Under the schedule of State Council, in early 1995 ICBC started working to help the poor in Nanjiang County, Tongjiang County and Dazhou's Wanyuan City located in Sichuan's Qinba Hillyland. Over the course of 17 years, ICBC sent 70+ senior staff to Nanjiang County, Tongjiang County and Wanyuan City to address the "four problems" (transportation, education, drinking water, medical care) for the people in need. ICBC subsidiaries and staff have donated either money or in-kind worth more than RMB 80 million to bring quality education and medical facilities to the disadvantaged group. Moreover, ICBC has provided loans of about RMB 300 million to support the poverty alleviation programs there. The Bank has been successful in "alleviating poverty through education, technology, sanitary improvement, green initiatives, projects and disaster relief efforts" and makes own contribution to help the poor on the road to riches and improve the poverty-stricken areas.

Alleviating Poverty through Technology - Help Villagers out of Poverty

Wanyuan City is a key poverty alleviation county in Qinba Hillyland specified by State, also the target old revolutionary base area designated by Sichuan province for poverty alleviation work. Since 2006, ICBC donates more than RMB 1.4 million to support Wanyuan's farming and animal husbandry in a bid to help the Wanyuan farmers rise out of poverty, improve ecological environment, drive progress and shorten the gap. ICBC works with Heifer International to give livestock, training and services to small farmers in Wanyuan Baisha Town (Wangchuanba Village, Qinglongzui Village) and Hualou Township (Maanshan Village, Sanbaoxi Village and Dongjialiang Village). ICBC poverty alleviation action officers follow up the progress, visit the counties, townships and villages under the sponsorship of ICBC, and discuss with Heifer International staff the next step. As of today, ICBC has donated money and in-kind totaling more than RMB 4.6 million to provide 3,500 black chickens, 300 sows, 140 calf-bearing cows for 262 farmers and families. The project has contributed significantly in terms of economic, ecological and community development.

The training helps farmers change their management of the breeding stock. I. Farmers are now able to give fodder and clean drinking water to the livestock in fixed intervals, fixed amount, fixed quality, and keep the breeding farms clean, good ventilation, good lighting. The animals now stay in a nice environment to breed. II. Inject vaccine for the animals to protect them from future disease. III. Kill stomach bugs in animals. IV. Non-pollution livestock breeding. V. Get the cows bred during the mating season. VI. Help the cows to give birth and take care of the baby cows, and VII. Take measures to prevent the old courtyard black chickens from being infected in case of epidemic.

The project brought new changes to the community with drastic changes in living environment and sanitary conditions. Livestock barns/poultry houses have been refurbished. Livestock and poultry are raised in a better environment. Under the project, 550 livestock barns/poultry houses covering an area of 4,400 square meters have been refurbished or newly built. They provide a good living environment for the livestock - good ventilation, dry, clean, good lighting and warm. Farmers now understand more about environmental protection. They plant 3,600+ trees, grass, forage grass in spring to over 260 mu. Animal wastes are turned into biogas, or purified for planting, in order to reduce pollution and protect the ecological environment. The courtyards are clean, the villages are beautiful, the farmers are happy.

More important, the project makes some villagers get rich first. They take the lead to help the whole village on the road to riches. Three batches of black chickens have been passed to 210 farmers in five years. Calf-bearing cows have been passed to 70 farmers. Best sows have been passed to 200 farmers. Farmers see their income rise considerably. Farmers in Baisha Town raise 9,000+ old courtyard black chickens and earn more than RMB 1 million since the start of the program. Every year, each farmer family earns at least RMB 1,200 more on average. Farmers in Hualou Township have raised 284 cows giving birth to 142 calves, and earned over RMB 550,000 by selling the beef. On average, each cow breeding family earns at least RMB 3,200.

Alleviating Poverty through Green Initiatives - Build New Types of Villages

Previous years of efforts are good reference for ICBC to seek new approaches for "Alleviating poverty through green initiatives". First, ICBC discussed with the local governments to take 10+ villages in Chenhe Township of Tongjiang County, Changchi Town of Nanjiang County and Chaya Township of Wanyuan City to run a pilot. Starting from 2008, ICBC invested RMB 8 million to build nearly a thousand biogas pools and start massive renovations on the facilities (roads, courtyards, kitchens, toilets, corrals, dams) to create different ecological home models as "husbandry, biogas, orchard", "husbandry, biogas, vegetable", "husbandry, biogas, foodstuff". Moreover, ICBC's green initiatives have played a role to drive the rebuild of key villages and construction of unique agricultural bases. ICBC green initiatives offer numerous benefits: reduce pollution on agricultural products from insecticide/chemical fertilizer, relieve the workload of farmers, protect the ecological environment of the villagers, improve the living conditions for the farmers and livestock, support "green" agricultural products and resources recycling. To conclude, ICBC green initiatives have contributed significantly in terms of economic, ecological and community development. In 2011, based on the pilots in early phase, ICBC invested RMB 1.34 million for building 200 new biogas pools and renovations of kitchens, corrals and toilets in Linjia Village, Changchi Town, Nanjiang County and Chaya Township, Wanyuan City. This green initiative is to improve the sanitary conditions of the new villages in line with the poverty alleviation plan and land development drawn up by the local governments. ICBC invested RMB 660,000 to start a green project to run a green economy of "forages – breeding - energy – fertilizer – planting" in Chenhe Township, Tongjiang County for farmers to plant white fungus and build the plant houses. The ultimate aim is to help farmers generate income in sustainable ways and get out of the poverty.

