Homes for needy put on hold

By Lu Chen Source:Global Times Published: 2012-11-23 1:00:08

A charity organization in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, which aims to raise 200 million yuan ($32 million) to build 200 apartments for poor households, is now facing difficulties, the organization's founder confirmed to the Global Times.

He Yuliang, founder of Guangzhou Panyu Helping Association for Extremely Poor Households, told the Global Times that the organization aims to provide needy households without property in Panyu district with a free place to live, and is planning to raise the money it needs by 2015.

"The money will be either used to build apartments for poor households or buy apartments for them," He said.

However, the organization is now facing difficulty after it asked the civil affairs bureau of the district for help. "The district bureau would not share any information with us," He said.

The charity organization requires that households it intends to help first be recognized by the district as needy.

The organization will also publish the information of those qualified households for three months on its website and local media.

He said the organization has not yet nailed down plans to obtain the land to build the apartments. "I am not sure whether the local government can allocate a free plot of land to build the apartments for the poor."

"Building homes for the poor is part of the social welfare system. In fact, it is the government's responsibility to build affordable housing," Shi Changkui, a charity expert with the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times, adding that he understands why officials are not willing to share personal details of needy families.

Shi said although the intention is good, it will probably waste charity resources to do something that has already been covered by the social welfare system.

"It is better for charities to do work that the local government has no spare resources to do," said Shi.

He said the organization will publish how it uses the money collected from donations to ensure its transparency. "And giving apartments to poor families will not use up all the donations. The rest of the money will be doled out to schools and children in poor areas in other regions of the country."



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