论文部分内容阅读
DENG Fei had just flown back from a mountainous area when we met him. He and others had been setting up the Free Lunches for Children project. Since launching this project for students in poverty-stricken areas， Deng has taken no rest from his selfimposed punishing schedule， heading back and forth from remote rural areas to cities like Guangzhou， Guiyang， Changsha， and Beijing， where he organizes sponsors for his scheme.
Born in 1978 in Hunan Province， Deng Fei was a well-reputed journalist before embarking on the Free Lunches for Children project. During a decade-long career he wrote more than 100 reports on major social issues， notably the protection of women and children’s rights， and corruption. Deng focused his attention on vulnerable groups， eventually prompting him in 2011 to set up a public charity. The move transformed his social role from that of observer of social problems to an organizer of charitable programs.
Microblog-sponsored Charities
Deng hit on the idea of the Free Lunches for Children project in February 2011， after meeting a volunteer teacher at a primary school in a poverty-stricken county of Guizhou Province. He was appalled to learn from the teacher that his students did not eat lunch and drank only cold water to suppress hunger. Two weeks later， Deng did research in Guizhou and found that this was a common phenomenon. It was clear that students in these areas desperately needed help to claim their fundamental right to a hot midday meal.
Rather than report his findings in the media， Deng instead turned to microblogs for help. A year before he had tested the power of the Internet through microblogging. He successfully used a blog to help a man named Peng Gaofeng locate his missing threeyear-old son.
“I wrote what I had observed and my related thoughts on my microblog， and it sparked off a wave of support and donations. This heartening reaction spurred me on to more action，” Deng Fei said.
The project to provide free lunches to children in rural mountain areas thus began with an initial response of 500 supporters from media circles.
Through Deng’s microblog， news of the project spread further to celebrities and entrepreneurs. Two months later， Shaba Primary School in Qianxi County of Guizhou became the first school in China to provide free lunches. Six months later， hot lunches became available to children in 110 rural schools of 13 provinces.
The instantaneous success of the Free Lunches for Children caught the attention of the central government. In October 2011， the State Council took the decision to execute an official plan to improve the nutrition of rural students receiving nine-year compulsory education. It involved the central government’s allocation of RMB 16 billion to subsidize free lunches for around 26 million students in 680 counties and cities. Wang Zhenyao， president of the Philanthropy Research Institute of Beijing Normal University， spoke highly of the non-governmental Free Lunches for Children project. “In the final analysis， charity is a kind of soft power of which free lunches are a perfect expression，” Wang said. “Instead of blaming and finger-pointing， Deng does his wholehearted utmost to solve a real problem. It is this kind of rational approach to social problems that garners support from policy-makers，” Wang said.
Although the government has now taken over responsibility for the free lunch project， Deng believes that it still needs private support to ensure that every penny of the government’s RMB 16 billion is spent on food for children. “We want to provide other support facilities not included in the central government’s budget， such as kitchenware and refrigerators， cooks’salaries， and funds for canteen construction，” Deng said.
Transparent Charity
The two-year free-lunch plan has raised over RMB 37 million， benefiting 30 to 40 million students in 163 schools in poverty-stricken areas of western China. Non-governmental public charities are nothing new in China， but none have been so widely known or long lasting. From Deng’s perspective， the success of Free Lunches for Children is due to a set of standardized operation models.
As an experienced journalist， Deng is wary of all factors that could impair the project. “I was aware from the start that we should keep a safe distance from cash.” After carrying out research， he finally opened a special account at the China Social Welfare Education Foundation that charged a five percent management fee. In Deng’s view， “The project deserves a platform crowned with the highest performance-price ratio.”
Before supplying any funding， Deng， along with fellow media workers and volunteers， investigated schools and shared his findings with the public on his microblog. The official Free Lunches for Children website published information on the schools in question and also on all donations received. To ensure the funds were appropriately used， every school was required to publish on the micro-blog their daily expenditure as well as pictures of lunches being served. Those without Internet access were required to send messages to volunteers， who accordingly passed the information on to netizens.
The official “Free Lunches for Children” website makes clear its aims and functions： “Schools should publish details of daily expenditure on the microblog and a special inspection team should make spot-checks through unannounced visits to ensure the appropriate use of all funds. What’s more， local governments， the media， NGOs， parents， netizens and tourists should join together in carrying out supervision.” “All possible efforts were made to guarantee transparency of funding to the public and to maintain the trust of donors and volunteers. Funds have since poured in，” Deng said.
Recently， the Ministry of Civil Affairs brought into effect a policy whereby big foundations publish quarterly financial reports. Deng is in full support of this policy. “We publish a financial report on ‘Free Lunches for Children’ every week.”
Since the launch of the project， it has been commended for its efficiency， transparent management， wide participation and cooperation between the public and local government.
“The initial enthusiasm for ‘Free Lunches for Children’ has now worn off. Nowadays， the impera-tives have changed from expanding the project to more schools to sustaining schools where it is in practice， and making the grassroots project a model that coordinates with official plans to improve the nutrition of rural students receiving compulsory education，” Deng told us.