Worthy of note is that, ICBC donated RMB 1.2 million to support local governments' new village planning and development of whole villages, and worked with China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation on the "Bridge project". ICBC provided funding for 15 villages. Each village builds a bridge for the school children and villagers to go out during flood periods. ICBC also donated RMB 350,000 to patch cement on the nearly 2,000-meter village roads in Zhouziping Village in Minsheng Town. New road has been named by the villagers as "ICBC Road for the Villagers". Meanwhile, ICBC also donated RMB 100,000 for the "Five Changes and Three Constructions" (Five Changes: changes to road, water, electricity, living conditions, ecological environment; Three Constructions: build an industry leading to wealth, build a well-off home, build an harmonious society) to the new villages in Shiling Village, Nuojiang Town of Tongjiang County and Jiaojiahe Village, Wushan Town of Nanjiang County. To address the living conditions of the people in old areas, ICBC donated RMB 300,000 to help the people there in drinking water, transportation, medical care and schooling.

Alleviating Poverty through Education - Love, Care and Hope

Ran Qishun is a senior high school student of Sichuan's Wanyuan City Secondary High School. In 2011, Ran Qishun got 522 scores in college entrance examination and was admitted to Nanjing Normal University. Ran Qishun is a typical unfortunate child in the eyes of Wanyuan villagers. Ran Jilong, the father of Ran Qishun, is a disabled person (level 3) suffering from polio. Ran's mother died when Ran was about three years old. Today, mother has been left out of Ran's memory totally. To Ran Jilong, the son is the only hope since the death of wife. He understands that he is disabled. He cannot go outside to work to earn a living for the family just like most of the men in the village. He can only work on the field to make ends meet. His biggest concern, also the biggest problem, is to let his son to go to school happily, just like the other children. Over the course of more than a decade, Ran Jilong uses his only one healthy leg and hand to face the vexed realities of life and tries all means to let Ran Qishun enjoy a life like all others at his age. The admission notice from the Nanjing Normal University is good news to the father, yet all the fees are something that he has no solution. At last, the RMB 5,000 from ICBC helps the father and son, helps Ran Qishun open a new chapter of his life, and more, helps Ran Jilong, a common but a great father, need not worry any longer. When being asked about his future, Ran Qishun answered his most plain wish as a son, "Study hard, finish the university in four years, get a job and let father live a good life".

More touching stories can be heard from the impoverished university students sponsored by ICBC. "To eliminate the poor, change their thinking first; To help the poor, educate them first". To this end, ICBC has donated RMB 14 million to subsidize the poor students in Nanjiang County, Tongjiang County and Dazhou's Wanyuan City.

Since 2003, ICBC organized "ICBC Outstanding Village Teachers Program" for nine consecutive years and "ICBC Assistance Program to Impoverished University Students with Academic Promise" for eight years at these poverty-stricken areas. Each year, under the two programs, each of the 60-200 outstanding village teachers and impoverished university students receives RMB 1,000 and RMB 5,000 accordingly. As of today, ICBC has sponsored 550 outstanding village teachers and 790 impoverished university students to a total of RMB 4.5 million. The programs raise the concern from the society on the deprived students and village teachers and have been very well-received by the local governments and the people. Meanwhile, excellent high school students are also target of ICBC's assistance program. ICBC works with the China Foundation of Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) and donates RMB 900,000 to start the "New Great Wall High School Self-Improvement Class". A total of 150 first-year high school students (50 students from each county) who come from impoverished families with outstanding academic performance are selected for the program. Each student will receive a grant of RMB 1,800 a year for three consecutive years to finish their high school education, a good opportunity for their bright future.

