Legacy Program · 2008–2016
Henan Children Center
Two centers, built for roughly 400 children affected by HIV across the villages of Henan.
Why Henan
The Epicenter of the Epidemic
Henan was the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic caused by unregulated, unhygienic commercial blood donation in the early and mid 1990s. Thousands of adults died of AIDS-related illness contracted through contaminated transfusions, leaving a generation of children behind.
The goal of the Henan Children Project was to provide immediate assistance to the roughly 400 HIV-affected children living across the villages of Henan — improving substandard living conditions and meeting their educational needs.
The Centers
- Opened
- 2008, in Shangcai and Shenqiu
- Ran until
- 2016
- Daily use
- 650 children across both centers
Inside a Center
Four Computers, a Library, a Lounge and a Yard
Both centers were centrally located and easy for children across the surrounding villages to reach. Each was equipped with four computer stations with broadband connection, a library, a lounge and an outdoor play area — funded by donations from the Chinese American community in the United States and support from other Americans.
What the Project Provided
Five Components
International Pen Pal Program
Letters between children in Henan and Chinese American students in New York.
Children Center
Two centers in Shangcai and Shenqiu, open daily.
Nutritional Support
Monitoring children's weight and supplying supplements where needed.
Educational Support
Covering the meals and supplies that free schooling does not.
College Scholarship
Half of a recipient's tuition, for students continuing past school.
College Scholarships
Eleven Students, Half Their Tuition
Begun in the summer of 2010, the scholarship approved eleven awards, each covering half of the recipient’s required college tuition. Recipients went on to study at:
From the Centers
Days at Shangcai and Shenqiu
Two decades of this work.
The Henan Children Center was one of several programs run as China AIDs Fund before the foundation refocused on Asian American youth in New York.
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