Chinese community gives back

Herald Reporter
The Chinese community is mobilising funds through the China-Africa Economic and Culture Exchange and Research Centre (CAECERC) as part of their intuition of practising the notion of common development.

CAECERC chairman, Mr Steve Zhao confirmed the ongoing initiatives which have been in place for more than five years now – founded by both Zimbabwean and Chinese citizens the aim of the organisation is to serve as a bridge between China and Zimbabwe.

“It is a trust. It is about Zimbabwe’s economic and cultural research centre. We mainly focus on youth programmes and education.

“We offer scholarships, and also we have been mainly supporting artistes to go to destinations like China to help develop their careers, these include musicians and others.

“Also the Zimbabwean culture is very good that it cannot be a preserve of Zimbabweans alone that is why we are helping in marketing it abroad.

“For instance the national dress of Zimbabwe, the fabric. It should be known across the globe and when people wear it they should know we are wearing a Zimbabwean dress,” said Mr Zhao.

Amid concerted efforts to throw spanners in the works through malicious media onslaught against China, improving the livelihoods of communities they operate in remains requisite to Chinese businesspeople operating in Zimbabwe as they continue giving back to societies that have supported their ventures over the years.

Corporate social responsibility comes in many ways, as it is premised on win-win outcomes, with the common good being the ultimate winner, a crucial tenet in Zimbabwe-China relations dating back to the liberation struggle.

“In terms of scholarships, if we get for instance a child from Gweru who wants assistance we would ask Jinan a company that operates in Gweru to assist.

“So our job as a PVO (Private Voluntary Organisation) is to identify those in need and we ask companies to assist,” said Mr Zhao.

“We have students we are supporting in all of the country’s ten universities and others are in China. For example, we can request a company to pay fees for 10 students.”