Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation Explained

The Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation (CYSFF) is a Hong Kong-administered charitable institution established in 2003 by the Chen family, with a dual focus on childhood literacy and vision correction - two fields central to the educational development of people throughout their lives. CYSFF works closely with a variety of non-profit organizations to help them implement "innovative" and "cost effective" programs.

Concept

The Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation is predominantly a grant-making institution, which backs long-term projects. The Foundation also initiates its own projects and research, and works with non-profit organisations to improve their effectiveness.

Since its inception, CYSFF has worked on around 95 projects in high-need areas in China, Hong Kong and Ghana. The Foundation's grant-making started in Qidong County, Jiangsu Province, the ancestral home of the Chen family.

Notable projects

Childhood literacy projects supported by the foundation include:

• Bring Me A Book Hong Kong (BMABHK), which provides libraries with quality children's books and read aloud training to parents and teachers in Hong Kong.^[1]
• The Feng Zikai Chinese Children's Picture Book Award, which gives awards to Chinese children's picture book writers, illustrators and publishers. It aims to promote the importance of early childhood literacy and to encourage the growth of children’s picture books in China.^[2]
• The Stone Soup Happy Reading Alliance (SSHRA) focusses on instilling China’s youth with a love on reading, stressing that schools should offer children a wide variety of books, scheduled reading time, and engaged teaching staff who share a passion for reading.^[3]

Vision correction and eyecare projects include:

• Vision For A Nation (VFAN), which led to the provision of free screening and treatment from nurses in basic local clinics in Rwanda, making it the first developing country in the world to provide affordable eye care for all.^[4]
• Clearly, a campaign to educate the public and world leaders about the scale and implications of the global problem of poor vision, which led to the founding of the UN Friends of Vision group.^[5] In July 2021, the UN unanimously passed a resolution pledging universal access to eyecare by 2030.^[6] Ambassador Rabab Fatima of Bangladesh introduced the legislation on behalf of the Friends of Vision group.^[7]
• The 2021 ENGINE trials, co-funded by the Wellcome Trust, which is a five-year research project exploring the connection between vision care and development.^[8]

See also

• Venture philanthropy
• Literacy
• Qidong City

External links

• The Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation website
• Bring Me A Book Hong Kong website
• Feng Zikai Children's Picture Book Award website
• Stone Soup Happy Reading Alliance website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Donate to Bring Me a Book Hong Kong Charitable Choice. 2020-11-23. www.charitablechoice.org.hk. 2020-11-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20201130113121/https://www.charitablechoice.org.hk/en/charities/bring-me-a-book. dead.
2. Web site: Global audience for Chinese language picture books - China.org.cn. 2020-11-23. www.china.org.cn.
3. Web site: What Other Countries Do Right When It Comes to Reading – Read Brightly. 2021-08-04. www.readbrightly.com.
4. Web site: What philanthropy can do to fight pandemics and future health crises – World Economic Forum. 2021-08-04. www.weforum.com.
5. Web site: James Chen: Why I am a 'catalytic' philanthropist - Spear's. 2021-08-04. www.spearswms.com.
6. Web site: UN adopts first resolution on vision, aims to help 1 billion - The Associated Press. 2021-08-04. www.apnews.com.
7. Web site: First UN resolution on vision impairment, introduced by Bangladesh, adopted unanimously - The Daily Star. 2021-08-04. www.thedailystar.net.
8. Web site: First Global Research Program Devoted to Vision and Sustainable Development Goals Is Launching - Vision Monday. 2021-08-04. www.visionmonday.com.