【专栏】| Conlumists >微公益 | MicroCharity
By Yibai, Jointing.Media, in Shanghai, 2010-11-26
Steady and long,
knock open the door of kindness
“The cultivation and release of love is a process. And human kindness is not always present. Human nature has a selfish side and a kind side. We need to knock on the door of kindness and let love break free. Let there be more light and less darkness.”
——Zhang Xingru
Money Is Not a Problem?No!
It is understood that the cost of a GMX activity is about two to three hundred thousand yuan， including the freight of medical equipment needed for surgery and the cost of medical supplies. An enterprise once wanted to donate ten thousand yuan to GMX, but was persuaded to lower the amount. A foundation also proposed that this project aligned with their funding direction and offered a fixed budget, but GMX declined the offer.
“If one enterprise donates to the whole campaign, other enterprises won’t have a chance to express their kindness. If more people participate in each campaign, social value is greater. However, if the foundation provides full funding, it blocks the way for volunteers and enterprises to donate money. If they doesn’t donate money, they won’t go.” Zhang Xingru explained.
He added another layer of social significance to GMX, namely, corporate social responsibility（CSR）enlightenment action. “The enterprises not only need to donate money but also need to put in effort – actively participate in the activities and express their love directly through personal experience.”
In his opinion, the current public welfare system in China is not yet perfect, and the donation by enterprises and individuals has not been put into practical use. Some Chinese people prefer to burn incense in temples rather than donate ten yuan to poor and out-of-school children. In addition, with more and more negative reports about some NGOs, people’s enthusiasm for public welfare is dampened.This is like a blocked water source that will not be demonstrated in the future, and the enthusiasm will be wasted.
“The cultivation and release of kindness is a process. It’s not possible to have a very high level of kindness all at once. Kindness is not always present, as human nature has two sides: selfish and kind. We need to knock on the door of kindness and let our hearts be unleashed. Let there be more bright and less dark.”
To Believe That A Single Spark Can Start A Prairie Fire
Zhang Xingru’s philanthropic beliefs are related to his personal growth experience. In the late 1970s, he was a college student and first came into contact with “philanthropy”. In his impression, companies did some philanthropic activities in order to increase their visibility. For example, the corporate sponsorship banners during the “Iron Hammer” era of women’s volleyball matches. After becoming a doctor, he started to participate in free clinics organized by others. Along with participating in multiple similar events, he began to contemplate if he could establish a charitable initiative with innovative value that aligns with China’s national conditions and can be replicated. He envisions that doctors from all disciplines can also go to impoverished areas on the periphery to provide free medical services with entrepreneur funding.
“We are currently exploring this path. If some person integrates some resources, they can all participate in charity and public welfare work, which can be big or small. For example, a dentist and an entrepreneur could team up to provide dental care and education for people with poor oral health in remote areas. The entrepreneur has the funds and compassion, while the dentist has the skills. By combining their expertise and resources, they can accomplish concrete results.
“Small sparks can start a prairie fire.” Zhang Xingru hopes to popularize the GMX model. Each discipline can form a medical team and join forces with some entrepreneurs or philanthropists who have both compassion and financial resources to form a volunteer team and provide medical services in remote areas for the elderly and children in need.
“We are definitely going to very remote and impoverished areas, and they are mostly minority areas,” Zhang Xingru repeatedly emphasized their direction. He explained, “Large (medical charity) organizations generally find it difficult to reach such places. They have to locate management teams and contact local governments to penetrate these areas, which takes a lot of effort, and may not necessarily achieve excellent results in the end.”
Sometimes kindness can also lead to bad results. If mistakes are made, it will hurt many people’s hearts and erase kindness. Kindness should be turned into good deeds, and good deeds must be done well. This requires the leaders of public welfare actions to not only have the ability but also wisdom.
The leaders of charity and public welfare activities need to stand taller, look further, and have a broader perspective. Actions speak louder than words, and perseverance is more important than temporary bursts of energy. Persistence is key, and this is also what Zhang Xingru persists in.
(To be continued)
Translated by MirrorChat and Youdao Translate
Edited by Wind
Yifan Ding also contributed to this article.
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