China NGO New Groups Are Rising

In 1830,during his visit in the United States, the French scholar, Tocqueville noticed a unique spirit of voluntarism among the Americans. He was surprised at such a strong functional sector of society apart from the government and enterprises, and believed it was this very spirit of voluntarism that had helped create the prosperity of U.S.A. It was from then on that people began to realize the function of NGO (Non-Governmental-Organization) in the process of social and economic development.

Most of the Chinese people came to know NGO in 1995 when World Women's Conference was being held in Beijing . The NGO women members from all over the world sat down with government officials, entrepreneurs and businessmen, discussing important events, and contributing to the well being of women.

Today, various new forms of non-governmental and non-profitable groups are growing in China . NGO groups rise among the people and serve the people, and are playing important roles in every corner of the country, from poverty-reduction to environmental protection, from compulsory education to the protection of women's rights and interests.

Some researchers have contended that this global "Social Group Revolution" in the 21st century advocated by NGO is no less significant than the rise of numerous independent nations in the 20th century.

Heifer - a Model of NGO in China

HPI sets up a new model for poverty-reduction projects in China 's rural areas. This gradually localizing NGO not only provides the farmers with necessary material assets, but also conveys a spirit of mutual help in the society.

During the short period from 1990 to2001, Li Zengpu, a farmer in Duiyan Township, Ya'an, Sichuan province, had rebuilt his house 4 times. He was living in one-story house in 1990. In 1995, it changed to a two-story building, which was added a new story in 2000. Half a year ago, this three-story building was redecorated and refurnished completely.
Li Zengpu has the largest number of cows in Kanpo Village : five cows and two calves. About 30 families in Ya'an are regular clients for his milk and his daily income is more than 250 RMB.

The wealth of Li Zengpu comes from the donation of HPI China program.
A " Dairy Cow Village " Nursed by Goat Milk

In 1985, Li Zengpu received a dairy goat from HPI. In 1990, he purchased a calf in Chengdu, brought it home and nursed it with goat milk, thus starting his business of cow raising. Ten years have passed, and his family is enjoying a more and more comfortable life. A new house has been built and the old one where the whole family used to live has been converted into a "cowshed".

Te Li family is quite "prosperous" now. The market price of a newborn calf is over £¤3,000 RMB. A cow is a steady source of income, and if converted into fixed assets, he has cows which are worth nearly £¤100,000 RMB.

HPI China Program is located in Chengdu, where its activities are almost unknown to people, even to the guards outside the office building who see members of the staff go in and out every day. With its headquarters in Arkansas, U.S.A., HPI is an international NGO aiming at alleviating hunger, poverty and environmental degradation by providing animals, training, and community development assistance to small-sized rural families.
Early in 1947,HPI sent its first shipment of 550 dairy cows to China through the United Nations Relief Service. It was in 1984 that HPI settled down in China formally. And in the same year, the delegation of Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Animal Husbandry visited the International Research Center of Animal Husbandry in Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.A. Later they were introduced to HPI headquarters. Soon the two sides reached an agreement on carrying out a HPI project in Sichuan Province . In October 1985, HPI's new shipment of 158 breeding goats and 200 meat rabbits from Britain and U.S.A reached Ya'an, Jianyang and Dayi in Sichuan province.

As one of the earliest villages carrying out HPI projects in China, nearly every family in Kanpo Village is now raising cows, roughly 200 cows in total. More than 10 families are already living in three-story new houses, and all of them are cow-raising households. All school-age children are able to attend the primary school in the town. The village has become self-reliant, which is the very purpose of HPI.

Gift Rabbit Millionaires

"HPI has made dozens of millionaires," said Chen Taiyong, director of the Project Department. In fact, the number is far greater. Ren Xuping, a farmer in Dayi County, Sichuan Province who had received assistance from HPI, said, "Among those who have learned rabbit-raising skills from me, more than 100 people are now millionaires."

In 1980, Ren Xuping could no longer continue his schooling for lack of money. He dropped out of school and started his rabbit-raising business with two rabbits. The turning point came to him in 1985 when he began to step out on the way leading to his wealth. HPI provided him with 48 Californian breeding-rabbits. His business developed so fast that he was able to pass more than 200 rabbits on to other villagers in that same year.
According to the rules of HPI, whoever receives the assistance must sign an agreement with HPI, that is, in a given period of time, he should return the female offspring of their rabbits to the Program as gifts, which HPI will send to other needy rural areas. This mode of program management-the share idea-makes it possible for the number of "free" breeding rabbits to grow quickly, hence benefiting more farm families. In Dayi County of Sichuan Province, the original 4 project families who received 105 imported rabbits from HPI have passed on the offspring to many other people. In the past17 years, 30 generations of gift rabbits have been given out in this way, and the number of gift rabbits have totaled up to 18389.

