Updates on China Partners Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Amity Foundation

In January 2020,  Global Ministry has joined an ecumenical effort to provide much-needed medical supplies to China through one of the mission partners Amity foundation, which is an independent Chinese organization founded in 1985 on the initiative of Chinese Christians.These medical supplies have been delivered to over 300 hospitals, medical centers, and more than 100 communities and township-level organizations in 14 cities, 1 autonomous prefecture and 3 counties in Hubei and Jiangsu Province. 

Besides the medical supplies, on March 22, the Guarding Angel project of Amity Foundation officially came to an end. During the 42 days of implementation, the project provided 141,785 meals, 230 cases of tinned milk, 540 small cakes and 7 big cakes for front-line medical workers in 17 cities across the country. 

As confirmed cases in China are continuously decreasing in March, Amity Foundation begins to provide supplies to overseas countries. On March 23rd, the first shipment from Amity Foundation  – 10,000 surgical masks and 50,000 disposable masks – were loaded and shipped to Shibuya District, Tokyo, Japan, which is the main venue for the Tokyo Olympics. On March 27th, Ms. Kimiyo Matsuzaki, the Chinese-Japanese friendship ambassador, handed over the supplies on behalf of Amity to locals. 

On March 25, Amity Foundation cooperated with Jinde Charities, a Catholic charity in China,  to donate emergency medical protective materials, including 500,000 disposable surgical masks, plus other protective suits, regular masks, and goggles, to countries with severe epidemics, such as Italy, Spain, and Germany. 

On March 30, Amity Foundation shipped 10,000 masks and 2,000 protective suits to Amity’s Philippines partner KAISA. 

China Christian Council 

In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, from January until now,  the Churches in China have temporarily closed and discouraged congregational activities and changed it to online worship and all students of the seminaries and Bible Schools stayed at home to participate in their online classes. 

Between February 2nd and 11th, China Christian Council (CCC) and National Committee of Three-self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China (TSPM)) corporated with Amity Foundation to donate medical protective materials and ventilators to the hospitals in Wuhan and other major cities in Hubei province. They also sent disinfectant for the communities in Hubei to spray through the streets to prevent the virus. 

In responding to the calling of CCC and TSPM, the local churches and individuals have been committed to working together with communities to share the social responsibilities and generously donated supplies and money to the areas most affected by the coronavirus. 

Hubei Provincial Christian Council and Mid-South Theological Seminary in Wuhan played an important role as a transfer station of medical supplies which were sent by local churches in China. They organized church volunteers to deliver those antivirus emergency supplies as soon as possible to the hospitals, police stations and communities. 

Shanghai Chrisitan communities donated protective clothing through Shanghai Red Cross to support the work of prevention and control in Shanghai Railway Station.  

The churches in Henan province have donated 11,000 surgical masks and more than 1300 boxes of instant noodles and milk to the front-line medical workers.

According to the report of CCC & TSPM by the end of March, the churches and individuals in China have donated more than 141 million yuan (approximately 2.14 million US dollars ) and 5.6 million yuan (approximately 802 thousands US dollars) worth of medical supplies to the hospitals and communities. 

Due to the decreasing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, most of the cities in China including Wuhan reopened on March 7th after almost 11 weeks of lock down. Although the people are allowed to travel between cities, it is not the time for the people to return back to normal.  We will continue to pray for and support each other in this difficult time. As the sign on the donation box of Amity Foundation says “the greatest healing therapy is LOVE and AMITY”.