 |
|
The Caterpillar Foundation Helps Underprivileged Young People Gain Access to Quality Vocational Education |
 |
Underprivileged youth have specific demands in terms of employment, social integration and psychological growth. They are also in need of educational resources with high quality. The Caterpillar Foundation has supported BN Vocational School (BNVS) financially through Give2Asia since 2011. This project provides free and high quality vocational education to meet the unique needs of underprivileged youth. |
|
The major goal of Caterpillar Foundation BNVS project is to support the vocational education of female underprivileged youth. He Juhua is a minority girl from a small village of Yunnan province. She left the school due to dire poverty. Fortunately£¬she entered the Service Class of BNVS Beijing in 2014. In the past two years, He Juhua successfully mastered basic computer application skills and English skill. She also finished vocational and life skill courses such as business etiquettes, cleaning skills, music appreciation, legal knowledge, etc. Meanwhile, she managed to master some flower arrangement techniques. Last July, He Juhua graduated from BNVS Beijing and received a job offer with two positions, Housing Department Clerk and Florist Supervisor. She has also sent 20,000 RMB to her family during her internship, which will cover her little brother's middle school tuition as well as household expenses of her family. |
|
He Juhua, as well as her approximately 494 alumni, are the beneficiaries of BNVS project supported by the Caterpillar Foundation. As the first all free charitable vocational school in China, BNVS designed a unique educational system under the concept of "holistic education". |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
The Caterpillar Foundation Is Committed to Eco-friendly
Poverty Reduction |
 |
In 2015, Caterpillar Foundation Charity Forest Project co-launched by the Caterpillar Foundation and China Environmental Protection Foundation (CEPF) went into Anping County, Hengshui City, Hebei Province. It helped the 53-year old Mr. Li grow high-quality apple trees on his idle land. |
|
To treat an illness that befell him in 2013, Mr. Li became debt-ridden, and lost his labor capacity to the illness. Then the land was not cultivated and kept idle, making it difficult for he and his wife to get along. Under Charity Forest Project, apple trees were planted on his land, and the harvest belongs to Mr. Li. It is estimated that when the trees enter the high yield period in three years, they are expected to bring an annual income of 40,000 RMB to the old couple, which will greatly improve their living conditions. |
|
When planting and keeping the apple trees, CEPF uses bio-organic manure, which not only reduces ground contamination and usage of chemical fertilizer and pesticides, but also improves water and soil conservation, wind prevention and sand fixation, oxygen release, and carbon sequestration and reduction. |
|
Charity Forest Project was a charity project initiated by Caterpillar Foundation in 2011 in conjunction with CEPF. The project, building on its success in forestation aimed to wind prevention and sand fixation, now focused on eco-friendly poverty reduction. Under the project, trees are planted in key northern forestation regions and areas surrounding Tai Lake. The green barrier conserves water, improves ecological environment, and benefits local residents with better ecology. |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
The Caterpillar Foundation Supports Love Kitchen Project in State-Level Poverty Stricken County |
 |
Good nutrition is necessary for students¡¯ healthy growth and effective learning. The nationwide Students' Nutrition Improvement Program has helped countless schools build new cafeterias, but schools in Lankao County, Henan Province, still had to cook with firewood stoves that pollute the environment and compromise food quality, because this state-level impoverished county couldn't spare enough funds to purchase improved cooking facilities. At the same time, due to a lack of equipment for tableware disinfection and food storage, as well as a lack of professional training on food nutrition and safety for teachers and cooks, the students¡¯ food safety was a real concern. |
|
In 2017, Caterpillar Foundation launched the Love Kitchen project in Lankao, Henan through the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) to provide clean, safe and nutritious lunches for students. The project provided cooking facilities for 10 schools in Lankao, including electric stoves, rice steamers, sterilizers, kitchen counters and potato peelers; providing safe meals for 4,500 children; and providing training on food safety and nutrition for 50 teachers and training on facilities usage for 20 cafeteria workers. The electronic cookware that Love Kitchen provided dispenses the cost of fuel that would otherwise be needed, substantially lowering environmental pollution caused by burning coal. |
|
As early as 2013, during reconstruction efforts after the Ya'an earthquake, the Caterpillar Foundation provided support for CFPA by building Love Kitchens for 10 schools. Thanks to its efforts, more children now have access to warm and tasty nutritious lunches, and the children, teachers and cooks have received training on food nutrition and safety. |
|
 |
|