Presented at 3^rd NGO Forum On International Environmental Cooperation in China

 

Title:  NGO’s role in educating China’s future

Abstract: 

The best people to protect the environment are often the local villagers, but to do so, they need the chance to get basic education. As board/staff member, I am familiar with the operation of three US-based NGOs whose mission is to improve education opportunities for poor children in rural China: Enlightening Education Project (EEP), Overseas China Education Foundation (OCEF) and EDF. While fund raising is the major challenge in US, other challenges arise in China: How to effectively use donors’ money, how to collaborate with the local people and local government to facilitate the building of civil society, etc.?

 

Some common mistakes, which I will illustrate by case studies, are:

1. Assigning funds to a specific project without first negotiating with the local authorities about whether the funds can be matched.

2. Starting a project, such as building a school, without involving the local villagers, who can provide their own share of labor and material.

3. Building a project, like a library, without first deciding who will pay for maintenance.

 

Some well-known challenges, which are not easily solved, are:

4. Success often depends on good contacts with high-ranking Chinese officials.

5. Local officials tend to spend too much money treating visiting inspectors well, diverting funds from their real purpose.

6. Competent inspectors are needed in China, who will control the projects on a volunteer basis.

 

As I will argue, the EEP has been very successful at recruiting local support (problems 1 and 2), building more than 300 schools for as little as $2,500-$3,800 each. Because the local people's money and sweats went into these schools, this motivates them to keep these schools up and running (problem 3). The EDF has very good high-ranking contacts (problem 4). The OCEF has the best network of volunteers in China (problem 6) and established collaborations with other NGOs in China. By sharing their experiences or contacts, these organizations may become more efficient. The same lessons may also be valuable to environmental NGOs.

 

Acting together, these organizations may also exert some influence on what is being taught at schools. Most of the pupils that apply for assistance come from poor rural families with several children. Resource pressure, environmental degradation, women’s rights, and overpopulation are topics that should be taught to these pupils, especially to girls, as they will have to deal with these issues in their daily life.