Credibility， Openness， and Transparency
Deng is now firmly and irreversibly involved in grassroots charities. Although his new position is an onerous task compared to journalism， he has never felt so fulfilled.
“It brings me a warm glow of accomplishment. Having previously had limited influence on readers and society as a journalist， I find microblogs are an effective tool for mobilizing people and accumulating resources to solve problems. China has no lack of writers， but what it needs is people who take action，”Deng said， adding， “Supervision can provoke public ire， but doing it with love and benevolence paves the way for social improvement， which is my goal.”
Now that the “Free Lunches for Children” project is operating smoothly， Deng has embarked on a third welfare project for children， that of medical insurance for rural children suffering from serious diseases.
The process of urbanization entails rural residents’ becoming migrant workers in cities while their children stay at home. Such “left-behind” children need medical insurance as well as meals. Deng points out that the medical insurance program is even more important than the Free Lunches project， because the former is a “remedy for insufficiency” while the latter can save children’s lives.
Medical insurance for rural children is generally organized through the New Cooperation Medical Service （NCMS）. But it requires that the parents of a child patient have enough ready cash to pay for a hospital visit before getting a refund. So povertystricken families have no way of funding treatment of serious diseases. Jointly promoted by Deng Fei， certain philanthropists and various commercial insurance companies， the medical insurance program is a fitting complement to the NCMS and covers children aged 0 to 14 years old. There is no limit to insurable diseases under this new supplementary project， the maximum cover for which is RMB 200，000， and whereby 90 percent of expenses are reimbursed and paid en- tirely by social funds. The first pilot has been set up in Hefeng County， a nationally recognized “povertystricken” county， in Hubei Province.
In microblog circles， Deng Fei is known as “Old Brother， the Leader.” His experience with charitable resource integration has shown that the credibility of charitable organizations depends not upon publicity or money， but on honesty originating in information disclosure. For Deng， credibility， openness and transparency are the new standards of modern charities. At the medical insurance for serious diseases launch ceremony， Deng made a point in his speech of specifying how to make an account transparent， emphasizing that he welcomes audits from any reputable senior accountant. “We may be not professional， but every penny is accounted for，”Deng said.
The charitable foundation is responsible， with the help of caring people and enterprises， for raising money for medical insurance for rural children with serious diseases. Experts and bid assessment volunteers， comprising certified actuaries and senior insurance personnel， assess and agree upon the successful bidder. Commercial insurance companies then settle all claims and local governments render support.
“This operational model is a system we have designed that combines charitable foundations with commercial insurance companies – both professional forces in their own fields，” spokesperson of the project Zhang Qingfeng said.
In the microblog era， Deng acknowledges the power of the Internet to make a difference. The Internet is the model of transparency he seeks to apply in business and charity. And it looks like he’s succeeding.
Born in 1978 in Hunan Province， Deng Fei was a well-reputed journalist before embarking on the Free Lunches for Children project. During a decade-long career he wrote more than 100 reports on major social issues， notably the protection of women and children’s rights， and corruption. Deng focused his attention on vulnerable groups， eventually prompting him in 2011 to set up a public charity. The move transformed his social role from that of observer of social problems to an organizer of charitable programs.
Microblog-sponsored Charities
Deng hit on the idea of the Free Lunches for Children project in February 2011， after meeting a volunteer teacher at a primary school in a poverty-stricken county of Guizhou Province. He was appalled to learn from the teacher that his students did not eat lunch and drank only cold water to suppress hunger. Two weeks later， Deng did research in Guizhou and found that this was a common phenomenon. It was clear that students in these areas desperately needed help to claim their fundamental right to a hot midday meal.
Rather than report his findings in the media， Deng instead turned to microblogs for help. A year before he had tested the power of the Internet through microblogging. He successfully used a blog to help a man named Peng Gaofeng locate his missing threeyear-old son.
“I wrote what I had observed and my related thoughts on my microblog， and it sparked off a wave of support and donations. This heartening reaction spurred me on to more action，” Deng Fei said.
The project to provide free lunches to children in rural mountain areas thus began with an initial response of 500 supporters from media circles.
Through Deng’s microblog， news of the project spread further to celebrities and entrepreneurs. Two months later， Shaba Primary School in Qianxi County of Guizhou became the first school in China to provide free lunches. Six months later， hot lunches became available to children in 110 rural schools of 13 provinces.
The instantaneous success of the Free Lunches for Children caught the attention of the central government. In October 2011， the State Council took the decision to execute an official plan to improve the nutrition of rural students receiving nine-year compulsory education. It involved the central government’s allocation of RMB 16 billion to subsidize free lunches for around 26 million students in 680 counties and cities. Wang Zhenyao， president of the Philanthropy Research Institute of Beijing Normal University， spoke highly of the non-governmental Free Lunches for Children project. “In the final analysis， charity is a kind of soft power of which free lunches are a perfect expression，” Wang said. “Instead of blaming and finger-pointing， Deng does his wholehearted utmost to solve a real problem. It is this kind of rational approach to social problems that garners support from policy-makers，” Wang said.
