Rebuilding a Quake-damaged Kindergarten

In the immediate aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake of May, 2008, Wirtgen China employees raised cash to help the people of that rural province. Company managers soon got involved. Several Chinese employees of Wirtgen visited Sichuan and were particularly moved by the damaged, 64-pupil kindergarten in Tiantai. This part of China got little attention in the media after the earthquake and got less aid than other, better known areas of Sichuan.

According to the article, Wirtgen managers decided that they wanted to make sure their money went to the people most in need. They soon got the help of German nonprofit "Kinder in Not" (KiN) or "Children in Need." This group was started in the early 1980s by Gisela Wirtgen, who is married to Wirtgen Group founder Rainhard Wirtgen. KiN's aid efforts focus specifically on poor kids in the developing world. According to the China CSR story, KiN gives money to more than 20 projects in Asia and South America.

In order to be able to track their donations in Sichuan, Wirtgen China and KiN contracted with the Women's Federation of Qionglai in Sichuan Province and the Education Bureau of Qionglai, Sichuan, to manage the school rebuilding.

Now, there are 64 kindergartners in Sichuan getting ready to start the year with a new, safe building.

Photo courtesy of drs2biz, via Flickr