"Although our moms are not at home with us yet, from now on, every day we shall have a loving mother to accompany us..." The words of the left-behind child, Little Yin, made all the listeners feel moved.
"June is accompanied by six fierce dragons, so the scorching sun is as hot as the peak of the season." In Zizhong of Sichuan in June, the outdoor weather is unbearably hot. In spite of the heat in the plaza of Qingliang Village of Gaolou Town of Zizhong County of Sichuan, we could see a momentous scene unfolding. On that morning, XCMG's start-up ceremony of "Home of Left-behind Children" and XCMG's volunteer caring campaign was held here solemnly.
The scorching sun did not stop people's fervor for participation. Those present included Liu Yifan, Youth League Secretary of XCMG Group, many volunteers, Vice Director of Department of Rights and Interests of Sichuan Provincial Youth League Committee, Vice Director of Social Service Center of the province, Director Zhao Long of "Children Accompanying Program" Project Office of the province, Vice Secretary Liu Shengquan of Youth League Committee of Zizhong County, Zhu Feng, Head of Enterprise Cooperation Division of China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, Mayor Yuan Li of Gaolou Town of Zizhong County, Representative of "Accompanying Moms for Left-behind Children", hundreds of local left-behind children and the representative of the villagers.
XCMG Group's Youth League Secretary Liu Yifan Made a Speech
Zhao Long, Vice Director of Department of Rights and Interests of Sichuan Youth League Committee, and Director of "Children Accompanying Program" Office of the Province, made a speech.
Representative of "Accompanying Moms of Left-behind Children" made a speech.
Zhu Feng, Director of Enterprise Cooperation Division of China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, and Liu Yifan, XCMG's Youth League Committee Secretary – chairing the start-up ceremony
The global project of “Blue Dream for Children,” also known as the “For Better Life” project, has a sub-project run by the XCMG group called "Home of Left-behind Children.” This project is sponsored by XCMG in cooperation with China Public Welfare Academy of China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and Youth League Committee of Sichuan Province, namely, "Children Accompanying Program." XCMG plans to input six million Yuan to set up a self-contained child care service in the local area within three years and to then popularize it throughout the country.
Liu Yifan said, "In the first trial, we shall choose seven to ten villages as examples of the poverty-stricken areas of ethnic minorities of Sichuan Province and will let some of XCMG's departments and constituent companies work as partners with the trial villages for one-on-one care. This first step will benefit 2,000 to 3,000 left-behind children and 40 to 50 rural teachers in approximately 45 villages. In the future, we shall expand it to other provinces such as Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, and Gansu."
"The 'Children Accompanying Program,' as an effective way to guarantee the welfare of the rural left-behind children, is still in the exploration stage now, so few enterprises have joined it. Now, since we have gained the participation and support of such an influential and powerful enterprise as XCMG, we are full of anticipation over the future of the project, and we thank XCMG very much!" At the start-up ceremony, Mr. Zhao Long was moved by XCMG's lofty spirit of "Showing Great Love for Great Responsibility," and he expressed his sincere thanks.
"XCMG's Home of Left-behind Children" Gives the Left-behind Children a New "Home"
XCMG's "Blue Dream for Children" project takes the village as the unit to set up "Home of Left-behind Children." In the "Home," they configure computers, books, optical disk video data, ping-pong tables and other facilities; offer conditions for cultivation of interests such as music, fine arts, sports, and handcraft; and give coaching on soul care, life care, study care and skill growth. The project also employs professional teachers to train the left-behind children from ages 14 to 17 in special skills, such as planting, agriculture, machinery, and driving. XCMG gives these children chances to experience all that the enterprise has to offer, including a chance to go into the employees' homes for feeling the warmth of family. In this and following years, XCMG will also give the children chances for holiday practice and on-the-job training and will cooperate with some resources, such as their own dealers, to offer the children opportunities for employment in their local area.
