Development Work And Training

FOC has always regarded every part of society as valuable, and has therefore recruited volunteers and foreign experts of many kinds to be involved with development work of many kinds such as rural community development rural education and poverty alleviation. However, it goes without saying that none of this work would have been possible without the extensive cooperation and assistance from many provincial and local government officials.

In addition to the continuation of development projects mentioned in previous annual reports, 2008 saw the initiation of a Sheep Loan Community Development Programme in Ka Rang Village of Hualong County in Qinghai Province. Sheep are loaned to villagers who are able to keep all the lambs in order to build their own flocks. Each year, the sheep are passed on to another family in the village so that everyone is able to benefit. This programme is helping the villagers to have long-term growth both in their flocks and in their income. The villagers participate directly in the programme by raising the sheep, and FOC has had veterinarians go to the village to help with any problems.

In Shaanxi, The Lighthouse Centre (TLC) has been quietly offering family relationship classes, largely to the MingdeMen community of Xi’an. The classes have included topics such as Dating Safe - Dating Well, Pre-marriage, Marriage, Pre-natal and Parenting. They have proved popular, being attended by singles, couples and families.

TLC has also been offering a Mobile Library Programme in English to kindergartens in the community. The Lighthouse Centre Project, A Family Centre and Children’s Library is now registered under the partnership of a local company, Mandarin Chang An School (MCA). MCA is a language school and consulting business that will take ownership of TLC Project and grow it into a community service and financially feasible business. Over the next two years, FOC will contract MCA to provide services which will give the community access to a family centre with resources and training classes relevant to growing healthy families, and a children’s library. Families who attend TLC’s training classes will be making more positive and healthy choices, which will grow them to be physically, emotionally, educationally and socially healthy and strong.