A common problem for Chinese NGOers is that the community is often not well-paid. In this Xinhua article, Ling Zhou, the founder of “Yibao” Insurance for NGO workers, shares her insight on the working and living conditions of people working for Chinese NGOs.
Ling’s motivations for establishing Yibao came from her own experience. When she first joined an NGO in 2006, she received a monthly payment of just 3000 yuan. She says that many young people face a similar experience, devoting themselves to helping others while taking modest salaries. She encountered several young NGO workers who had suffered from high medical payments that their salaries could not financially support. Therefore in 2013, Ling and several friends came up with the idea of an insurance scheme that specifically focuses on NGO workers. On November 1st, 2013 the insurance scheme went public and Yibao’s policies now cover over 1600 people in more than 200 organizations.
Speaking about the future of Yibao, Ling points out that many people remain outside China’s of health insurance system. After the success of Yibao, eight insurance companies have approached them for partnerships and they now plan to launch an insurance policy specifically for the socially disadvantaged.