Offering Notebook Computers to "Accompanying Moms of Left-behind Children"
In addition，every "Home of Left-behind Children" has an affiliated project known as "Accompanying Mom for Left-behind Children," which comprises of an excellent professional rural teacher for the local area. This person is in charge of the current management of XCMG's "Home of Left-behind Children," including all kinds of caring activities, giving services and coordination support to the left-behind children and their families in their time of need. XCMG will provide the post-subsidy to the "Accompanying Moms for Left-behind Children" through the Poverty-elimination Aid Foundation, and at the same time，XCMG will also offer vocational training to the rural teachers via platforms such as Beijing Normal University, the provincial Youth Association, and others. Every two years, they will carry out a campaign of choosing "The Best Rural Teachers for the Blue Dream." The winning rural teachers will receive the award from XCMG, allowing them to live out their dreams of aiding these children when they need it most. ,
After the start-up ceremony, 10 XCMG volunteers and 80 representatives of the left-behind children joined the Outward Bound activity in the theme of "XCMG's Home of Left-behind Children." The greeting of love, the competition in luck, the tree and squirrel... Every well-designed activity brought the children and volunteers closer. Seven representatives of "Accompanying Moms for Left-behind Children" also learned more about the message from XCMG's "Blue Dream for Children" in the lecture hall. Having been greatly encouraged by the new information, they were quoted as feeling determined to perform their duties in service and care, turning "Home of Left-behind Children" into the children's best home yet.
Presenting Gifts
Holding the Gift Admiringly
On-the-spot Games and Interaction
On-the-spot Games and Interaction
In the afternoon, the enthusiastic XCMG volunteers played ping-pong with the left-behind children and worked together with the children to decorate the "Home of Left-behind Children" with their own hands, giving it a warm and beautiful appearance. In the “Home of Left-behind Children,” the volunteers pieced together car models with the children, played games with them, and helped them use their youthful writing to give voice to the XCMG project. For possibly the first time in the children’s lives, the loneliness was driven away as their thoughtful words intertwined with their young voices. As dusk approached, the XCMG volunteers entered the homes of the left-behind children and continued their work, in spite of having worked all through the day. They exchanged heart-to-heart words with the children, listened to their thoughts, and learned about their studies and lives, hoping to bring the badly needed love and care to them. The volunteers stayed until very late in the night.
Never Forget the Initial Ideal, and Escort the "Children's Journey"
61,025,500! This figure is close to the total population of the UK and is also the number of Chinese left-behind children estimated by the sample data of the 6th population census in 2010. As a heartbreaking, painful scar behind China's "Economic Wonder," the issue of left-behind children has led to many accidents and tragedies in real life. The reality of life for the children has society raising distressing questions: What living situations are the left-behind children faced with? What "measures" should we take to solve this seemingly impossible problem? As a leading enterprise, XCMG Group has been engaged with the challenge for a long time and is responding to the state's call "Accurate Poverty-elimination Aid" using their "Blue Dream for Children" action to support a future blue sky for the left-behind children.
"Our village's conditions are limited, the children have no fixed place for study and amusement, their parents have gone out to work, and the children are looked after by their grandpas and grandmas. As a result, they lack spiritual care and coaching in study, and the problem of the left-behind children has taken a lot of energy of our managerial staff. This "Children Accompanying Program" can bring benefit to the children, and every one of us is looking forward to this project." Just as Guan Zhengjun, deputy secretary of Party Committee of Gaolou Town, said at the ceremony, as a leading province in outgoing labor, Sichuan Province possibly maintains up to 2,540,000 left-behind children, accounting for 11.34 percent of the whole country’s population. While painfully so, we must admit that here lies a serious problem. Therefore，the left-behind children care project "Children Accompanying Program" has emerged as these dire times require, and it covers 100 villages of seven cities and 10 counties, with a predicted number of 35,000 people benefiting directly from it. As soon as XCMG learned of the "Children Accompanying Program," it cooperated with China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation to do the specific scheming and has started up XCMG's public welfare project "Blue Dream for Children."
