Guangxi Snapshot: Local Volunteer Association Flourishing

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 000716 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/CM, OES/PCI, DRL, AND EAP/PD STATE ALSO PASS USTR FOR CHINA OFFICE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SOCI ECON PGOV SCUL EAID PHUM CH SUBJECT: Guangxi Snapshot: Local Volunteer Association Flourishing REF: A) GUANGZHOU 678, B) GUANGZHOU 679 GUANGZHOU 00000716 001.2 OF 002 (U) This document is sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. Not for release outside U.S. government channels. Not for internet publication. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Volunteer organizations formed with the support of local government appear to be spreading to third-tier cities in China as illustrated by the example of the Beihai Civil Volunteer Association (BCVA) in coastal Guangxi. The organization has more than 400 members and is engaged in projects that range from education to healthcare to environmental protection. It receives support from government, members, local corporate sponsors and even some foreign donors. BCVA has gained traction on sensitive and difficult issues through its non-confrontational, consultative and collaborative approach. End Summary. Volunteers Organize in Beihai -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Volunteer organizations are sprouting in many places in China, even third-tier cities like Beihai in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The Beihai Civil Volunteer Association (BCVA) was founded in 2004 after Beihai residents commented online that the municipality should have a volunteer NGO like many big cities in China have, according to Xu Haiou, the organization's chair. She explained in a December 7 meeting with the Consul General that BCVA had about 400 members who had volunteered more than 40,000 hours of community service. The members have diverse backgrounds and include lawyers, environment specialist, doctors, government officials, scholars, students and entrepreneurs, she said. A Variety of Goals - Education, Health, Environment -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Xu, who works by day as a newspaper journalist for Nanguo Zao Bao, explained that the organization had four main goals: to spread love, to promote charity, to improve the members themselves and to improve society. Within these broad goals, the organization has pursued projects in areas that include education, healthcare and environmental protection among others, according to Xu. --Education - The association has raised over RMB 2 million (about US$290,000) from overseas sources to assist more than 500 poor students; 50 of whom have gone on to college. BCVA has also collected over RMB 200,000 (about US$29,000) to help build five primary schools. --Health - With the grants from the UN, BCVA has advised more than 150 local sex workers on how to protect themselves from AIDS using condoms. None of the sex workers has tested positive for HIV during the three years of the program. --Environment - The organization's first public activity was a beach clean-up. It has since conducted other beach clean-ups as well as programs to plant trees, protect endangered birds and preserve the areas mangrove forests. BCVA sponsors performances, distributes leaflets, hold art contests for students and conducts Internet outreach to raise environmental awareness. --In addition, BCVA members volunteer on weekends at care centers for elderly residents in the outskirts of the city. After the Sichuan earthquake last year, BCVA also raised RMB 31,000 (about US$5,000) in donations within three days. Help from Many Sources -------------- ¶4. (SBU) According to Xu, BCVA gets substantial support from the government as well as from officials who contribute as individuals. It is formally registered as a non-profit NGO with the Beihai Civil Affairs Bureau. The Beihai Health Bureau is its official supervisory agency. Since its founding, BCVA has established cooperative relationships with several government agencies, schools, research institutes and media outlets, according to Xu. She described BCVA's approach as non-confrontational, consultative and collaborative, noting this method had helped achieve results even on some very sensitive issues such as HIV/AIDS and human trafficking. GUANGZHOU 00000716 002.2 OF 002 She noted that BCVA's efforts had received positive publicity from local, regional and national media. Several officials have participated in volunteer activities, including a former mayor of Beihai, Xu said. ¶5. (SBU) She explained that individual members provide some of the organization's funding with each paying a RMB 30 membership fee that supports the association's administrative costs. BCVA also raises funds from the public and corporate sponsors, including donors from Hong Kong and Macao. A well-known monk who chairs the Macao Buddhist Association once donated RMB 300,000 (about US$44,000) for one of the association's education programs. Many local companies, such as the Shangri-la Hotel, also provide support for the association's activities. JACOBSEN