On September 15, the delegation led by Zhong Ren, the Deputy President and member of the Leading Party Group of Sinochem Holdings, as well as the General Manager and Party Secretary of Sinochem Energy, went to Tibet to inspect and guide the assistance work in designated assistance areas in Gangba County. The delegation visited the farmers and herdsmen in the said areas and met with the company's aid officials in Tibet.

Plateau Health Station: A medical service point at the doorstep.

With an average elevation of 5,050 meters, Jiru Village is located in the southern part of Gangba County, Shigatse City, Tibet, and is right on the border between China and India. It is known as the "First Village on the China-India Border". This small village, hidden in a valley in the middle of the Himalayas, sustains itself through animal husbandry. The area’s low temperatures and high altitude makes it a harsh environment, and the villagers shoulder the task of border patrol, grazing, and defending the country as means of making outstanding contributions to safeguarding the stability of the border area.

For many years, Sinochem Energy has focused on a project known as "Beautiful Border Town" and remains committed to improving the living and medical conditions of the local residents, helping Jiru Village lead a peaceful and prosperous life with beautiful homes, ethnic unity, and harmony.

On September 15, Zhong Ren and his team overcame altitude stress and drove to Jiru Village to evaluate the Beautiful Border Town aid project. The local villagers voluntarily organized a welcome procession and offered white Hadas to Zhong Ren and his team to express their gratitude to Sinochem Energy for its continuous support.

Health care and medical treatment are vital to the well-being of people living in Tibetan areas. Due to the high altitude and inconvenient transportation, Jiru Village lacks basic medical facilities, and the original medical and health facilities were severely inadequate and outdated, which failed to meet the basic medical needs of local residents. In order to address the difficulties people face in receiving medical treatment and create a health network that is equipped to serve the countryside, Sinochem Energy determined to build medical and health stations on the plateau with a focus on improving the medical condition of residents under an overall plan of building a Beautiful Border Town.

"We provide effective medical care for Jiru villagers living at an altitude of 5,000 meters." Zhong Ren noted.

At the construction site of Jiru Village plateau medical and health station, Zhong Ren’s team and the leaders of the recipient area cut the ribbon and laid the foundation stone for the medical station.

At the time of writing, the medical and health station’s foundation had been laid, and the station was set to be delivered by the end of 2021. In the near future, the medical and health station will be put into use. It will meet the basic medical needs of villagers, provide support for the emergency medical needs of local migrant workers and tourists alike, and guarantee medical assistance to border guards, rural cadres, and epidemic prevention teams.

Hundred Houses and Hundred Kitchens: Let the Fragrance of Food Overflow

Jiru Village is a typical plateau village that enjoys an azure sky, gurgling water from melted ice and vast alpine meadows. Due to the limitations of the natural environment, most local Tibetans use cow dung to boil water and cook, and only a few families have gas cookers. Most households do not have a separate kitchen. The cooking methods employed in that area are mainly steaming and boiling, and the state of sanitation in the area is poor.

In order to improve the quality of life for 89 households in Jiru Village and provide more hygienic, convenient, and diverse conditions for cooking based on the diet habits of the Tibetan people, Sinochem Energy applied for a 500,000 RMB aid fund to carry out its Hundred Houses and Hundred Kitchens project. The project focused on designing separate kitchens, adding gas stoves and other facilities, improving kitchen drainage, and adding kitchen utensils, and sanitary auxiliary equipment. This project not only helped residents separate the functions of residential areas and added more convenience to their lives but also enriched the way they cook their daily meals. With the gradual implementation of the “Hundred Houses and Hundred Kitchens” project, the villagers' kitchens have undergone incredible changes.

The home of a villager by the name of Ciwang has a gas stove, range hood, rice cooker, disinfection cabinet, and other household items. This modern kitchen reveals the improvements that have been made to the quality of life in the area. While visiting Ciwang’s home, Zhong Ren asked him in detail about his household income and living conditions. Zhong expressed his concerns for the health of the local elderly and children and offered some food and necessities.

“Your dedication to defending the border is admirable. May you live a good life.” Zhong Ren said.

At present, Sinochem Energy has completed kitchen renovations for 69 households. The renovation was scheduled to complete by the end of 2021. The project opens the door to a healthy way of life for the whole village.

Innovate Forms of Assistance and a Concerto for Rural Revitalization

Over its 19 years of assisting Tibet, Sinochem Energy, as an important business segment of Sinochem, has held to a development concept that puts people at the center, focuses more on issues that are of general concern to people’s livelihoods, and strengthens the construction of border infrastructure. It has always been a strong performer in helping people by taking concrete actions and has continuously selected and sent outstanding officials to the front line to provide assistance and contribute energy to promoting rural revitalization.

Sinochem Energy has gradually formed a pattern of aid work that ties into education assistance, industrial assistance, and improvements to people’s environment. Its work includes the “Hundred Houses and Hundred Kitchens” project and medical and health stations in Gangba, Tibet; the “Sinochem Energy Class”; “Tianshan Campus Football Development Fund” in Aqi, Inner Mongolia; the industrial poverty alleviation project in Fujian (New Rural Comprehensive Service Station); the provincial-level poverty alleviation village living environment improvement project, and other poverty alleviation projects.

Looking toward the future, Sinochem Energy will ensure that poverty relief responsibilities, policies, assistance, and monitoring continue even after a county is removed from the poverty list. Guided by “Do Practical Things for the People”, the company will fulfill its responsibilities, further improve its approach to aid work, establish representative and large-scale aid projects, and make greater contributions to high-quality rural development and excellent implementation of its rural revitalization strategy.