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At the beginning of 2020, an unexpected outbreak of the Novel Corona Virus Pandemic in China disturbed the normal life of the whole nation. To fight the epidemic, the Chinese stopped all celebrations for the Lunar New Year and devoted themselves to a fierce and courageous battle.

China YMCAs and YWCAs, as responsible social organizations, didn’t shrink in the midst of the crisis, instead, we unhesitatingly carried out various services to prevent and control the epidemic, combining our advantages in social services and overseas communication.

On January 23, the National Council of YMCAs and YWCAs of China (hereafter referred to as NCY CHINA) launched an initiative Love Our Communities and Fight the Epidemic. Local YMCAs and YWCAs were called on to actively undertake the responsibility in serving the society and dedicate themselves to the prevention and control of the epidemic while taking good self-protection. The initiative received a warm response from all local YMCAs and YWCAs. Board members, staff and volunteers participated in social services to fight the epidemic on the premise of fully guaranteeing their own safety.

So far, China YMCAs and YWCAs have adopted multiple measures to combat the epidemic, including donations, publicity and social services. Moreover, we have provided various services for virus-ridden areas based on our own characteristics,  that is, donating directly to the affected area; assisting overseas organizations or individuals to donate; receiving donations from domestic and overseas organizations or individuals and investing them in epidemic prevention; etc.

Up to February 23, China YMCAs and YWCAs have carried out the following services to the affected areas:

1. China YMCAs and YWCAs donated directly to the affected areas,

In order to fight the epidemic, China YMCAs and YWCAs actively integrated domestic social resources, gave full play to the role of board members, staff and volunteers and was totally committed to epidemic-prevention. The supplies donated by China YMCAs and YWCAs to the affected areas are summarized as follows,

1) Beijing YMCA donated 50,000 RMB to Shiyan, Hubei;

3) Tianjin YWCA donated 10,000 RMB to Wuhan YWCA;

8) Chengdu YWCA donated 23,000 RMB;

9) Nanjing YMCA and YWCA donated 30,000 RMB;

10) Xi'an YMCA donated 13,000 RMB;

11) Xi'an YWCA donated 2,000 RMB;

    14) Xiamen YMCA and YWCA donated 50,000 RMB to Red Cross Society of China Hubei Branch as well as three ambulances worth a total of 623,000 RMB.

As a member of a global movement, China YMCAs and YWCAs always attach importance to friendly communications with YMCAs and YWCAs overseas. Since the epidemic outbreak, many overseas YMCAs and YWCAs lost no time in expressing their concern and sympathy to China YMCAs and YWCAs. Some also  donated money and supplies, which reflects the care and warmth of the Y as an international community.

1) NCY CHINA received 8 letters of support respectively from World YMCA, APAY, YMCA of the USA, National Council of YMCAs of Japan, YWCA of Japan, National Council of the YMCAs of Sri Lanka, Manila Downtown YMCA(Philippines) and National YWCA of Korea. We received 648 masks and 10,006 pieces of cleaning cotton from Japan YWCA, and 10,000 RMB from Manila Downtown YMCA (Philippines);

2) Tianjin YMCA received a letter of sympathy from Kobe YMCA in Japan;

3) Shanghai YMCA and YWCA received 16 letters respectively from organizations and individuals including Gwangju YMCA, APAY, Singapore YMCA, YMCA of the USA, Seattle YMCA, Taiwan Nantou YMCA, and some Korean friends. Shanghai YMCA and YWCA received masks donated by organizations in South Korea and enterprises in Shanghai, with a total value of about 21,600 RMB;

4) Wuhan YMCA received a letter of sympathy from Hiroshima YMCA;

5) Chengdu YMCA and YWCA received letters of sympathy from YMCAs and YWCAs in Japan, the U.S.A and so on, and received masks and protective suits from the U.S.A;

6) Xiamen YMCA received letters of sympathy from Pyeongtaek YMCA in South Korea, Taichung YMCA and Tainan YMCA.

So far, China YMCAs and YWCAs have received a total of 30 letters of sympathy from overseas, and the total value of donated supplies from overseas has exceeded 30,000 RMB.

 

3. Accepting donations from domestic and overseas organizations or individuals to China YMCAs and YWCAs and investing them in epidemic prevention:

China YMCAs and YMCAs are organizations that value love, responsibility and compassion, attaching great importance to heart-to-heart communications with other groups or individuals. During this month, some groups and individuals also made charity donations to China YMCAs and YMCAs:

2) Shanghai YMCA and its affiliated communities received masks donated by South Korean partnership enterprises and also its former staff.

 

4. Other activities:

1) The Young Friends (Qing You) Choir of Beijing YWCA recorded a chorus Blessing to stand for Wuhan;

2) Located at the Epicenter, Wuhan YMCA and YWCA are standing at the front line of epidemic prevention and control. In addition to donations, board members, staff and volunteers of Wuhan YMCA also went to communities to participate in epidemic prevention work. Since some board members are doctors, they devoted themselves unhesitatingly to treating the patients; Wuhan YWCA provided psychological counseling to its members and volunteers;

3) The staff of YMCA and YWCA in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou and some other cities went to communities for joint epidemic prevention; Beijing YWCA and YWCA offered online courses to help targeted group learn skills and knowledge; NCY CHINA, local YMCAs and YWCAs made great efforts in publicity and guidance to help board members, staff, volunteers and members learn the latest and most authoritative about epidemic prevention and control.

 

After the initiative was launched, China YMCAs and YWCAs voluntarily undertook more responsibility in society, soothing and encouraging people with the love of Christ.

According to statistics, in the whole month after the outbreak, China YMCAs and YWCAs fulfilled our commitment as an organization with the Christian background and carried out services in communities, nursing homes and service centers, offering help to thousands of people. We issued more than 900 news reports. More importantly, we received domestic and overseas donations and supplies totaling 3.4 million RMB as well as 30 letters from overseas YMCAs and YWCAs showing solidarity with us.

Due to space limitation, we cannot take down everything in a paper. However, we feel relieved to see a better trend in the prevention and control of the epidemic in China, and we are proud to be able to contribute our efforts in the fight.

However, we are still facing a severe situation in China, and we see the spreading trend of the virus worldwide. We believe that governments of all countries will allocate more resources to strengthen their preparedness for Corona virus, and people around the world will stand in solidarity to fight the epidemic. China YMCAs and YWCAs still need to continue to do a good job in epidemic response and related social services, pay attention to the epidemic development abroad, and carry out more in-depth cooperation with overseas YMCAs and YWCAs.

We pray that the epidemic will be under control in the near future, patients will recover soon, and people can resume their normal lives.