900 Backpacks
900 Backpacks provides school supplies for AIDS orphans in Henan Province.
In the first year of this program, 2006, there were 200 AIDS orphans living in foster care in Henan, and another 700 enrolled in school intervention programs through Half the Sky Foundation Although school tuition was provided for these children, there were no funds dedicated to providing school supplies these children could call their own, allowing them to make the most of their classroom time. Our goal that year was to provide 900 Backpacks filled with school supplies before the school year started, and the name for this project dedicated to AIDS orphans in Henan Province has stuck.
These children are emotionally drained and need encouragement to pursue their education in hopes of breaking the cycle of poverty and dependence. You and your family can help, your school
can help, your neighbors, and so can your church or temple! 900 Backpacks is a great project for Kids Helping Kids.
School Supplies Typically Include: backpack, pencil case, pencils, pencil sharpener, eraser, pens, whiteout, markers, paints and brushes, crayons, paper, notebooks, calculator, compass, ruler, jump rope, jianzi, water bottle, chopsticks and spoon, binder, harmonica, and dictionary (Chinese)
To donate to this project, please go to our secure online donation page, or mail checks to
OCDF
PO Box 1243
Bloomington, IL 61702-1243 USA
Please make checks payable to OCDF, and include "900 Backpacks " in the memo line. You may also donate by credit card by calling 309-829-8202 or 1-866-460-OCDF (toll-free in the US).
AIDS in China Today
1. What is the AIDS crisis in China?
HIV/AIDS was first recorded in coastal Chinese cities in 1985. It
spread ferociously through all 31 provinces. In 2005 alone, 25,000 Chinese died because of the disease. There are currently an estimated 700,000 people living with HIV in China, including about 75,000 AIDS patients. During 2007 around 39,000 people died from AIDS. As of 2004, the Ministry of Health estimated that at least 100,000 children had been orphaned because of AIDS, and if decisive action is not taken, the number would reach 260,000 by 2010.
2. How did the crisis reach this point?
The spread of HIV/AIDS in China is partially due to widespread unsterile blood collection in the countryside. Selling blood became popular in the 1990s among poor farmers as a way to earn extra money. Many blood collecting stations were illegal and unsanitary, and these areas proved a fertile ground for infection with HIV/AIDS. In particular, China's most populous province, Henan, has been hard hit: there, half of many villages' populations are infected with the virus. Because of this, OCDF has decided specifically to help AIDS orphans in Henan, where they are so great in number.
3. What are these orphaned children's lives like?
Children whose parents are infected with or have died of AIDS
live lives of tribulation. In many cases, their parents, relatives, and
even entire villages are stricken. Before they lose their parents, they
are often not educated because affected families cannot afford to pay
the yearly fees for school. Once orphaned, they are often housed in
overburdened orphanages or with foster parents, both of which try
to provide enough for the huge influx of children facing them.
In order to offer these children the possibility to work their Source: FuYang Fundation for Children
way out of suffering, Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice Premier Wu Yi with AIDS
announced a new policy for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment
in December 2003, part of which provides free schooling for children orphaned by AIDS. Thus, there is
hope for these children but the orphanages often cannot afford to provide school supplies for them,
meaning that they go to school without even pens or pencils and are unable to learn effectively. In
order to remedy this deficiency, OCDF hopes to donate annually 900 backpacks filled with school
supplies to orphans in Henan, Anhui, and Hubei Provinces.
Sources:
http://www.asiasource.org/asip/aids_generation.cfm
http://www.avert.org/aidschina.htm
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/aids/aids-china.html
http://www.china.org.cn/english/China/88127.htm
http://www.chinaaidsorphanfund.org/
http://www.chihengfoundation.com/orphansproject.html
Thank you for whatever support you, your family, your workplace, or your community can offer for this important, ongoing project! You really can help give children hope for the future through education.
To donate to this project online, please go to OCDF's Orphan Support Donation page. You may also mail donations by check to:
OCDF
PO Box 1243
Bloomington, IL 61702-1243 USA
Please make checks payable to OCDF, and include "Coal for Kids" in the memo line. You may also donate by credit card by calling 309-829-8202 or 1-866-460-OCDF (toll-free in the US).
Our Chinese Daughters Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with offices in Bloomington, IL and Beijing. OCDF is committed to improving the lives of orphans living in China through a variety of programs that allow you to give to a specific orphanage, as well as support established projects designed especially to assist non-government sponsored orphanages, which depend upon private support from their local community and abroad. OCDF particularly seeks out orphanages that take in special needs children, or are located in remote areas of China, making it difficult for those institutions to obtain proper medical care or school supplies.
Updated 03.12.2010
