Founded in 1998, the Chi Heng Foundation (CHF) is a charity registered and based in Hong Kong with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Anhui and Henan. It is a non-governmental organization whose programs are funded by private donors, businesses, and partner NGOs.

“Chi Heng” means “wisdom in action”, and at CHF we believe we must use our knowledge to help people in need. With this in mind, CHF moves from village to village throughout central offering help to any child with at least one parent who is living with or has died of HIV/AIDS since 2002. CHF thus provides care not only to AIDS orphans, but also AIDS-affected children, thereby ensuring that no child is excluded and each child’s needs are fully understood.

In its first semester, CHF provided education for 172 children in one village in central. Since then that number has reached several thousands in many provinces and continues to grow, making CHF by far the largest, one of the longest continuous running and most comprehensive non-governmental operation serving AIDS-impacted children in China.

CHF primarily focuses on paying for the children’s education and living expenses, making sure all funds are delivered directly to their homes, schools, or programs by our staff. CHF does not operate orphanages or foster homes. Instead, with our financial assistance, we empower the local communities to take care of the children, allowing them to continue to grow up in their native villages. To further decrease their sense of social stigma and isolation, CHF places the children in schools that purposefully integrate them with children not impacted by HIV/AIDS. These efforts aim to give AIDS-affected children a stronger sense of community and belonging.

CHF promises a long-term commitment to helping the children not only in completing their educations but also to receiving dependable and comprehensive support. Through CHF’s psychosocial support and community self help programs, we hope the children can grow up unashamed of their parents’ HIV status, be educated and develop a sense of social responsibility to help others.