Badi Foundation, Macau

Founded in 1990, Badi Foundation’s capacity-building programs have served tens of thousands of participants across 13 provinces of China, particularly rural women. This year, due to newly imposed restrictions and regulations on non-profits, they’ve moved to Macau. There, staff and volunteers work with the local schools and organizations to study lessons from the texts of the Moral Empowerment through Language Program with groups of junior youth (aged 12-15). Each of the Program’s texts centers around the story of a youth or group of junior youth from a particular country or region of the world and draws on themes presented in the story to enhance the youth’s understanding of key concepts, such as making persistent effort towards noble goals, maintaining hope in the face of difficulties, protecting the environment and striving for excellence in all things. From 2005 Badi Foundation’s capacity-building initiatives have attracted over 36,000 participants in 13 provinces throughout China who engage in service projects in the areas of agriculture, the environment, public health, nutrition, culture and economic development. Since January, their Moral Empowerment through Language Program has reached 577 junior youth in 4 schools in Macau. One development we are particularly excited about is that, this academic year, the foundation had the opportunity to train older high school students to volunteer as mentors (animators) of junior youth through the Program. Transformation is clearly evident in both the older high school students and the junior youth. Older youth arose to take on responsibility for the development of those younger than themselves, and junior youth eager to share their thoughts about meaningful topics with each other and their animators.