School generosity in a class of its own

Students of the Mcedo Beijing School in Mathare, Nairobi. The school was funded by Chinese companies in Kenya. Provided to China Daily

Chinese companies in Africa are becoming more involved in their host communities

At the entrance to Nairobi's second-largest slum, Mathare, you see many primary school students carrying colorful bags covered in Chinese cartoon characters such as Happy Goat, who is a favorite with children in farway China.

Unlike many products in African markets, the school bags are not secondhand but new ones donated by local Chinese companies. These companies also built the children's school, which has a special name, Mcedo Beijing School.

The name shows how Chinese companies working in the area are accepting their social responsibility to improve conditions, while also laying a good foundation for their long-term development in Kenya.

The school was founded by the Mathare Community Education and Development Organization (Mcedo), which operates in the heart of Mathare. It was founded in 2000 and registered formally in 2001. It aims to educate orphans and vulnerable children.

In 2006, a documentary on Mathare brought to light Mcedo's many challenges. The Chinese embassy and then ambassador Hang Ming responded by pledging to financially support the construction of the school. To honor this generosity, the school was named Mcedo Beijing School.

The school building was designed to accommodate 250 students in 2007. However, by the end of last year, there were more than 600 students there and the environment had become crowded and tense.

"They needed to extend the school buildings to accommodate so many more students," says Li Qiang, president of the China-Kenya Economy and Trade Association.

Late last year, the second phase of school building began. The plan was to build another 500 square meters of floor space to accommodate more than 400 students.

To achieve that goal, the association raised more than 54.46 million Kenyan shillings ($623,300) and provided 10 computers to complete the project and build a library in another school in Nairobi.

Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Guangyuan says this project was supported by the embassy and Chinese companies in Kenya and was further evidence of the friendship between the two nations.

"This fully reflects the will and efforts of Chinese companies to contribute to local development," Liu says. "Both governments attach great importance to education as the very foundation of the country's development. So this is a critical move."

Liu also says this project was achieved as part of a deepening relationship between the two countries in the new millennium.

"This has prompted Chinese companies in Kenya to shoulder more responsibility to help local society," he says. "This is vital to the future development of Kenya's economy and society."

He expects that more Chinese companies will become involved in local communities and will help more Kenyans improve their lives.

"Specific areas should be given priority when Chinese companies perform their social responsibility," Liu says. "For instance, education and medical care, which are directly related to people's daily lives."

Patrick Ayiecho Olweny, assistant minister of education of Kenya, says the assistance to the school was a timely gift to local residents as it will greatly improve education in the slum.

Olweny says Kenya regards preliminary education as a fundamental part of its Vision 2030, which is the guideline for the country's long-term development. The help given to the Mathare school will further improve bilateral friendship, he says.

There have been misunderstandings about Chinese companies' integration into African society, says Li Qiang, who is also general manager of China Road and Bridge Corporation (Kenya).

"There were accusations that Chinese companies didn't want to take on social responsibility and were focusing only on making money, which we thought was wrong," Li says. "At the very beginning of the new round of engagement with Africa in the late 1990s, Chinese companies were focused on survival in African markets."

He says when the companies developed, some began to contribute to their communities, but on small projects such as digging borewells and paving paths.

"Social responsibility is a must and a natural thing for those who want to settle down in Kenya for the longer term, as it is not only good for the corporate image, but more importantly a company's future can't be separated from the robust development of the host country," he says. "So it's vital for Chinese companies to contribute to local development in any way they can."

Li's company established its office in Kenya in 1984 and during the past three decades has tried to develop the right approach to participating in the development of local communities, apart from its main business of building roads, bridges, dams, railways and harbors.

"Apart from the Beijing school, we are also planning to build another school compound in Kibera, the largest slum in Nairobi," Li says.

As president of the China-Kenya Economy and Trade Association, Li says it's also crucial to bring together all Chinese companies to work out the best ways to implement their social responsibilities.

"We've been trying to organize events to help local people on a regular basis and also in emergencies," he says. "For instance, we went to Turkana Desert in the north in 2011 to distribute food to villagers affected by droughts. All the food and transport were funded by companies in the association."

He says members want to improve the program to make it a "Chinese for Kenya Series".

"We aim to provide what local communities need most, whether it is food, education or healthcare," he says.

According to a report by the African Studies Center of Zhejiang Normal University released earlier this year, only 58 percent of sampled Chinese companies in Africa had a clear idea of their social responsibilities.

The author of the report, Liu Qinghai, says the other 48 percent had no or distorted ideas about their social responsibilities.

"The explanations about corporate social responsibility were quite diverse but, for those who gave a clear answer, improving the host country's development and local people's lives was significant," says the report.

Although larger companies had a better understanding of their social responsibilities, most did not have a specific department to manage this part of their work, the report said.

It also suggested that Chinese companies should be more active in communicating with local communities and the government should promote the need for social engagement to Chinese companies at every stage of their African ventures.

lilianxing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/16/2013 page8)