"The rapid acceleration of urbanization and the uneven development among different regions are no longer news. However, a great part of the rural work force has left, and the deep problems brought about by this exodus have been ignored for a long time. The parents leaving for work have few options for bringing their children with them, and more and more left-behind children are being looked after by their grandparents, other relatives, or are even left without custody. In the earlier stages of investigation, we often saw left-behind children playing alone by the pond, farmland, or street. As 'actual orphans,' they are often neglected, pushed into a corner without love and care. In talking about left-behind children, Liu Yifan's face could not hide growing pain, as he became a father recently. Yet, in talking about the project “Blue Dream for Children,” he suddenly appeared very excited："XCMG Group's board chairman Wang Min advocated and originated the 'Blue Dream for Children' project，and that is just beginning to explore the best method to solve the left-behind children care problem in the poverty-stricken area. Solving the root of the problem will allow transformation of the poverty-elimination aid from 'blood transfusion type' to 'blood making type'. We will continue to try to build this project into a target rod project in the state's accurate poverty-elimination aid!"
As reported，XCMG's "Blue Dream for Children" project has garnered the attention of the leaders of all levels of Sichuan Province. Li Dengju, member of the standing Party committee of Sichuan Province, chairman of the provincial General Labor Union, and head of Sichuan Province's Working Group for Care of Left-Behind Students, chaired this work in person. In addition, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, Beijing Normal University's China Public Welfare Academy, Sichuan Youth League Committee, and Sichuan Leading Group of Love and Care Work will also join the implementation of the "Blue Dream for Children” project. At the same time, the project will have its implementation monitoring system built by China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation in cooperation with XCMG, Provincial Youth League Committee, Beijing Normal University and some major mass media. The implementation supervising system will be built jointly by the leaders of the villages, towns and counties, the Poverty-elimination Aid Foundation, and the volunteers from the Youth Association. In accordance with how the system plays out, we shall further adjust the work performance examination of the rural teachers, set up multilevel examinations, and examine project feedback flow to ensure the most effective implementation of the project.
Field interviewing by Central Broadcasting Station and Sichuan Satellite TV Station
Interviewing by Sichuan Satellite TV Station
XCGM Showing Its Great Love and Guarding the Future Hope
In Qingliang Village's “Home of Left-behind Children,” there is a wall for writing wishes, and on it we could see countless paper slips full of the children’s sweet dreams. When XCMG's volunteers came to this wish-writing wall, their eyes began to tear up as they read the children's naive script and simple wishes.
“I want to let my grandma recover soon!"
Originally，this wish came from a 9-year-old girl, whose papa was jailed two years ago due to crime, whose mother has bunked off, and whom is being raised by her grandmother. The two of them are all the other has left, and they depend on each other.
"Do you wish to read books and play games together with your little friends?"
"Yes…but, I fear..."
"What do you fear?"
"I have no papa and mom. I fear they will not pay attention to me..."
“Don't fear, XCMG's ‘Home of Left-behind Children’ is your home. You can go there, and the accompanying mom can assist you in your study, reading, and gaming. All right?"
"All right!"
"Arguably, the left-behind children need spiritual care more than anything. The ‘Home of Left-behind Children’ has given the children a sense of belonging and brought the adults closer to the children. The development of the ‘Home of Left-behind Children’ is very worthwhile, and everyone in the village felt quite excited after hearing about this project. They sent their children there in order to keep them active, and when commenting on the ‘Home of Left-behind Children,’ everyone said, 'It is so good'!” When the accompanying mom Zhang Bixiu talked about her working experience in "Home of Left-behind Children," she spoke of it highly.
In our interview about the volunteers' activities, there are many similar stories. In fact, the children only want to have a warm family, and the accompanying moms and “Home of Left-behind Children” have become their spiritual support. Here they can find pleasure, find warmth, and find a space belonging to them.
In the future, we believe, with the joint efforts made by many parties, XCMG's "Blue Dream for Children" project will take root in the mountain villages, so the left-behind children can have a warm sky full of hope, the often-absent parents can feel more at ease in their hearts, the cities and countryside can live in harmony, and love will become the most common language between the green mountains and rivers.
