2009-1-12 10:52:26

Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women

    The Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women is a non-government organization aimed at promoting rural women’s development. Since our first projects were carried out under the auspices of the magazine Rural Women (formerly Rural Women Knowing All), we have significantly expanded our activities.  We focus on rural women’s self-empowerment and development through advocating awareness of gender and citizenship. We have grown into a non-profit organization characterized by “combining support for the poor with development, news media with publishing, research with popularization.” Our organization now consists of a Development Section, Project Section, Administrative Section, Financial Section, the Practical Skills Training Center for Rural Women and Migrant Women’s Club.

Best Responsible NGOs in 2005
    Our work on behalf of rural women over many years and our strong reputation amongst non-profit organizations are widely recognized. In Feb.2006, China Newsweek and other domestic and foreign organizations selected us as the “Best Responsible NGO” in 2005.

Our Vision:
We wish all rural sisters’ potential to be tapped and to be able to live a well-off, democratic and equality filled life.

Our Mission:
To provide information, training and service for rural women, especially those in poor areas, in order to empower them and build their capacity to contribute to sustainable development.

Our Objectives:

 Providing rural women various support and help.
 Popularize the awareness of gender and citizenship among rural women.
 Bring into play the advantage of media, extend influence in the society, pull social resources and push forward the improvement of government’s policies.
 Perfect organizational structure to promote the organization’s sustainable development.

Our Strengths:
• We are a comprehensive organization, including a magazine, a training base, an agency for supporting migrant women’s legal rights, a project section and two websites, so we can provide an integrated service.
• Our work is national in scale and widely influential so we can select from a wide range of partners. Moreover, we can disseminate project results and provide a model for rural women’s development because we have our own magazine and good relationships with other media.
• Through editing and publishing Rural Women magazine, we are familiar with the urgent needs of rural women and can quickly react.

Board of Directors:
    We are committed to implementing best practices in governance. In December 2006, a new Board of Directors was established. Xie Lihua (founder of the organization and Editor-in-Chief of Rural Women magazine) was elected as Board Chair and Wu Qing (involved in the establishment of the organization and deputy to Beijing Haidian Distric People’s Congress), the Horary Board Chair. Our directors include:
    Shi Huiyun: finance officer and involved in the establishment of the organization
    Li Xiumin: grassroots representative
    Amy Y.L. Ng: enterpriser representative
    Phyllis L. Chang: expert of law
    Huang Libiao: media representative
    Kang Xiaoguang: expert of NGO study
    LEUNG Kin Wah: chief of Hong Kong charity organization
    Leslie Chu: volunteer and initiator of the Grant-Aid Fund for the training school
    Tan Shen: expert of migrant women’s issues
    The new Board of Directors establishes more open, transparent, democratic and accountable governance. This underscores our goal of becoming the most accountable and effective NGO possible.

The Practical Skill Training Center for Rural Women
    The Practical Skills Training Center for Rural Women was set up in October 1998 by the Rural Women Knowing All magazine. It is the first non-profit school established for rural women,  and receives financial support primarily from domestic and international charity organizations and from donations given by generous local and foreign individuals. The Women’s Federation, Beijing Municipal Government and the Changping Government have provided strong support. The first donation to the school was given by the renowned writer, the late Bing Xin. The school has trained more than 7,787 students from 21 ethnic groups and 26 provinces and regions. Training programs are offered in computing, sewing, waitressing, hairdressing, beauty treatment, and kindergarten teaching; and fully-funded scholarships are available to young women aged between 16 and 20. Training for rural women activists is also provided. On the school’s 10th anniversary, we had a long walk fundraising event to celebrate the occasion.
    Ms. Leslie Chu, a social activist and ceramicist from the United States started a Grant-Aid Fund in 2000. The initial 320,000 yuan endowment was raised by a charity sale of 106 pieces of her work. The fund provides the scholarships that support the young women. Training has been provided to around 2,566 young women from poor rural families. The majority have found decent jobs in cities.
    The Training Center has received awards from the local Educational Committee for seven years in succession for advanced education run by non-government organizations. The Grant-Aid Fund was awarded of First National Philanthropic Demonstrative Project Prize in 2006.

The Migrant Women’s Club
    The Migrant Women’s Club is China’s first public welfare organization providing services for migrant women who come from the countryside to the city for work. Established in April 1996, the club is dedicated to advancing their interests. A key characteristic that distinguishes the club is that migrant women themselves run the organization. As a disadvantaged urban group, migrant women are concerned about their futures, but lack critical technical skills, resources and legal protections to address their challenges. The Migrant Women’s Club aims to improve the quality of life of migrant women by strengthening their self-development abilities and their legal standing.

