China Earthquake Appeal

25 Sep 2008

In May 2008 we set up a Caring Fund in Asia, the US and the UK to help the victims of the China earthquake. Employees throughout the world made contributions into the fund which, combined with double-matching by business units, amassed a total of £426,420 (US$852,000).

The Caring Fund - US and UK
The US and UK Caring fund totalled £52,308 (US$103,000) and was channelled to UNICEF’s China Earthquake Children’s Appeal. It was used to purchase classroom tents, ‘school in the box’ kits, ambulances, water purification tablets and other health and sanitary ware for local children.

The Caring Fund - Asia
In Prudential Corporation Asia, contributions from Regional Head Office in Hong Kong as well as from employees and agents across the region, totalled US$749,000 and, following a thorough review, two partner organisations in China were selected to provide relief aid and support to those areas in Sichuan most affected by the earthquake.

The two programmes, profiled below, build on Prudential Corporation Asia’s Corporate Social Responsibility commitments, focused on children and education:

Building a Library in Pengzhou, Sichuan
Prudential is partnering with local education authorities in Pengzhou County, Sichuan, to build a new school library. A combined grammar and middle school is now being constructed for 1,300 students. Currently, students are educated in mobile Red Cross classrooms as the original school was destroyed in the earthquake.

In addition to contributing funds to build the library building, Prudential is also providing continued support through annual book donations.

Supporting “Classroom in the Air”
“Classroom in the Air” is an initiative to provide televised teaching to children in remote areas or disaster zones.

Prudential is purchasing over 500 satellite receivers so that temporary classrooms in Sichuan can gain access to the broadcasts and provide continued learning opportunities for children in the affected areas.

To launch the initiative, colleagues from Prudential Corporation Asia and CITIC-Prudential Life joined over 1,300 school students already benefiting from “Classroom in the Air”

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