Mothers Support Group Pilot of China REACH Program Begins in Xizang
From August 10 to 12, 2023, Fang Jin, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of
the China Development Research Foundation (CDRF), Cai Jianhua, Senior Advisor of
the Child Development Research Institute at CDRF, and Feng Danyun, Vice
President and Secretary General of CICC Charity Foundation, attended the opening
ceremony of the pilot mothers support group of the China REACH program in
Semburi. They also visited the relevant departments.
The mothers support group supplements and extends China REACH which provides
parenting instructions via home visits, and will provide support to mothers and
female caregivers in four areas, namely, family education, infant and young
child health, women's health, and the national standard language, by means of
flexible and diversified forms of group activities and workshops.
On the morning of August 11, the launch ceremony of the China REACH mothers
support group was held in Semburi. Fang Jin, Feng Danyun, Dong Yan, an official
of the Women's Federation of the Xizang Autonomous Region, Tao Yurong, deputy
director of the management committee of the ecological relocation site in
Semburi, and Baima Yangjin, president of the Xizang Autonomous Region's Maternal
and Child Health Association, attended the ceremony and delivered speeches.
Fang Jin talked about the importance of the program on three levels. For
individual mothers, attending the mom's class enables them to improve
themselves, and better raise their children. For the relocation site of Semburi,
conducting mothers support groups can help the women of the relocation site to
actively enjoy work and life, and is an effective measure to promote the
high-quality development of the relocation site. For government and relevant
departments in the Xizang Autonomous Region, the promotion of China REACH and
the mothers support group is a way to put into practice President Xi Jinping's
proposal of "supporting Chinese modernization with high-quality development of
the population". The integration of the mothers support group module into China
REACH can combine the high-quality development of children with the high-quality
development of women, thus promoting the high-quality and balanced development
of the Xizang population as a whole.
Feng Danyun pointed out that the program provides a model for exploring the
promotion of high-quality development in ecological relocation areas. The
establishment of the mothers support group is of great significance to the
sustainable and high-quality development of rural women and their families in
the ecological relocation and resettlement areas at very high altitude, and to
the development of the local community.
Dong Yan praised the work of China REACH, mentioning that in the past two
years of implementation, the program has been well received by families in the
relocation sites. She said that the Xizang Women's Federation will coordinate
the efforts of all sectors of society to actively promote the work of the
mothers support group in the next step.
In order to further summarize the experience of the project, better serve the
parents and children in the relocation site, continuously spead awareness and
knowledge on family education, and better promote the healthy growth of children
in the relocation site of Semburi, the Xizang Women's Federation, the Xizang
Maternal and Child Health Association, and the Xizang Society for Family
Education jointly designates Semburi as a "demonstration site for early
childhood education services in agricultural and pastoral areas in the
Xizang".
Tao Yurong suggested that the addition of the mothers support group to the
China REACH is of great significance to the Semburi settlement, and will greatly
contribute to the settlement's work on maternal and child health.
Baima Yangjin said that the mothers support group enriches China REACH and is
a supplement and extension of the program. She thanked all partners who have
contributed to the program, and hoped that they would join hands and continue to
help the long-term development of the relocation site of Semburi.
At the ceremony, a five-party cooperation agreement was signed by the China
Development Research Foundation, the CICC Charity Foundation, the Xizang Women's
Federation, the Management Committee of the Semburi Ecological Relocation Site,
and the Xizang Maternal and Child Health Association. The five parties will
continue to cooperate and promote relevant policies to benefit more children,
mothers and families.
After the meeting, Fang Jin and his team went into the homes to observe the
home visits, he interacted with the parents and children to understand the
situation and effectiveness of the home visits.
On the afternoon of August 11, Fang Jin and Feng Danyun went to the Xizang
Rural Revitalization Bureau. Zhuang Hongxiang, Secretary of the Party Group of
the Xizang Rural Revitalization Bureau, Jiang Hua, Director of the Bureau, Li
Rong, Deputy Director of the Bureau, and representatives from various divisions
joined the discussion. The parties discussed how to combine child development
with the rural revitalization strategy, and explored the current realities of
rural revitalization work as well as the possibility of cooperation in rural
revitalization and rural governance.
President Xi Jinping once stated that "Population development is a major
issue related to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and efforts must
be made to improve the overall quality of the population." CDRF’s China REACH
aims to achieve high-quality development of the population at the very beginning
of life and from the most fundamental level. The mothers support group, which is
integrated into the program, will improve development of women in less developed
regions.