Projects for Rural Women’s Development:
• Rural Women’s Literacy Classes 
     Since 1996, we have undertaken literacy activities in Hubei, Hebei, Shanxi, Gansu, Guizhou and other poor areas.  In total we have run over 206 literacy classes, and have helped over 6,000 adult women become literate. We have also produced teaching materials for these activities, and developed an effective literacy training model.
• Rural Women’s Suicide Prevention  
     In 1996, we became concerned about the issue of suicide among rural women, believing that we had an obligation to save women’s lives. We published the Report on the Chinese Rural Women’s Suicide, Manual for Preventing Rural Women’s Suicide as well as other pieces. and so on, Handbook for Adolescent Girls and Men and Women’s Joint Intervention in Life Crisis – Collection of Theses. Since thenat time, we have provided training sessions to increase community acceptance of equal gender participation and provided a platform for communication between men and women.As peer education has been the focus of the training sessions, men and women have learned from each other. The participants have not only reduced family conflicts, which is the major cause of suicide according to our survey, but, most importantly, built up self-confidence and gained a positive attitude to face their problems. Mental health amongst participants has been enhanced. In addition, they have learned skills in inter-personal communication and handling family disputes and conflicts.
• Rural Women’s Participation in Politics  
    We have always been active in encouraging rural women’s participation in politics, and are committed to promoting their equal status in the political arena. We have organized national workshops for rural women’s political participation and the First National Women Village Heads Forum. We set up the National Women Village Heads Support Network website. In addition, we started publishing Women Village Heads magazine as a platform for women leaders to communicate and exchange experiences. We have also provided training in awareness of political participation and capacity building in  project counties and run ‘Training of Trainers (TOT)’ sessions to extend our influence. As a result of our activities many trainees have entered the political arena by standing for Village Committee elections and winning the support of villagers.
• Rural Women’s Resources Center          
    Our pilot Rural Women’s Resource Center project, started in 2007, involved the established six Resource Centers, four in Hebei, one in Shanxi and one in Beijing. These Resource Centers are distinguished by their comprehensive and multi-faceted approach to rural women’s development. They provide a room for reading, a stage for creative activities and performance, a classroom for lectures, and a meeting place for mutual support groups engaged in the prevention of suicide and domestic violence. The Centers are also resourced to foster awareness of democratic rights and encourage rural women’s participation in governance. They offer a venue to share entrepreneurial skills and information. The goal of the Resource Centers is to support rural women to become self-empowered and play an active role in the development of the countryside.
• Domestic Workers’ Support Network
    The majority of migrant women are engaged in the service industry, especially in domestic service. Most of them are young women from poor western provinces with relatively little education. They lack the ability to protect themselves effectively. We started a domestic workers’ support network in July 2003, establishing a network between the intermediary employment agencies in the source regions and Beijing.  We also provide training in vocational skills to these women and build their awareness of their legal rights.

• Group for Upholding Migrant Women’s Rights 
    This group was set up in 2002 with support from Oxfam Hong Kong to offer support to migrant women via a telephone hotline, an Emergency Relief Fund, regular legal awareness activities and lectures, as well as legal representation for migrant women whose rights have been seriously infringed. In 2006, we received additional support from the China Law Support Fund, which enabled us to expand our activities. This work has not only strengthened migrant women’s awareness of their legal rights, but has also greatly increased their ability to protect themselves. We have also applied funding to policy advocacy initiatives with the aim of improving legal safeguards for migrant women. Our efforts have drawn the attention of relevant organizations such as women’s federations and trade unions to the issue of upholding migrant women’s rights.

   We have also implemented projects addressing other specific needs of migrant women involving children’s education, legal awareness, capacity building, urban support networks and maternal health promotion. Soon after the catastrophic earthquake happened in Sichuan in May 2008, we immediately took action. Apart from staff members’ donations, we also sent people to the disaster area to provide volunteer services. Now, cooperating with local women’s federation in earthquake-affected areas, we have been carrying out maternal support projects.

   Our Funds have been provided by:
UNESCO, the World Bank, the Ford Foundation, Annenberg Foundation, Oxfam (Hong Kong), the International Republic Institute, the Global Fund for Women, ProLiteracy Worldwide, Microsoft, ExxonMobil and many embassies in China.

Contact us:
Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women
Address: 301, Building 1, Jiali Mansion, 180, Beiyuanlu, Chaoyang District, Beijing (100101)
Telephone: 010-64980082, 010-64980110 (fax)
E-mail: njnbst@263.net

The Practical Skills Training Center for Rural Women
Address: Dadongliu Village, Xiaotangshan, Changping District, Beijing (102211)
Telephone: 010-61711484  010-61714581(fax)
E-mail:njnbgs@sina.com

Migrant Women’s Club
Address: 301, Building 1, Jiali Mansion, 180, Beiyuanlu, Chaoyang District, Beijing (100101)
Telephone: 010-64984103, 010-64955204
E-mail: bjdgm7788@163.com

Website for BCDRW: www.nongjianv.org
Website for Women Village Heads: www.nucunguan.org