Early in the morning, Hao Feng (a pseudonym) and other staff of Ezhou City Funeral Home of Hubei Province, dressed in protective gowns, were waiting for the scheduled arrival of several hearses. After three bows, the team offered simple and respectful funeral services for family members to say goodbye to their loved ones.
Working in the funeral service industry, veterans like Hao Feng see it as their mission to care for the deceased with dignity and give comfort to those in grief.
At a time of epidemic outbreak, he has renewed understanding of the job. Equipped with protective gowns and goggles, he works side by side with other members of the team to cope with an increasing workload. In addition to respect for those who lost their lives in the fight against the novel coronavirus, he has developed higher reverence for life.
Against the virus and the epidemic outbreak, the funeral service sector is a final line of defense that must be protected.
A staff member of Yanbao Charity Foundation transports PPE supplies.
Since the outbreak of novel coronavirus, the community of Tsinghua University has been closely involved in epidemic relief. It has come to our attention that the funeral service sector in the coronavirus-stricken areas of Hubei Province is facing an increasing death toll and is heavily distressed and in need of support, particularly in staff protection.
As a high-risk sector, the local funeral service sector so far seems to be off people’s radar. A severe under-supply of surgical masks and protective gowns might expose the frontline staff to very high hazards.
Samples of protective gowns donated by Yanbao Charity Foundation.
In recognition of this, the Tsinghua University Education Foundation and Baofeng Group’s Yanbao Charity Foundation took immediate actions to donate much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE) to local funeral homes.
The donation was intended to reduce the risk of exposure of frontline staff to the virus in their offering of care with dignity and respect and comfort to those in grief over losing their loved ones at such a difficult time.
In collaboration with the Tsinghua University Education Foundation, Baofeng Group managed to resource PPE supplies from Taiwan and Japan after pursuing all possible channels in face of a global chronic supply shortage. The supply finally arrived in Beijing via Hong Kong from Taiwan.
In the meantime, the Tsinghua University Education Foundation has engaged relevant parties in close communication and coordinated with local government and medical institutions in epidemic areas. It has also assisted in customs clearance and logistics to ensure the donation’s timely delivery.
The donation arrives in Beijing on the morning of Feb 11, 2020.
With the help of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the education foundation established contact with Xiaonan District Funeral Home of Xiaogan City and the Funeral Administration of Ezhou City in Hubei. The donated supply will be sent to the frontline without any delay.
The Yanbao Charity Foundation is a family private foundation founded by Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance alumnus and Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group Chairman Dang Yanbao. The charity donates about 300 million yuan annually to educational and poverty-alleviation efforts. It has an educational poverty-alleviation program with by far the widest coverage of beneficiaries across 549 schools and universities in China. Annually, about 100,000 people benefit from the program.
Staff members of Tsinghua University Education Foundation handle the delivery.
This donation is a joint relief effort by the Tsinghua University Education Foundation and Yanbao Charity Foundation of Baofeng Group as part of a collective fight against the epidemic outbreak in China. Amid the tough fight against novel coronavirus, we have full confidence and capacity to win with society’s concerted efforts.