Although the government has now taken over responsibility for the free lunch project， Deng believes that it still needs private support to ensure that every penny of the government’s RMB 16 billion is spent on food for children. “We want to provide other support facilities not included in the central government’s budget， such as kitchenware and refrigerators， cooks’salaries， and funds for canteen construction，” Deng said.
Transparent Charity
The two-year free-lunch plan has raised over RMB 37 million， benefiting 30 to 40 million students in 163 schools in poverty-stricken areas of western China. Non-governmental public charities are nothing new in China， but none have been so widely known or long lasting. From Deng’s perspective， the success of Free Lunches for Children is due to a set of standardized operation models.
As an experienced journalist， Deng is wary of all factors that could impair the project. “I was aware from the start that we should keep a safe distance from cash.” After carrying out research， he finally opened a special account at the China Social Welfare Education Foundation that charged a five percent management fee. In Deng’s view， “The project deserves a platform crowned with the highest performance-price ratio.”
Before supplying any funding， Deng， along with fellow media workers and volunteers， investigated schools and shared his findings with the public on his microblog. The official Free Lunches for Children website published information on the schools in question and also on all donations received. To ensure the funds were appropriately used， every school was required to publish on the micro-blog their daily expenditure as well as pictures of lunches being served. Those without Internet access were required to send messages to volunteers， who accordingly passed the information on to netizens.
The official “Free Lunches for Children” website makes clear its aims and functions： “Schools should publish details of daily expenditure on the microblog and a special inspection team should make spot-checks through unannounced visits to ensure the appropriate use of all funds. What’s more， local governments， the media， NGOs， parents， netizens and tourists should join together in carrying out supervision.” “All possible efforts were made to guarantee transparency of funding to the public and to maintain the trust of donors and volunteers. Funds have since poured in，” Deng said.
Recently， the Ministry of Civil Affairs brought into effect a policy whereby big foundations publish quarterly financial reports. Deng is in full support of this policy. “We publish a financial report on ‘Free Lunches for Children’ every week.”
Since the launch of the project， it has been commended for its efficiency， transparent management， wide participation and cooperation between the public and local government.
“The initial enthusiasm for ‘Free Lunches for Children’ has now worn off. Nowadays， the impera-tives have changed from expanding the project to more schools to sustaining schools where it is in practice， and making the grassroots project a model that coordinates with official plans to improve the nutrition of rural students receiving compulsory education，” Deng told us.
Credibility， Openness， and Transparency
Deng is now firmly and irreversibly involved in grassroots charities. Although his new position is an onerous task compared to journalism， he has never felt so fulfilled.
“It brings me a warm glow of accomplishment. Having previously had limited influence on readers and society as a journalist， I find microblogs are an effective tool for mobilizing people and accumulating resources to solve problems. China has no lack of writers， but what it needs is people who take action，”Deng said， adding， “Supervision can provoke public ire， but doing it with love and benevolence paves the way for social improvement， which is my goal.”
Now that the “Free Lunches for Children” project is operating smoothly， Deng has embarked on a third welfare project for children， that of medical insurance for rural children suffering from serious diseases.
The process of urbanization entails rural residents’ becoming migrant workers in cities while their children stay at home. Such “left-behind” children need medical insurance as well as meals. Deng points out that the medical insurance program is even more important than the Free Lunches project， because the former is a “remedy for insufficiency” while the latter can save children’s lives.
Medical insurance for rural children is generally organized through the New Cooperation Medical Service （NCMS）. But it requires that the parents of a child patient have enough ready cash to pay for a hospital visit before getting a refund. So povertystricken families have no way of funding treatment of serious diseases. Jointly promoted by Deng Fei， certain philanthropists and various commercial insurance companies， the medical insurance program is a fitting complement to the NCMS and covers children aged 0 to 14 years old. There is no limit to insurable diseases under this new supplementary project， the maximum cover for which is RMB 200，000， and whereby 90 percent of expenses are reimbursed and paid en- tirely by social funds. The first pilot has been set up in Hefeng County， a nationally recognized “povertystricken” county， in Hubei Province.
In microblog circles， Deng Fei is known as “Old Brother， the Leader.” His experience with charitable resource integration has shown that the credibility of charitable organizations depends not upon publicity or money， but on honesty originating in information disclosure. For Deng， credibility， openness and transparency are the new standards of modern charities. At the medical insurance for serious diseases launch ceremony， Deng made a point in his speech of specifying how to make an account transparent， emphasizing that he welcomes audits from any reputable senior accountant. “We may be not professional， but every penny is accounted for，”Deng said.
The charitable foundation is responsible， with the help of caring people and enterprises， for raising money for medical insurance for rural children with serious diseases. Experts and bid assessment volunteers， comprising certified actuaries and senior insurance personnel， assess and agree upon the successful bidder. Commercial insurance companies then settle all claims and local governments render support.
“This operational model is a system we have designed that combines charitable foundations with commercial insurance companies – both professional forces in their own fields，” spokesperson of the project Zhang Qingfeng said.
In the microblog era， Deng acknowledges the power of the Internet to make a difference. The Internet is the model of transparency he seeks to apply in business and charity. And it looks like he’s succeeding.