Ren Xuping's breeding rabbits have developed to the 30th generation by this year (2002), which enables 3788 families to start their professional rabbit-raising business. Ren Xuping is now planning to donate 50 gift rabbits to Thailand . It is reported that some laid-off workers in the towns have also come to him for free training as well as for breeding rabbits.
By the end of 2001, about 27587 families of ten ethnic groups had received ¡£2.42 million worth gift livestock/poultry offered by this project. The first shipment of animals included 158 dairy goats imported from Britain, 550 meat rabbits from U.S.A, and more than 1 million livestock/poultry bought from all over China . The total number of animals involved has been more than 2 million.

According to Chen Taiyong, the project director, "Based on years of project experience, three forms of 'pass-on-gift' have taken shape: returning livestock/poultry for livestock/poultry one has borrowed, returning cash for livestock/poultry and returning cash for cash."
Ren Xuping's house is compose of three areas: a rabbit raising farm, a training school and their residential place, covering more than 10,000 square meters. On the enclosure wall of his training school one can see pictures of rabbits-used for advertising--as big as human beings.

Now he keeps about 3,300 rabbits from 8 different breeds on his rabbit farm, quite a greater number compared to two months ago, because there have been much selling and breeding during since that time.

Entering his courtyard, one immediately catch sight of walls painted with "advertisements", among which one reads, "Raising a Rabbit, Ensuring a Living." On every column capital are words like this. The main idea is to say that raising 10 rabbits would enable a man to find a wife, and 50 rabbits to build a house, and 100 to buy a car. Ren Xuping made a calculation for us: one breeding rabbit gives birth to 6-8 litters of rabbits half a year, so the total rabbits production in one year is 64. At present, the market price of one rabbit is £¤6 RMB, and the total net income per year is £¤384RMB. If you keep 50 breeding rabbits, you will have a total profit of nearly £¤20,000 RMB per year, which is quite a sum to build a house in rural areas.

His training school is a 6-storey building: on the first floor are classrooms; the second and third red used as dormitories for those coming here for training; the upper floors are storehouses, dissection sections and teaching and research offices. He offers basic and middle-level training programs, and both are carried out in a closed teaching and learning style. Last year, Ren Xuping and his wife employed two young teachers, and both are college graduates, one from Sichuan Agricultural University and the other from South West Agricultural University .

So far, about 150,000 people from all over the country have graduated from Xuping Training School . Once a groups of experts from North Korea paid a visit to his school. At first, they had expected there would be little to learn from Chinese farmers like him, and had planned to stay for only a few days. Once they came here, however, it seemed that they would never want to leave again, spending all their time with Ren Xuping, discussing problems with him. Eventually they had to change their agenda and put off their returning date.

Perhaps it is a little too early to say that Ren Xuping can now influence the market price of meat rabbit in China, but he is definitely the first to know the fluctuation of the prices on the domestic market, which is a great advantage to his business. His internet website " www.chinarabbitking.com", meaning China 's King of Rabbit Raising, has been open to the public.

Right now, the 35-year-old Ren Xuping is thinking of expanding his business, hoping to establish his own enterprise. He has invested £¤6 million RMB to build up his rabbit industry, including a processing plants of rabbit meat and rabbit skins. "Whenever I see the smiling faces of people who are able to enjoy a comfortable and happy life," he said, "I feel I am sharing the joy of helping others."

A Rising Sector

HPI China Program is regarded by the headquarters as the best-managed branch, and for that reason it is entrusted with the responsibility of projects to be carried out in North Korea . At present, HPI China Program employ 17 full-time staff members and more than 200 volunteers all over the country. The staff members not only have the professional background in the field of animal husbandry, but also are proficient in at least one foreign language. Most of them have had a college education. They do not work for any business company, or for the government, but to make plans for projects, to manage and develop projects and direct them for the benefits of the poor with the funds they have acquired.

Chen Taiyong, director of the Project Department, formerly a technician at the grassroots bureau of animal husbandry, joined this group in 1991. "In the rural areas of China, " he said, "the majority of farmers rely mainly on animal husbandry for their cash income and daily necessities of life. Naturally, to develop animal husbandry is an very important approach to poverty-reduction. The primary purpose of HPI is to offer assistance to the poor, to help them to be self-reliant and to eliminate hunger and poverty." Now the activities of HPI China program mainly include poverty-reduction through livestock/poultry development, disaster rehabilitation by means of livestock/poultry development, helping women start animal raising business and offering small loans to the poor.

HPI China Program was originally attached to Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Animal Husbandry. As a temporary non-government office, it was under the responsibility of Pu Jiami, who was then head of the External Affairs Department of the Bureau. In April 1992, Mr. Pu, after presenting an application to Sichuan Agency of the Ministry of Economic Relations and Trade, registered "HPI Sichuan Program" at Sichuan Business Administration Bureau. Unfortunately, the leaders of Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Animal Husbandry had just changed, and the new leaders wanted to keep the HPI project under their leadership, so they asked Sichuan government to cancel the registration. As a result, Mr. Pu had to register the organization in his hometown, Nanjing . Although it was registered as a commercial organization, it was mainly dealing with non-profitable poverty-reduction programs.

