World Vision to contribute to a shared future

A community with a shared future for mankind is a very big vision that Chinese President Xi Jinping has laid out. Kevin Jenkins, president and CEO of World Vision International, told China.org.cn when he attended the Second World Philanthropy Forum that was jointly organized by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and Tsinghua University in Beijing on November 29, 2017.

“Probably no country in the world has brought more people out of poverty than China has,” said Jenkins. “China probably has a bigger role to play than most countries in realizing [United Nations] Sustainable Development Goals.”

Over the past 30 years, China has lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty and aims to eliminate poverty in all poor counties and regions by 2020.

“That’s a very ambitious goal. 2020 is 3 years away, and China has shown the impact of targeted reductions. There’s a reasonable chance with determination and a very good plan for China to eliminate extreme poverty.” Jenkins said.

The report to the 19th CPC National Congress emphasized that China will continue to advance poverty reduction drawing on the joint efforts of government, society, and the market. For Jenkins, the government is wise to bring NGOs and the private sector to be part of the solution to poverty alleviation. He added that the government cannot realize the goal of eliminating poverty by 2020 on its own. It is necessary to build the capacity of domestic NGOs and create some additional opportunity for international NGOs.

“It’s important to recognize that most of the domestic NGOs have almost no experience in working with other countries,” said Jenkins. “They don’t know the regulatory environment and don’t have professionalism.” International NGOs, such as World Vision, can bring these things to the domestic ones, he claimed.

He said China is ready to share its experience with the rest of the world, citing China’s targeted poverty alleviation as one example.

When asked what kind of work the World Vision will do in China in the future, he said that China is making a difference along the Belt and Road.

“We hope to be part of the initiative and learn about China’s experience in development and poverty reduction to share and implement them in other countries,” he said.