AAL China staff across its Shanghai, Beijing, and Qingdao offices have raised money through sponsorship of physical training activity for the Labu Hope Primary School in Yongning Town, Lijiang City, in the Yunnan Province of China. The funds raised enabled AAL’s team to purchase and donate school uniforms, bed sheets, quilts, pillows, and stationery. The Labu Hope Primary School, part of the nationwide Project Hope initiative, is located 3,000 kilometres from Shanghai in a remote mountain region, where 120 underprivileged local children are provided with safe accommodation and an education.

Project Hope is a Chinese public service project launched in 1989 to build schools in poverty-stricken rural areas of China, providing disadvantaged children an elementary school education. Project Hope also seeks to improve the quality of teaching facilities and standards across the country.

Jack Zhou, General Manager of AAL China, explained, “For the past few months, AAL has been running a staff project to get fit after the extended COVID-19 lockdowns, called ‘The AAL Amazing Race Around the Globe’, where each team member had access to an exercise tracking app to log runs, walks, cycle rides, and more. As part of the initiative, AAL Management is donating money for every kilometre run by staff to a local charity selected by each regional office.

“AAL has been active in China since 1996 and we are part of the fabric of this society, with all our team raised and educated locally. We could think of no more worthwhile beneficiary for the charitable funds raised by AAL China than the Labu Hope Primary School and the well-being and education of our most vulnerable children. At this time of the year, when the cold sets in, we wanted to ensure that the children had plenty of warm clothing, bedding, and school supplies.”