycling growth model has protected the ecological environment of these villages.

ICBC also fully supported the farmers to plant white fungus. In 2011-2012, based on the pilots in early phase, ICBC donated RMB 1.32 million to start a program to run a green economy of "forages - breeding - energy - fertilizer - planting" in Chenhe Township, Tongjiang County for farmers to plant white fungus, and subsidized 221 farmers to build 349 plant houses. The ultimate aim is to help farmers generate income in sustainable ways and set the example in sustainability for poor rural areas.

Poverty Alleviation through Program - Lead Economic Take Off
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Since 2006, ICBC helps poor farmers in rural areas get out of poverty and improves the endogenous growth. The Bank donated HKD 5.9 million and worked with Heifer Project International ("HFI") to start family farm breeding program, and provided technical training and related services on poultry breeding to small farmers in 16 villages, 13 townships in Tongjiang County, Nanjiang County and Wanyuan City. Different from conventional programs, ICBC's poverty alleviation program emphasized participation from farmers, "I want to end poverty" instead of "help you get out of poverty". After getting a full picture on the villages, ICBC organized seminars for farmers and determined the funding based on their requirements, helping them on the road to riches by their own intelligence and effort.

To ensure more farmers receiving the benefits of the program, good poultry and animal strains, related experience, knowledge were transferred to the families who were in need of help. Farmers participating in the program increase income. New team of village cadres and those who have become rich are taking the lead to help other farmers end poverty and start the road to rich. Under the program as of end of June, 2012, pigs, cattle and sheep to a total of around 6,500+, 27,000+ black chickens were provided, 550 breeding farms to a total of 4,400 square meters have been renovated or built. More than 2,200 farmers have been benefited. ICBC also organized experts in different fields to give training to the farmers about new technologies and knowledge.

Livestock breeding program brings substantial changes to the villages. The living environment has been completely changed, farmers joining the programs earn more. For example, farmers in Baisha Township raised more than 9,000 black chickens. They earned more than RMB 1 million since joining the program. On average, each farmer family earned more than RMB 1,200 a year. Farmers in Hualou Township have raised 284 cows giving birth to 142 calves, and earned over RMB 550,000 by selling the beef. On average, each cow breeding family earned at least RMB 3,200.

Besides individual programs, ICBC also focused on the inadequate infrastructure facilities, a key bottleneck to constrain economic growth in poverty-stricken areas. In the past decade, ICBC has provided more than RMB 1 billion in loans for local governments to build more infrastructure facilities, which included Bazhong-Taoyuan superhighway, expansion of drinking water infrastructure system by Bazhong Water Company, renovation of drinking water pipelines, optical fiber transmission network, "Village Link", and natural gas transmission. To support local governments' new village planning, ICBC donated RMB 2.7 million for 30 villages. Each village built a bridge for the school children and villagers to go out during flood periods. ICBC also donated RMB 350,000 to patch cement on the village roads. All old roads changed to new cement roads. New road has been named by the villagers as "ICBC Road for the Villagers".

Help the Poor - "Charcoal in Snowy Weather"
ICBC started poverty alleviation programs 17 years ago. People living in old liberated areas are always a major concern to all the staff of ICBC. Areas around Mountain Ba in Tongjiang County, Nanjiang County are 800 meters above sea level on average, an area most prone to natural disasters. Whenever natural disasters happen, people living there are getting poorer or becoming poor again. In light of this, ICBC provided funding for families in Tongjiang and Nanjiang living in areas 1,200 meters above sea level to move out. No longer do they have to live in areas prone to natural disasters.

Whenever natural disasters happened in these areas, all staff of ICBC actively donated (money or in-kind), sending love and care to the victims. When flood hit Wanyuan in 2005 and 2007, ICBC staff in charge of poverty alleviation program immediately joined the rescue work and donated RMB 300,000 (twice in cash) to Wanyuan City for the re-construction. In 2006, Wanyuan experienced the worst drought in fifty years. Nearly 60% crops in some townships cannot be harvested, bringing more disasters to the people who were already very poor. To help the victims reduce loss and get over the difficulty, ICBC Head Office started a donation program. Over RMB 110,000 was donated to the victims in four townships (Shiren, Shiwo, Yingbei, Caoba) of Wanyuan City. After an earthquake struck Wenchuan in 2008 and Tongjiang, Nanjiang, Wanyuan were battered by the strongest flood ever in a century in 2010, ICBC donated RMB 960,000 and RMB 1 million respectively for local schools to re-built or renovate so that the students can go back to school.

With all the efforts of ICBC and local residents, these poverty-stricken areas have witnessed fast economic growth over the past few years. The change is significant. ICBC's efforts were also recognized by the CPC committees, governments and the public. The Bank has been honored by State Council Leading Group on Poverty Alleviation and China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation with honors like: " Chinese Central Government Department Advanced Unit in Poverty Alleviation", "2008 China Livelihood Pacesetter", "60 Caring Models in the 60th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China" and "Charity Star".