Q&A: Jinde Charities

Jinde Charities provides aid to all those in need, whether that entails obtaining cataract surgeries for the elderly, setting up irrigation systems in regions without clean water, or finding homes for AIDS-affected orphans. Given their commitment to so many different underprivileged communities, we wondered how they are able to effectively distribute their time and money. We asked the vice director, John Ren Dahai, to elaborate on this as well as on the honor of being a selected charity recipient for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Irish Ball (Mar 17).

How did Jinde Charities first come together?
When Mother Teresa died in 1997, Fr. JB Zhang (founder of Faith Press) was reminded of the importance of social service. He founded Jinde Charities, formally known as Beifang Jinde Catholic Social Service Center, that May in Shijiazhuang. We are the first non-profit organization (NPO) of the Chinese Catholic Church for social services, and we were officially registered as a foundation in May 2011.

How do you determine which communities need the most help?
Our judgment is usually based on income, location, gender, etc. It’s hard to say who we have helped out the most. In recent years, we have done lots of disaster relief work; among the victims, we’ve done more for children, those affected by AIDS and disease, and ethnic groups in remote areas.

What have been some of your most successful projects so far?
Disaster relief, elderly care and HIV prevention.

Which ones are you struggling with?
Jinde wants to implement organic farming projects, but it is not easy to market that kind of farming to peasants hoping to make more income.

What do people need to know about China before lending a hand?
Some people view China as rich, others say we are still poor. Jinde wants people to see the real China in all its vastness. For example, while there are billionaires in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, there are also many who don’t have enough food to eat in remote areas. Natural disasters occur every year, but China doesn’t have a functioning NGO system. HIV is still spreading. The list goes on.

What do you plan to do with the money raised from the Irish Ball?
The donations will be used for poor patients and poor students.

Find out how you can help at http://eng.jinde.org.

Click here to see the March issue of the Beijinger in full.

Photo courtesy of Jinde Charities.