１ＫＧ：Ｔｈｅ Ｊｏｙ ｏｆ Ｇｉｖｉｎｇ

ＺＥＮＧ　ＳＨＡＮ

1KG has become a popular charitable program among backpackers in recent years. The project calls on self-reliant travelers to bring along with them an additional kilo of books or stationery for distribution to impoverished schools and children at their destinations. Participants are called 1KGers on the Net.

Anyone Can Do it

The initiatives brainchild is a young man by the name of Yu Zhihai, or as he is known on the Internet, Andrew. He once worked as an advertising agent and a Webmaster. But he loves traveling, and it was while visiting remote regions that he found himself moved by the poverty he observed. Many people who feel called to help the poor choose to work as country teachers, ordonate money or clothes to those less fortunate than themselves. This former NGO volunteer decided to try a new approach.

He believes that anyone, whether rich or poor, can do something for the less well-off – and for anyone who enjoys backpacking, it happens to be very easy to do. And so, the idea of 1KG was born by calling on independent tourists to do something affordable for others while traveling.

The main principle 1KG suggests participants follow is: Travel first, charity second. So far, the project has helped some 200 schools in 23 provinces with basic supplies, mainly in western provinces such as Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan and Guizhou. For backpackers, it is a wonderful gesture that helps locals, while they get to enjoy the unique countryside.

And these more modest charity drives have been attracting a growing number of independent travelers, with more than 10,000 people already having registered on 1KGs official Website.

Communication Better Than Giving

“Material scarcity can be overcome – the real problem is a lack of innovative ideas and access to the latest information,” a village teacher once told Andrew, prompting him to rethink the project.

Despite limited resources and funding, village schools usually have at least one two-story classroom building. Teachers, however, are always in short supply, and a primary school located in a typical town usually has no more than 10 teachers in all.

“The students of six grades are divided into two classes, because they have only three teachers,” Andrew said, “and one of them is probablyleaving soon.”

The scarcity of teachers in the local school astonished Boluo when she traveled to Leishan County in Guizhou Province. Students there, she noticed, have few extracurricular reading materials, not to mention ways of keeping up with the outside world.

Increasingly, Andrew and his friends found that face-to-face communication meant more to rural children than textbooks or writing materials. As a result, “Communication first, books second” became the second guiding principle for 1KGers.

“We try to be these childrens friends,” Andrew said, describing how the rethink was approved and adopted by the groups members. For example, 1KGers now usually bring along some postage paid envelopes for the children so they can keep in touch.

The result is a happy fit, because the children are eager to communicate with outsiders, and the backpackers enjoy sharing the letters they receive with fellow 1KG members.

“Before, I didnt know much about life, ” wrote a boy named Haiying in Guizhou to Boluo. “You helped me see that I have a long way to go, and gave me self-confidence.”

1KG participants are under no illusion that they can eliminate poverty or improve the educational system. Instead, they try to sow the seeds of hope by talking to the children, and then nurturing friendships through letters. The hope of changing a childs life is drawing more and more people to become involved in the project.

A Charity Matures

“It was such a happy trip – it exceeded my expectations,” Wang Xiumei said excitedly, recalling her first expedition in May 2007, when she took part in one of several trips organized by 1KG to southeastern Guizhou, and northern Guangxi. She and 30 other tourists from around the country met up in Guangxi and set off.

“We kept talking about the charity, and were taking ourselves very seriously, ” Wang said with a laugh. “Then our guide told us to relax, even though we found it hard to do.”

But as the trip progressed, it became a pleasant, happy excursion. Wang said she greatly enjoyed the beautiful scenery and her companions. The face-to-face talks with children she met on the way opened her eyes to the nature of charity work.

“Kids are always smiling, and people are friendly to one another. It seems we get more from the one-to-one communication,” she said.

1KG continues to send out appeals for independent acts of charity. Most of the time, it gets in touch with schools that need help, and then passes the information along to backpackers planning a trip to a given region.

It also provides participants with an Internet platform to share their experiences or ideas with one another. Relying on individual testimonies, the program runs at almost no cost.

“We are a service provider, not a manager,” said Zhao Han, a guide in 1KGs Beijing branch. “We focus on improving our services and platform, and we cater to the needs of independent travelers.”

“Happy Charity” is now a popular and self-sustaining notion with independent tourists, but 1KG still organizes group trips occasionally to attract more attention from ordinary people.

Following years of rapid growth, 1KG has now developed into a mature movement. The freedom and joy of the open road remain its key selling points, but Andrew and his two friends are already busy setting even more ambitious goals.

They turned their charitable work into a full-time job in 2006, and plan to set up a non-profit organization. Aside from his efforts on behalf of 1KG, Andrew also regularly visits venture companies in search of opportunities for cooperation. They hope to raise additional funds through various public interest commercial ventures, and then to launch further projects, like the TwinBooks and the Village Hostel initiatives that focus more on educational and economic improvements in rural areas.

“The new projects are different, but they share 1KGs core concept–Happy Charity,” said Zhao Han, who is now in charge of the Village Hostel project.