The Amity Foundation

Granaries for Woyun earthquake victims

Granaries arrive

A total of 964 “charity granaries” have recently been delivered to farming families in Woyun Village (Mianzhu County, in the earthquake area of Sichuan Province). When the first batch of these steel containers arrived at the village in the evening of 27 August, the truck which carried them was quickly surrounded by villagers, who had long waited for this delivery. They helped the driver to unload the cargo. The granaries were then handed out to villagers in the order that had been determined in advance.

(more…)

Amity staffers congratulate Bishop Ding on his 93rd birthday

A few days ago, Amity’s president and one of its founders, Bishop K. H. Ting, celebrated his 93rd birthday. Qiu Zhonghui, the general secretary of the Amity Foundation, and some staffers went to the bishop’s home to congratulate him. Chatting with the staffers, Bishop Ting said: “I am very glad to see you all here today. The Amity Foundation has done lots of good things, right up to its work in the region affected by the Sichuan earthquake. I thank you all very much for visiting me today.”

Volunteers leave for the Sichuan earthquake region

A group of six volunteers who will work in the Sichuan earthquake region for 3 months was seen off in a brief farewell ceremony at Amity headquarters on 16 September. Amity is cooperating for this project with Nanjing Ruihaibo Rehabilitation Hospital. The six volunteers are doctors and specially qualified medical staff. Amity already sent a group of volunteers shortly after the May 12 earthquake; this earlier group, comprised of high school teachers, offered psychological counselling to disaster victims.

(more…)

A Summer English Program testimonial

The following is a report sent by Ian Skoggard, a 2008 SEP volunteer:

This summer I was a volunteer teacher in China teaching oral English to high school English teachers in Jinan, Shandong Province. The opportunity to teach came through The Amity Foundation’s Summer English Program (SEP). This year, the SEP had a total of 45 volunteers from three countries (USA, Canada and England) representing 10 denominations and working at 12 sites throughout China.

(more…)

Hong Kong group visits Woyun Village in the earthquake zone

discussing with Amity project staff

Since the Sichuan earthquake, the Amity Foundation has been actively working with the local government in identifying villages which are in need of assistance in rebuilding their houses and infrastructures. After some initial fact-finding and on the recommendation of the Mianzhu Government, Woyun Village under Guanji Township was identified as a site in need of assistance. In order to bring Hong Kong expertise to bear on this rebuilding project, the Amity Hong Kong office invited some members of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and the Hong Kong Institute of Planners to visit Woyun from 6 to 8 September. Group members were John Ng, Tony Tang, Edward Tong, Derek Cheung, Coco Xu and Anthony KH Tong from Amity’s Hong Kong office.

(more…)

Giving and taking: service learning in Nanjing this summer

picking grapes at a local farmer's small vineyard

During this summer vacation, seven young students came to Nanjing in three groups and served in various projects of Amity. They are students from the School of Business of Hong Kong Baptist University and high school graduates from Hawaii, USA. During their altogether six weeks in Nanjing (each group stayed for two weeks), some of them taught English at a summer camp held by a local church while others taught at primary schools for the children of migrant workers in the suburbs of Nanjing. Some of the students spent most of their time at the newly-founded Amity Children’s Center and helped decorating classrooms for autistic children.

(more…)

Baking moon cakes at the Home of Blessings

Baking moon cakes at the Home of Blessings

Amity’s Home of Blessings bakery is celebrating this year’s Mid Autumn Festival with a special activity. Four children from second grade of a Nanjing primary school were invited with their families to bake moon cakes together with children from the Home of Blessings. The children were excited when Wu Yuchen, a co-worker at the bakery, showed them how to do it right.

Moon cakes are at least as important for Mid Autumn Festival celebrations as cookies are for Christmas. In Chinese tradition, the Mid Autumn Festival or Moon Festival is one of the most important family festivals. It dates back to pre-imperial times.

Amity regularly holds activities like this to draw attention to its work with mentally disabled children at the Home of Blessings and the bakery.

Summer Training Programme for left-behind children in Henan

One hundred children took part in this year’s Summer Training Programme for left-behind children in Luohe, Henan Province, a ten-day event in August which Amity funded and organised in collaboration with the CCC/TSPM of Luohe City and the Women’s Federation in Linying County.

(more…)

A letter of gratitude from Woyun Village

Amity headquarters at Nanjing received a heartfelt letter from Woyun Cun, the village we are helping to rebuild after the May earthquake in Sichuan:

Natural disasters are merciless, yet people have compassion! The sudden strike of the Wenchuan earthquake has changed our formerly peaceful little village into a place of death and despair, in a moment sorrow and hopelessness have ended the good life in our houses. In our fields you don’t see the toiling farmer smile anymore; you will listen in vain for the sound of laughter and play at the local school; in the courtyards, no more friendly teasing between husbands and wives, no more happy faces. The old people sigh, the young grieve, the children weep as they stand amid the ruins: the whole country has been smashed to pieces! The leaders of our Party and of our nation oversaw the disaster relief efforts right after the earthquake, and people from all walks of life showed their care and sympathy.

(more…)

Amity Teachers Summer Conference Held in Nanjing

The 2008 Amity Teachers Summer Conference was held in Nanjing from August 21 to 24. Altogether 23 of the 25 Amity teachers and the three young volunteers on the Amity Young Adult Program participated in the conference.

(more…)