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China is experiencing what has been called the largest human
migration in history. Tens of millions of impoverished rural residents have migrated
to cities like Beijing in hopes of better paying jobs and a brighter
future. But the Chinese government’s resident permit system has
excluded these unskilled workers, leaving them without access to
social services and vulnerable
to working dangerous, dirty jobs with long hours and low pay.
The China Migrant Initiative addresses the social, economic and
educational needs of migrants in Beijing, China, who comprise
as many as four million of the city’s twelve million residents.
In its first year, programs in the Initiative directly impacted an
estimated 3,515 lives (9,174 including secondary beneficiaries),
exceeding the expected year one impact.
Private Education for Migrant Children
Xin Zhi Guan was among the pioneers in offering private
education for migrant children, who were excluded from the
public school system. Started in 2001, Xin Zhi Guan now runs
two schools for migrants in Beijing, serving over 1,700 migrant
children.
Likewise, Compassion for Migrant Children, founded
in 2006, has pioneered a community center model which takes
a holistic approach to meeting the needs of migrants in the
communities where they live. China Children and Teenagers’
Fund (CCTF) offers a program for out-of-work women in
housekeeping and nanny services, as well as an electronics training program for young men and women. In recent years,
the demand for skilled electronics workers in the Beijing
area has been greater than the supply due to the growth of
manufacturing production in Beijing and across China. By funding
the pilot phases of these pioneering programs, the Initiative is
helping to develop civil society in the Chinese context, and to
provide service platforms which can be replicated, providing an
exceptional long-term social ROI.
In the first year, actual results exceeded expected performance
for all benchmarks. During the
second year of the Initiative, the three organizations will expand
their vocational training programs.
As many as four million rural-to-urban migrants live in Beijing, roughly one in four of the city’s residents.
Providing otherwise unavailable services, such as affordable education to migrant children like those pictured here at the Xingzhi school, and vocational and life skills training for young migrant men and women, is the focus of the China Migrants Initiative.
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Background
In China, non-government organizations have been legally
allowed only in recent years. As a result, the programs in this
Initiative are trailblazers, with models that could be replicated in
other urban centers, potentially providing education, vocational
training, and community services to millions of impoverished
urban residents.
Implementers
- China Children and Teenager's Fund
- Compassion for Migrant Children
- Xin Zhi Guan (Formerly Xingzhi School)
Geography
Beijing, China
Sector
Economic Empowerment
Total Grant
Legatum 3 Year Commitment: USD1,089,600
Life Change
10,298
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