Since 2002, ICBC has provided around RMB 4 million to the poverty-stricken areas for 9 new Hope Schools, renovation of teaching buildings, dormitories and playgrounds and improvement in teaching conditions. ICBC funds are strong support for local governments to implement compulsory education. During the past 10-odd years, ICBC provides funding to address the shortage of teaching facilities in poverty-stricken areas. Under ICBC sponsorship, five secondary and primary schools start multi-media remote e-learning, 600 beds, nearly 33,000 school supply items, 20,000+ free books worth more than RMB 3 million have helped the schools improve teaching conditions. In 2003, ICBC donated 28 sets of Hope School Library and book shelves worth more than RMB 80,000 to 10 schools including Tongjiang Experimental Primary School and Bixi Township Primary School. In 2010, ICBC joined the "2010 Initiative to Give Concern to the Students in Disastrous Areas and Impoverished Areas in the Country" organized by China Foundation of Poverty Alleviation. ICBC donated RMB 356,000 and distributed 3,001 "Care" stationery kits (134 stationery items for learning class, art class and handicraft class in one kit), 690+ sets of class desks and chairs to primary schools in the poverty-stricken areas. The donation improves the learning and dormitory conditions, and brings the warmth and concern from the society to the primary students.

Meanwhile, ICBC launched the "Sweet Little Kitchen" program. In the afternoon, school children cannot go back home after school due to inconvenient transportation. Yet the village schools are shortage of funds to set up kitchen facilities. A number of primary and secondary school students in poverty-stricken areas do not have lunch. In the end, this affects their learning and health. In view of this, ICBC donated RMB 1.8 million for 48 schools to set up kitchen facilities, buy tables, chairs and tableware for the students to have lunch. 40,000+ students are benefited from the ICBC program.

Alleviating Poverty through Sanitary Improvement - Medical Solution for General Folks

Zhang Min, 21 years old, home address: No.1, Liujiaoya Village of Ganchang Town. Love Card No.: MYNJ201004179—49, is a mother under the "Happy Mother & Child 120 Program" sponsored by ICBC and China Foundation of Poverty Alleviation. Zhang Min's home is located in the mountainous area of only 0.5 mu arable land per capita. Zhang Min lives in a family of four. Her father suffers from lung cancer and spends over RMB 70,000 on medical treatment in West China Hospital, Bazhong People's Hospital and local hospital. Most of the money is borrowed from the relatives or neighbors. Zhang's family is reduced to dire poverty and heavily in debt. Besides, this time Zhang Min was pregnant with twins. She was checked to have high blood pressure when she was five months pregnant. Her two legs were so swollen that she cannot walk properly. Before giving birth, Zhang Min has been in the county-level hospitals for medical treatment four times. Her parents sold whatever it can sell in the house to help. The dire situation cannot afford Zhang Min to go for medical treatment anymore.

On April 16, 2010, Zhang Min gave birth to two baby girls at the Nanjiang Maternal and Child Care Service Center. The younger baby girl got wet lung and was sent for immediate treatment and recovered 2 days later. The medical bill was RMB 3,574. Rural Cooperative reimbursed RMB 1,603, RMB 400 as a subsidy for pregnant women from rural village giving birth, RMB 540 from "Happy Mother & Child 120 Program" and RMB 1,031 paid by Zhang Min were all reimbursed by the hospital. "Thanks to government, thanks to ICBC, thanks to China Foundation of Poverty Alleviation, thanks to the doctors and nurses in Nanjiang Maternal and Child Care Service Center. I will tell my two daughters to remember those who help us. Peace to all of you", said Yue Wen, Zhang Min's husband, who was totally overwhelmed by the sincere help from all.

A total of RMB 1.2 million has been put into "Happy Mother & Child 120 Program" as of today, said an ICBC executive. ICBC funds have sponsored 2,000 mothers and newborns in Nanjiang County, Tongjiang County and Wanyuan City. Each sponsored mother receives an "ICBC-China Foundation of Poverty Alleviation Love Card" for the sponsored family to understand the program. ICBC receives wide recognition from all on the program.

The "Happy Mother & Child 120 Program" is only an epitome of ICBC's efforts in alleviating poverty through sanitary improvement. Since 2002, ICBC has donated more than RMB 9.8 million to help the poor in poverty-stricken areas to get medical treatment and improve the backward medical facilities in the areas. Over 4.2 million has been used for building standard clinics in 6 towns in Tongjiang and Nanjiang, 8 "Sanitary Stations" in Quanxiba Village, Baiyang Township of Wanyuan City, Wowodian Village in Qinghua Town, Pingchang Village in Taiping Town, and Shiliping Village, Xindian Township. ICBC also provided funding for renovation of Outpatient Clinic Building in Nuoshuihe Bohai Hospital, 2,960 square meters of new medical rooms and 20 new beds. Over 100,000 farmers are benefited from these new medical facilities. To improve the backward medical facilities, ICBC has donated 4 ambulances, medical equipment and pharmaceutical drugs to the poverty-stricken areas totaling more than RMB 2.7 million. Meanwhile, ICBC donated RMB 1.7 million to the "ICBC Helping the Blind", a program launched in collaboration with the China Foundation for Disabled Person. Under the program, 1,700 impoverished cataract patients from the three counties (cities) were relieved and had their second sight after surgery.