According to State Statistics Bureau, there were 225,420,000 migrant workers across the country till the end of December 2008. Over 60% of them are working away from home, as waiters, construction workers, security guards, etc.

Most of the migrant workers are under-paid, have no proper insurance,  and are often asked to work overtime on a regular basis.

And the most difficult decision for them to make is whether they should take their family with them or just leave them behind.

It seems neither option is good enough, especially for their kids. Due to lack of support, fund, and general public awareness, the migrant and left-behind rural youths are having serious difficulties in receiving proper education. For those who came to the big cities with their parents, no proper schools are willing to accept them without paying an extra fee, and they have to move with their parents whenever they switch jobs.  They find it hard to make friends because they never stay at one place for long enough. For those who are left behind with their grand parents, the lack of parenthood also brings serious problems to their mental health. They generally have low self-esteem and are more vulnerable to harms. According to statistics, the number of juvenile crimes in recent years is increasing by 13% each year.

Established by Judy Shen in 2005, CAI is an organization that helps the migrant and left-behind youth in China restoring their confidence through various arts and sports programs. Sponsored in the media by CityWeekend, CAI recently launched the Meals that Matter campaign – a fundraising campaign intended to generate proceeds for the benefit of the character-building, arts and athletics programs CAI runs for the many migrant and displaced rural youth in the Beijing area. They have teamed with many selected restaurants all over the city in launching initiatives encouraging awareness of not just good dining, but also the empowerment of children in need.

At customers’ requests, our ¥5 initiative adds donations of ¥5 to their restaurant bills. In appreciation of this simple gesture of support, we offer bookmarks designed by the children in CAI’s Arts Programs. Our newly-created Voucher Booklet Initiative assembles a hefty collection of discount vouchers, donated by roughly fifty of the city’s top dining establishments. With the proceeds of these voucher booklets (sold for 299 RMB apiece) and the ¥5 initiative, CAI hopes to be able to purchase program sports equipment and art supplies, fund teacher-training programs in rural China, and support the establishment of our Promise School for gifted, rural students.

So when you go out dinning next time in Beijing, please demonstrate your charitable efforts through supporting the Meals that Matter campaign. Every penny you help to raise strengthens the awareness and thus effectiveness of CAI’s campaigns, helping them to improve young lives in China.

Be a part of the Beijing community for the good cause!

Photos courtesy of DonDomingo, stelzer, dongdawei, Chen Xuanyi,and CAI.

So they came to the train stations hours or even days earlier in order to get a good spot in the queue. But sometimes the chance of getting a ticket is still slim.

A cardboard left at a ticket office at Beijing Railway Station, it says “I’m the first, I came here yesterday”.

People waiting in the queue was not as many as I imagined. But some were still reluctant to leave before the next batch of tickets was released.

Chun Yun (Transport during the Spring Festival period) in China is one of the biggest movements of people on earth. It is estimated to be 2.32 billion person-time travel around the country by various means during this year’s Spring Festival.

Thanks to the Internet, complaints regarding the difficulties of buying train tickets have brought the attention of the central government. Mr. Hu Jintao issued a special order to solve the problems.

Then, Deputy Director of the State Railway Department, Wang Zhiguo, made a public apology on TV.

Regarding the Ticket Office Scandal video (a video showing a railway personnel suspicious of selling bulk tickets to ticket scalpers), he said “there was a misunderstanding, but it has hurt our passengers’ feelings”.

According to Southern Daily, one of the few newspapers that have some independent journalistic spirit, a Real Name System can fundamentally solve the problem. But the Railway Department refuses to implement such a system because of technical difficulties. Whereas our neighbor India has already done that 70 years ago.

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