Chi Heng Foundation
The Chi Heng Foundation (CHF) is a Hong Kong-based non-governmental organisation dedicated to addressing children impacted by AIDS and also to AIDS prevention and education. Established in 1998, the NGO has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Anhui and, especially,[1] Henan. The organisation attracted notice in China in 2004 when it helped Shanghai's Fudan University organise a graduate level class on the subject of homosexuality, the first such class in the country.[2]
Mission[edit]
The organisation provides assistance to children who have a parent with HIV/AIDS or have lost a parent to AIDS since 2002 or who are themselves infected. CHF operates under the premise that these children are best served by being raised within their communities in conjunction with children not impacted by HIV/AIDS, allowing them to avoid social stigma and to better integrate into their communities as adults. The primary avenue through which CHF attempts to assist children is financial, in funding educational and living expenses.[citation needed]
The organisation also supports the tongzhi population both in HIV/AIDS education and prevention and in promoting sexual minority rights.[3] In addition to working directly with the community, the organisation educates the owners of saunas and brothels.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ Harper, Damian; Steve Fallon; Katja Gaskell; Julie Grundvig; Carolyn Heller; Thomas Huhti; Bradley Mayhew (2005). China. Lonely Planet. p. 54. ISBN 1-74059-687-0.
It is especially active in Hénán Province, working with students whose parents are dying or have died of AIDS.
- ^ Malti-Douglas, Fedwa (2007). Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender. Vol. 1. Macmillan Reference. p. 281. ISBN 978-0-02-865961-9. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
In 2004 Fudan University's medical college, in cooperation with the Chi Heng Foundation, organized the mainland's first class on homosexuality. The graduate health course attracted considerable media attention, despite enrolling only three students.
- ^ United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (2003). "HIV/AIDS: Prevention, Care and Support : Stories from the Community". United Nations Publications. p. 2012. ISBN 92-1-120165-9. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
- ^ Locked Doors: The Human Rights of People Living with HIV/AIDS in China. Human Rights Watch. 2003. p. 73.
Chi Heng works with saunas and brothel owners to hold HIV/AIDS education projects and to distribute AIDS information, as well as doing one-on-one counseling and education with sex workers.