Navigating My Way to Help NGO Development in Dujiangyan after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake

• In Event: Crafting Help and Hope in East Asia

Abstract

Many analysts label the year of 2008 as an “NGO Year Zero” for China as the relief and reconstruction process following the Wenchuan Earthquake witnessed a significant outpouring of NGOs.
This research tracks the development trajectories of three NGOs in Dujiangyan City of Sichuan Province during the first seven years after the area was severely struck by the Wenchuan Earthquake. These NGOs actively assisted in post-disaster recovery. After the reconstruction is completed, they have translated their distinct resources, development ideologies, and most importantly, relationships with the local government into different approaches of helping the local society. A Hong Kong-based NGO has gradually withdrawn from community services and transformed into a platform that facilitates exchange and internship among Hong Kong and Sichuan youths. A grassroots NGO organized by a group of disabled people has become increasingly confrontational towards the local government in upholding its members’ rights and interests as they feel marginalized after the earthquake. A local government-organized NGO has not only ambitiously enlarged its organization and multiplied service types but also eagerly sought innovative ways to contribute to building a harmonious society. It thus has acquired abundant resources from the government and dominated the NGO landscape in Dujiangyan.
The paper concludes that, whilst a disaster immediately stimulates passion for helping people in need and brings about hope for change (e.g., growth of civil society in China), when thorny political issues arise in the long run the notion of help might be distorted and the prospects for substantive change become obscure.

Author

• YI Kang, Hong Kong Baptist University