Culture

Nonprofit leader strives to help elderly Chinese people

By Jenelle Whittaker (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-27 07:51

Wang Xiaoyan (right) found her vocation fighting for the rights and social welfare of the elderly in China. [Provided to China Daily]

Wang Xiaoyan always wanted to make life better for others. Armed with a master's of business administration degree and experience working in corporate America, she felt she was equipped to help China, her mother country, create a fairer and just society.

Healthy and relaxed, Wang laughs as she describes herself as a person defecting from the corporate world to the nonprofit world.

She had a comfortable life in the United States working as an analyst for large companies, easy access to a green card, with she could see herself raising a family.

The decision to return to China and establish a nonprofit organization caused her many hardships and much frustration, but Wang is adamant she won't go back to the corporate world.

Originally from Ningbo, on the east coast of China, Wang spent five years in New York completing a master's of business administration at Columbia University.

She first started working in mid-sized US companies before progressing to work for a few Fortune 500 companies.

"I wanted to gain vision from working at a higher level. At first, I was excited but over time, with personal growth and the nature of the work in corporations, I decided that it was not in my blood to work for a company. I didn't feel passionate about corporate profit making."

Disillusioned, Wang went back to China in 2005 to join China's emerging nonprofit section.

"When I returned, China was in a transition socially and economically. I wanted to be a part of this big historic change," she said.

In 2006, Wang founded Community Alliance, a public interest organization advocating for the rights and social welfare of elderly Chinese people.

"Four years ago, Community Alliance was one of the few organizations working to protect the rights of the elderly," she said.

"Population aging is going to grow more problematic. It is going to make a big impact on China, socially, economically and even politically."

Like most nonprofit managers in Beijing, Wang faces many challenges in fundraising. Covering operation costs and staff wages is a monthly struggle.

"Often, grant money can only be spent on projects and not on staff salaries or operational costs. But it is a contradiction because without people, how can you expect a project to be completed and achieved."

Many of her classmates from her Columbia days who are now investment bankers and financial officers making "loads" of money have suggested she should rejoin the corporate sector or work for a foundation. She is not persuaded.

"Working here can't compare financially with what I earned in my past work. I gave up a nicely paid job, but no matter how difficult and frustrating the job is [in China] I don't want to get confused and end up working for a foreign firm or foundation," Wang said. "I don't want to feel like I am going in circles."

But what worries Wang more is that many people lack correct knowledge of genuine charity.

"The conception of charity for most Chinese people is to volunteer and donate on one occasion for example, rushing to a disaster area. They don't see it as a consistent and necessary part of society," she said.

"Charity itself is like the aging service sector. It needs to be developed and needs more professional regulations," said Wang.