The Zigen Fund is a Chinese-based non-profit organization founded by Hsu-Lin Tung and Pat Kwei-Ping Yang in New York City in 1988. It aims to assist in the basic development in rural China and advocates the beliefs of 'human-centered sustainable development'. The Zigen Fund provides educational, social and economic developmental support to impoverished areas in China, especially to women and children.
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Initiatives
Since 2008, Zigen has successfully executed numerous projects in 265 villages in 17 provinces and has sponsored about 90,000 scholarships to students for education purposes.
Zigen supports:
1. Education – To provide sponsorship for basic (children) and adult education and to fund basic infrastructure for schools.
2. Basic healthcare – To provide paramedical training programs and health clinics in rural areas.
3. Environmentally sound technologies – To incorporate sustainable socioeconomic development to enhance the livelihood of villagers via grassroots support and environmental consciousness.
4. Rural village development – To fund various undertakings between villagers and support cultural events.
5. Migrant workers community – To sponsor and organize various community events and development classes for migrant workers.
6. International partnerships – To organize multicultural educational exchange programs and promote understanding between the villagers and exchange students.
Funding
The Zigen Fund relies on a wide network of volunteers in many cities and states in the United States for its fundraising, administrative and project selection, and coordination activities. In addition, some of the resources are secured through personal donations, volunteering, child sponsoring, and small business partners.
Current undertakings
More recently, the Zigen Fund has started the One Village, One School initiative in: 10 villages and 10 schools in Guizhou Province; one village and one school in Henan Province, four villages and four schools in Shanxi Province; five villages and five schools in Hebei Province. In every village-school project, the general project is 60, 000RMB – 80, 000RMB (approx. USD9, 500 – USD12, 700). The initiative aims to strengthen ties between the village and the school, resulting in communal integration of the philosophy that “Life is our education and society is our goal.”