China’s first homegrown Catholic charity established

Aug 05, 2017

HONG KONG: A successful Palm Sunday donation day by Catholic NGO Jinde Charities in China will see money go to aid victims of the recent flooding in Hunan and Jilin provinces, but the organisation has appealed to all Chinese Catholics to continue donating until the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Aug. 15.

Jinde Charities held the Relief Donation Day jointly with the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China (CCPA-BCCCC) on Palm Sunday (April 9).

The total amount received was more than 710,000 yuan (US$105,000), according to Jinde Charities’ sister organisation Hebei Faith Press in a report published on July 16.

The money collected “comes at the right time as China has entered the flood season. It allows us to start relief programmes immediately in affected areas,” said Chai Haijing, a fundraising staff member at Jinde Charities.

A relief team from Jinde rushed to the affected areas in Hunan for an inspection and the dispatch of relief aid worth 220,000 yuan to 1,570 families on July 11-13.

In Jilin, with assistance from Caritas Germany, they dispatched aid worth 150,000 yuan to victims on July 26.

In central Hunan province, more than 12 million people were affected by flash floods in early July. At least 83 people died or were reported missing.

On July 13, a heavy rainstorm in northeastern Jilin province affected more than 630,000 people in six cities and 25 counties and districts. At least seven people died.

“No one knows if there are going to be more disasters for the rest of the year. We need to prepare ahead. So we are calling on all dioceses and Catholics to continue the donation drive until the Assumption feast,” said Chai.

The Relief Donation Day was the first such initiative of the Chinese Catholic Church and the first among any of the five government-recognised religions — the others are Protestant, Islam, Buddhism and Daoism.

Chai admitted that the appeal is addressed mainly to those who still don’t understand the importance of aid donation as it takes time to change people’s mindset.

Still, the Relief Donation Day was met with scepticism by some Chinese Catholics, who see the CCPA as a government tool to control the church.

Some laypeople see it as “an act of formality” like a show, and that it would only bring a bad name to Jinde Charities.

Even some clergy and laypeople still think that “disaster relief is the business of the government, so why should the church meddle in it?” Chai said.

Despite resistance from some Catholics, Chai said the overall result of the Donation Day was far better than ad hoc appeals that they usually make for individual disasters in and outside China.

Jinde Charities raised only 7,000 yuan for Nepal when the country was hit by an 8.1-magnitude earthquake in 2015. The following year, they raised about 30,000 yuan after a major quake in central Italy. It was not until Jinde Charities contacted some dioceses for cooperation and support that they finally received 190,000 and 500,000 yuan for the two quakes respectively, according to Chai.

Donation Day has helped build awareness about the importance of cooperation among dioceses across the country, Chai said.

She believed that ad hoc appeals were not ideal due to insufficient awareness of people to cooperate in disaster relief work.

“Many Catholics are enthusiastic to donate more on emergency relief for individual families, renovation or construction of churches, or assistance for religious congregations,” Chai said. -- ucanews.com