China

As the world’s most populous nation, China is beginning to invest more in health and education for its children. While China’s improved economy has lifted millions of its citizens out of poverty, children in poor rural districts continue to lag behind. To take advantage of more job opportunities, 140 million people have abandoned the countryside to seek work in China’s rapidly growing cities, but the current system often denies migrant rural children access to free public education and health care in the cities. Rural areas fall behind in basic medical care, education and access to clean water, with less than ten percent of rural schools having safe drinking water or adequate sanitation.

The ministry of Kids Alive began in China in 1916, and today our work there continues through schools and care centers for poor rural children. Almost 200 children from minority groups in southwest China are currently learning to read and write Mandarin Chinese in our programs. This basic skill will allow these children to eventually leave the small rural villages and communicate with others in the country, hopefully breaking the cycle of poverty and discrimination.