As the central and western regions of China are the main focus of its activities, HPI China Program kept trying to re-register its chief office in Chengdu . The opportunity came in 1996 when its second application to Sichuan Foreign Economic Relation Commission was approved. So far, more than US$6 million from abroad have been put into China 's poverty-reduction programs, which have directly benefited 27587 families, enabling more than 100,000 people to cast off poverty or improve their living standard greatly. It is estimated that about 100,000 households with a total population of more than 50,000 have indirectly benefited from the program, from the new ideas it spreads and the technical training it offers.

A Hard Way to Localization

As a non-governmental organization, HPI China Program must accept dual administration and supervision from the Sichuan Business Administration Bureau and the Provincial Bureau of Animal Husbandry department. That is why HPI originally chose to attached to the Bureau of Animal Husbandry. Till now, HPI can only be registered as an agency of a foreign company though it is exempt from taxation. Both the registration in Nanjing and the return to Chengdu reflect the limitations imposed on and compromises made with the local government in view of their own benefits.

"The dual managerial system," once a scholar made such a comment on the situation of NGO in China, "strengthens the government's supervision, management and restriction of NGO. And by decentralizing the responsibilities, the conflicts in interests between government and NGO are avoided. NGO must be useful to the government and at the same time conform to the rules and regulations of the government before it achieves a legitimate status as an organization. This kind of managerial system, however, is essentially planned system and evidently restricts the development of NGO."

HPI China Program began its business in the suburbs of Chengdu two years ago. With the rapid expansion of the business and more frequent international communications, more and more "requests-for-help" came from farmers and government at all levels. To meet these requirements, HPI moved to a residential district near Southwest Ethnic University and bought two apartments with an area of more than 100 square meters, which it uses as offices. In the past two years, working conditions have been improved a lot, and most of the staff members are now equipped with laptop computers.

There are three departments under the HPI China Program-- Department of Project, Department of Administration and Finance and Department of Fund-Raising. Mr. Pu is in charge of the overall management of the HPI China Program Project; Liu Hua, the chief assistant, is in charge of secretarial as well as liaison and coordination work. Each department has one chief-director.

All the staff in HPI China Program are Chinese. Peng Bin, the technical assistant, graduated from a local college of agriculture, and Liu Hua, the chief assistant, was found in the job market. These employees soon got training opportunities and are appointed with important tasks now. HPI China Program tries to conform to the specific situation in China in its managerial concept of as well as in the ways it carries out its projects.
The workload of the HPI staff is quite heavy, including selection of projects to be carried out, planning and designing projects, application for funds and the implementation, management, supervision and evaluation of these poverty-reduction projects through animal husbandry; they also track and report on project progress, direct the project and ensure its funds are properly used, and introduce breeding livestock/poultry of high quality and advanced techniques; they have also to manage training programs and spreading of techniques, promote technical exchange and cooperation home and abroad, receive leaders from HPI headquarters, project officials, and visiting donors and volunteers, publicize their projects, expand public relations and develop resources.

The budget size of projects funded by HPI China Program increases at a rate of about US$100,000 each year. And in the past three years, it reached US$10-15 million annually, 95% of which came from the HPI headquarters. The headquarters has many ways to raise money. The majority of the fund comes from individuals, churches, various foundations, enterprises and the International Development Bureau of the United States . HPI China Program's fund-raising from domestic channels centers around the matching funds of the project such as asking for financial help from local governments, the local bureaus of animal husbandry or poverty-reduction funds. Like many other NGOs, HPI China Program is just beginning to explore its fund-raising from non-official channels.

Now, one of the problems facing HPI China Program is how to shorten its process of localization, or, how to take root in the Chinese social background, turning an agency of an international NGO into China 's own non-official organization. Past experience of NGO development show that there are 3 stages to complete in this process of localization -- the establishment of a NGO agency, the evacuation of the headquarters and the rise of an independent corporate body.

The evacuation of the HPI headquarters from China is just a problem of time. The emergence of a non-governmental organization in Chinese society will facilitate fund raising from both home and abroad.

Volunteers in Action

In early 2002, Ran Qizheng, a HPI volunteer, came to Chengdu to buy "Boer goat" (a kind of meat goat). After his retirement in 1997, Mr. Ran founded the first HPI Dairy Cow Corporate in Yangou Village, Huachi Township, deep in the Yunmeng Mountains, where he lived with the local farmers and helped them fight against poverty by developing animal husbandry. In the past four years since 1997, the number of the dairy cows has increased from increased the original 22 to 1284, directly benefiting 689 poor families. Meanwhile, Ran's Cow Corporate, as the best-developed one in China, has kept on developing, and now has an asset of more than £¤800,000 RMB.

