NETWORK NEWS
RI China helps Tibetan schools
RI Chile supports flood victims
The lives of schoolchildren in the region of Tibet are much
improved thanks to RI China's long-term partnership with
The Bridge Fund, a Dutch non-profit foundation. 'Our contact
with The Bridge Fund taps us into the specific needs of the
students and teachers in these schools,' says Dai Hui, Chief
Representative of Rabobank Beijing, who maintains regular
contact with the foundation. 'In this way, we know exactly how
to help.' Among other projects, Hui recently arranged to have six
Rabobank computers transported to a Tibetan school in the
Qinghai Province. 'After the teachers received the computers,
one ofthem wrote me a letter explaining how they were allocated,'
she recounts. 'The great thing is, although these computers are
outdated for our purposes, the teachers find them vital for their
teaching tasks. This bas changed my perception of our resources
and I will bear this in mind for future donations.
Opening ceremonies at Duofudong Township School Project,Tibet
hen severe rainstorms hit Chile last year,
RI Chile personnel dug deep into their
pockets to help alleviate the devastating conse-
quences of a year's rain in just four days. 'It
was obvious that it was a huge problem
because most of the streets were flooded,' says
Head of Human Resources, Susana Romero.
'I clearly remember being in my car and feeling
quite frightened. The office never closed
because it is located in a safe place and could
serve as "home" for many of its 25 staff if
needed. The main concern was for employees
who lived in the most compromised areas of
the city.As soon as the immediate danger had
passed, an internal donations campaign was
initiated, resulting in a considerable sum,
which the company then doubled and gave to
'Vn techo para Chile' (A roof for Chile), a
well-known Chilean social work organization.
Romero adds, 'Even a member of staff who
had just emigrated called me to make a
donation. This is typical of the extent to
which RI staff in Chile pull together for
their community.
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