Golden Bridges

I haven’t really written about Golden Bridges yet, so here’s an introduction:

Golden Bridges is a US-registered NGO that is based in China. The basic purpose of GB is to connect money from multinational corporations with the people who need it the most. Large companies realize that they have a responsibility to give back to the communities in which they operate (read: the world), but they are not typically equipped to do so. Golden Bridges has the connections and skills necessary to make sure that well-intentioned donations actually make it to the local Chinese organizations that can put that money to use.

I have been working for the last two months on saying that clearly - I have yet to figure out exactly how to do that. Instead, I bring you an example.

This sunday, I went with Golden Bridges and a group of executives from T. Rowe Price to volunteer at a Migrant school. This event requires a bit of explanation. First of all, the T. Rowe execs are in Beijing for a corporate retreat. Their decision to engage in a volunteer activity like this one displays a good understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): while, on the one hand, the activity certainly looks good from a PR point of view, it is also good for the company. High level exceutives engaging in community-based activities sets a great example for community involvement. The rest of the company can look at the executives and see that the company is involved in the community on a highly personal level. At the same time, the experience is eye opening for the executives, who would otherwise only see Beijing’s skyscrapers, five-star hotels, and bargain-basement market places.

Migrant schools, as far as I know, are fairly unique to China. One result of rapid development in Chinese cities is the need for labor. Farmers, eager to make money when they don’t have work to do on their land, move to wherever labor is needed. Therefore, there are two great internal migrations in China each year: one in which migrants come to the cities, and one in which they go home. The workers come with their families and generally live in tiny rooms with no comforts and scarce basic needs such as heating. The parents find work, but the children are basically left to themselves and often mistreated.

Migrant schools are illegal havens for the children of migrant workers. I say illegal because despite the incredibly high population of migrant workers, they are not legally allowed to be in the city. China has an identity system called the Hukou, which basically is a type of internal passport that says where the holder is from and where they are allowed to work. Migrant workers are not allowed to be in the cities, so their children are not allowed to attend public schools. Hence migrant schools, like many charitable organizations in China, operate on the fringes of the law.

Nevertheless, the schools are allowed to continue their operations because they are clearly necessary. There are over 500,000 migrant children in Beijing that need an education and a bit of consistency in their lives. One of the reasons that an organization like Golden Bridges is valuable is that it provides a way to donate to these schools and improve their functionality. Without Golden Bridges, foreign companies (and Chinese companies) would have no way to give to migrant schools because of their tenuous relation to the law.

T. Rowe Price came to China for a large corporate summit and decided that while they were all here, they should do something to give back to the community. They were referred to Golden Bridges, who then set up an event with Green Gardens elementary school (a migrant school).

A crew of about ten bi-lingual volunteers recruited by Golden Bridges accompanied about 20 executives from T. Rowe to Green Gardens. At the school, the executives split into groups to talk to the kids about who they are and where they are from. We also gave all of the kids gifts, colored markers and candy, and encouraged them to draw and talk to the visitors. Not only did the event open the execs’ eyes to the realities of poverty in China, but also it gave the kids a great chance to learn about the world outside their school. Perhaps, in an extremely optimistic light, it also gave a glimpse of something to aspire to - a reason to stay in school.

After the lesson/coloring session ended, we took the kids to the Beijing “Blue Zoo” aquarium. The executives explored the aquarium with the kids and encouraged them to try out English words such as “Shark” and “Jellyfish.” In a show of cameraderie, the execs tried to learn the same words in Chinese. It’s hard to say which side was more successful at learning vocabulary.

At the end of the day, everyone went home with a little more awareness of just how big the global community is. The kids experienced a lot of “firsts,” including the first time they ever vomitted on a bus because of motion sickness. The execs learned about a community that they influence and can continue to influence in a positive way - the were, of course, left with a list of the school’s needs: material needs such as better desks and chairs, a computer, and proper heating can all be easily taken care of through monetary contributions. If the company is willing to lend human contributions as well, then more difficult needs, such as the implementation of administrative systems and record keeping, could also be met. Golden Bridges’ eventual goal is to encourage companies to “donate” long-term executive voluteers with knowledge and skills to non-profit organizations that could use the help.

Overall, the day was a success. There was an expectable level of chaos, but in the end everything worked out. I took pictures of the whole day (which I will post later), and helped translate. I also talked to the execs, sharing my experience and expertise on Beijing. I also definitely benefitted personally because I had never been to such a low level of school before. From this hands-on experience, I finally understand exactly what Golden Bridges aims to achieve. I believe that their goals and approach are admirable and well thought out. Corporations like T. Rowe have the resources to make a difference, and Golden Bridges provides a platform to see what a difference they can make and then help administer resources to affect change.

Newton in Town

This was an interesting week here in Beijing because I got in touch with not one, but two different old friends from Newton North High School. Of course we have the Internet to thank, and surprisingly, the lesser publicized technology of pay-phones.

On Tuesday night I met up with Jonathan Crowder - someone whom I haven't seen in four years. Jonathan is currently teaching English in Hunan province and exploring the more wild parts of China. I took him to Nanluogu Xiang for dinner in a particularly good Chinese restaurant that I hadn't eaten in since last summer. He stuck around for the rest of the week, but I was unfortunately burdened by work, so I didn't see him again before he left early this morning for a 20+ hour hard seat train ride. I advised him against that endeavor, but he is determined to learn the hard way how unpleasant long stints in hard seats can be.

Last night, I finally met up with Preston Decker after weeks of telephone tag. Preston s in the unique situation of being the only person in China without a cellphone. As a direct result, I now have a pay-phone number stored in my phonebook as "big bird."

I met up with Preston and a bunch of other friends downtown at a new burger joint called "Let's Burger." This is not your typical bun and pattie compilation. My sandwhich came complete with 2 burgers, pickles, lettuce, tomato, onions, special sauce, bacon, and an egg. Matt ordered their most expensive selection: a double Wagyu steak burger (actually steak, not ground beef), which came with all the fixin's including foie gras and asparagus. I never thought I would say it, but sometimes a burger is worth $20.

After dinner Preston and I got caught up over a couple of beers. I hope he comes back to town soon because it was pretty good to see an old friend. Also, he lives in the middle of nowhere, and It's probably good to get away from time to time (then again, I live in the middle of somewhere and I still want to get away from time to time, so maybe it doesn't matter where you live).

The most interesting thing about all of this is that so many of my Newton North classmates continued to be interested in China. This is interesting primarily because our Chinese class at NNHS was not particularly great. Preston and I agreed that our pursuit of Chinese was a reaction to the class more than an extension of it. After our first times in China, we were both so angry that four years of studying hadn't produced any results that we became determined to learn the language as an act of rebellion. Jonathan is a slightly different story because he wasn't in our class at North, but he did go on the Jingshan exchange. He reports similar feelings - not learning too much on the exchange, but becoming determined to concquer Chinese anyway.

Several other classmates also continued to study Chinese. I haven't met any of them yet in China, but people from Newton pop up all the time. It's only a matter of time before we have a Beijing reunion of Newton North '04 Chinese students. I'm looking forward to it.

Glorious Return

I'm thinking about moving back to this ol' page. Those who have dropped by in the last 24 hours may have noticed some infrastructure changes. I think that with a little tweaking, this address could turn into something worth looking at.

Stay tuned for the return of Dan Ran Away...