Beijing, China (January 15, 2010) /ChinaNewswire.com/ — The kindergarten in Tiantai Town, Qionglai, Sichuan, which was a victim of the May 12, 2008 earthquake, has been officially re-opened as Wirtgen Tiantai Kindergarten. The opening was celebrated by the schoolchildren with dancing and singing, and was attended by VIPs from Wirtgen China, the local government, and Fuhuashengye Road Machinery Co., Ltd.
Wirtgen China, the Chinese arm of the German-headquartered Wirtgen Group, has been actively supporting the kindergarten in Tiantai Town, Qionglai, Sichuan which was a victim of the May 12, 2008 earthquake. Right after the earthquake disaster happened in Sichuan, on May 12, 2008, many Wirtgen China employees spontaneously donated in cash to express their wish to help the people there. And, at the same time, the managing director of Wirtgen China, Ulrich Reichert, and the deputy managing director, Thomas Hagspiel, decided that something should be done in the name of the company. As a result they made a joint donation of CNY500,000. On hearing about the kindergarten one of Wirtgen China's customers, Mr. Tong Wei, the president of , spontaneously sponsored a 200-square-meter playground with a donation of CNY30,000.
Attending the opening ceremony were local dignitaries including Mr. Li Xianjun, the deputy mayor of Qionglai City; Madam Wang Hua, the chairlady of the Women's Federation of Qionglai City; Mr. Wu Chengwu, the director of Qionglai Education Bureau; Madam Chen Xia, the chief executive of the Tiantaishan Township Government; and Mr. Li Ziguo; the principal of Wirtgen Tiantai Kindergarten and of Tiantaishan Primary School. Wirtgen China was represented by Mr. Ulrich Reichert, the CEO and managing director of Wirtgen China; together with his wife, Mrs. Miranda Reichert; and Shirley Zhu the public relations manager and assistant to the MD of Wirtgen China. Also present was Mr. Tong Wei, the president of Fuhuashengye Road Machinery Co., Ltd., who sponsored the new playground for the kindergarten.
The new 480-square-meter kindergarten building has three classrooms, a function room, an office for the teachers, a kitchen, a cloak room, and a guard's room. For recreation the kindergarten has a new 200-square-meter playground. Currently the kindergarten has five teachers and 50 pupils and they expect to have more than 60 pupils after Chinese New Year 2010.
Wirtgen decided to help Tiantai because it was not as well-known as places that were being mentioned again and again by the media in the aftermath of the earthquake, and it was therefore getting less attention. Rather than give to places that could get help from other sources, the company and its employees preferred to give aid where aid was lacking. The reason for selecting a kindergarten was similar. Primary schools are included in China's nine-year compulsory education system, so the standard primary school buildings in this location had obviously fared much better. Thus helping with the kindergarten building became the first priority for Wirtgen.
Wirtgen decided that rather than just making a donation it was preferable to have the whole process under their control as much as possible, since they wanted to be sure where and how the money was used, who they had helped, and when the kids could benefit from this project. Advice from Ms. Gisela Wirtgen in Germany, who has extensive experience of charity projects confirmed this approach. The action group "Kinder in Not" (KiN) "Children in need" was founded in 1983 at the initiative of Gisela Wirtgen, wife of Wirtgen Group founder Rainhard Wirtgen. The objective of KIN is to help under-privileged children in the Third World, without charge or profit. This is achieved through projects, which are always based on the concept of "Help through self-help". The action group is independent of all political or religious organizations and carries out its work regardless of the political or religious situation in the developing countries concerned.
About the Wirtgen Group
The Wirtgen Group is an internationally operating group of companies in the construction machinery sector incorporating four traditional brands: Wirtgen, Vogele, Hamm, and Kleemann. As a technological leader, they offer their customers mobile machine solutions for road construction and road rehabilitation, as well as for mining and processing minerals
The Wirtgen Group has been present in China for more than 20 years and, since 2004 , has operated an assembly factory in Langfang, Hebei Province. With more than nine branches and 200 employees, Wirtgen China are always close to their customers.
For more information :www.wirtgen-china.com.cn