Gather Love to Go Forward, and Pass Love for "the N-th Power"
“In poverty-elimination aid, the most important aspect is accuracy, and the success of it lies in this accuracy!" At the high-level forum on the state's poverty-relief and development held on October 16, 2015, General Secretary Xi Jinping implemented the strategic move of "Accurate Poverty-elimination Aid.” Yet, in the era of revolution and transformation, we need more input from social resources. As a progressive in the sustainable development philosophy and in the idea of fulfilling social responsibility of business in the construction machinery industry, XCMG Group has become aware of this point already. In order to take the responsibility of implementing the state's strategy, XCMG has started up a global accurate public welfare project "For Better Life," taking "accurate positioning, accurate identification, accurate showing of concern, and accurate management" as the public welfare principle. It also aims to fix the five major public welfare fields "Earthquake Resistance, Poverty-elimination Aid, Educational Help, Industrial Development, and Green Environment" and strives to practice its social responsibility in the world more systematically and more reasonably.
At the 5th China Public Welfare Festival held in Beijing on January 21 of this year, the special non-profit foundation "Blue Dream" of XCMG – jointly started by XCMG's vice-president Han Bing, its general manager's assistant Xu Xiaohui, and vice president Wang Xingchen of China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation – is a major move for XCMG's implementation of its global accurate public welfare projects. The "Blue Dream" is a brand-new innovative public welfare project platform built by XCMG in cooperation with its invaluable partners. It was developed by integrating its domestic and foreign public welfare resources and by standardizing its public welfare operation. The left-behind children problem in poverty-stricken areas is just one of its accurately explored projects and is also where the project "Blue Dream for Children" was born. In addition, XCMG will also plan 12 global public welfare projects, such as "Micro Wishes" of Hope primary schools, "African Water Cellar,” "Global Scholarship,” "Global Good Machinery Operator Training,” and "Green Creative Ideas" contest to fully display the importance of the public welfare to the brand "XCMG, Let the World Become Even Better.”
Coaching Lesson in "Home of Left-behind Children"
Loving Spirit
XCMG's Young Volunteers
Leaving the Precious Memory
"XCMG advocates the courage to take great responsibilities, which coincides with our mission of "spreading kindness and reducing poverty, helping others to fulfill their dreams and making kindness more powerful.” What Blue Dream Fund has done is a perfect illustration of the core values of XCMG's public welfare mission. In addition, the integration of the advantageous resources will maximize the value of the public welfare. XCMG is the co-founder of the XCMG’s Blue Dream Fund and is one of the most influential supporters of public welfare in China. Wang Xingzui, vice president of China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, is looking forward to the public welfare activities of XCMG’s Blue Dream Fund.
Indeed, from its inception during the anti-Japanese war, XCMG has been closely following the nation's development and people's well-being: assembling more than 800 sets of equipment valuing over 300 million Yuan, rushing their assistance to disaster areas, sending and assigning more than 700 people to participate in the relief work from both home and abroad, making donations for the setting up of 10 Hope Primary Schools in China, providing free training for 1,323 Global Machinery Operators in 2015, and donating more than 35 million Yuan to the disaster areas – with the "Donation Day" activity contributing 10.46 million Yuan and 165.8 thousand articles of clothes for the underprivileged people in 14 years. Adversity is the best testing ground for moral stamina. Behind the statistics lies the generosity of XCMG and its persistence and responsibility in promoting the best course for public welfare.
When explaining the reason why XCMG was awarded as "Star of Poverty-Relief in 2015" by China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, Vice president Wang Shaogao said, “In the globalization of Chinese public welfare, XCMG keeps its original intention and calls on all the employees and business partners of its valuable chain to devote themselves to the global cause of public welfare. XCMG participates in the public activities, advocating the idea of sustainable development, and spreading love to different parts of the world on behalf of Chinese enterprises..."