Li Qianshi, formerly head of Chengdu Dairy Cow Institute and director of the Information Center of Chengdu Agricultural Cultivation Bureau, is also one of the HPI volunteers. He said, "I worked as the interpreter, technical guide and trainer in the North Korea program." His wife, also a volunteer in this program, has been to North Korea several times with him.

Ren Jie, the youngest volunteer, is still a student in Class 3,Grade 6 of Dong Jie Primary School, Dayi County . On his 12th birthday, May 14th last year, he received US$150 as a birthday present from Ms. Judy, a member of HPI headquarters in U.S.A. With the money, Ren Jie bought some breeding rabbits and donated them to 4 poor families.

In his composition entitled Paradise in My Mind, Ren Jie wrote, "The paradise in my mind is a place free of poverty. I think so just because I have seen with my own eyes a destitute family whose two children almost went blind at the age of 3. The doctor said they could be cured if they had £¤40,000RMB for an operation. This, however, is really an enormous figure for such a family with an annual income of only £¤1,000 RMB or even less. By donating breeding rabbits, I have done something to help 4 households. They have more than 100 rabbits now, which is really encouraging news to me."

On Jan. 15, 2002, RenJie, with his parents and some staff members of HPI, paid a visit to the 4 poor households to which he had donated rabbits. But when they got to the family mentioned in Ren Jie's composition, the door was locked and Ni Yuqin, the housewife, was playing Majiang in her neighbor's house. Upon her return, she was severely scolded by Ren Jie's parents. Lu Jinjin, the 15- year old boy has a much more serious eye illness than his younger brother, Lu Xiaohong, who is 8 years old. He can hardly see anything and his hands keep trembling all the time. Seeing their difficulties, Liu Hua and Cheng Peiling, the staff members HPI, expressed their wish to raise money so that the two children could get better treatment. They insisted that the children illness could not be delayed any longer and said that helping them conformed to the spirit of HPI.

Ni Yuqin lost about 20 rabbits of her rabbits. The technician picked up a dead rabbit, examined the manure and said that they had died from enteritis. In another room, some grained forages scattered on the ground. Ni was told that these forages were too wet and easy to mildew.

In the past six months, 5 breeding rabbits had given birth to more than 100 babies. Ni Yuqin told RenJie's mother secretly that she had sold more than 40 rabbits so far, and got £¤1,800 RMB. Her family was now "better-off" than the other three families.

In Xu Xuegang's family, there were still 5 breeding rabbits and 2 litters of little ones early last December, but later they died out .In another family, the breeding rabbits were strangled in the cage and the new born baby rabbits were frozen to death later.
The director of the HPI program said," These problems indicate that in poverty-reduction programs, HPI should not only emphasize project scale and self reliant as well as mutual-benefiting atmosphere, but also pay attention to the spread of advanced technology and scientific management. Individual actions of the volunteers should come together with the group work of HPI."

A Long Way to Go

As one of the biggest NGOs, HPI China Program almost displays a complete picture of NGO development in China .

So far as its organizational structure is concerned, HPI China Program is just an agency of a foreign institution. Without the status of an independent corporate body, it can hardly establish its own system and raise money. Without terminal organizations, it has to rely on local government departments-usually animal husbandry bureaus-to carry out most of its projects. These grassroots bureaus have the professional knowledge in animal husbandry, however, they usually lack experience in poverty-reduction programs. They seek cooperation with HPI in order to get more money for their development. That is why some of HPI projects are apt to deviate from their original purposes when carried out.

Problems also occur in the cooperation with the local governments. Chen Taiyong said," Things are getting better in recent years although the North Korea program meets with some difficulties. Only some of the animals we donated were distributed to the farmers. Those on the public farms are not taken good care of. In China, the situation is better. The approval from the government on our poverty-reduction programs, some of our volunteers being government officials at the same time, and the fact that poverty reduction itself is the concern of the government all combine to make our work a little easier. However, when we have to rely on assistance from some administrative bodies, we still have some serious problems, including money losses over various channels and inefficiency in work coordination."

For HPI China Program, the list of problems awaiting solution is long. These problems include how to ensure a higher profit to the farmers when prices of livestock on domestic market are unstable and risks of investment are high, how to shorten its process of localization and quicken its steps toward an independent fund-raising organization, which cooperates with similar organizations in other countries, and the independence of HPI China Program, etc.

Now, the government has a more and more loose control over social resources, which produces the environment for the development of NGO. Although it is at the starting point and has many difficulties, NGO in China is creating an impact on society from bottom to top. NGO, with its enormous social functions is coming to be recognized, like an iceberg emerging from under the sea.