Last week, yet another phase in a series of Sino-Norwegian collaborative projects on water supply and sanitation in North-Eastern China crossed the finish line. True to tradition, Norway’s ambassador to China Svein Sæther attended the ceremony.
Norwegian risk management magnate DNV has continuously supported water and sanitation projects in the Yanbian area of the Jilin Province since 2005. DNV and the Norwegian Red Cross are collaborating with Chinese Red Cross on the execution of the program.
The rural areas in the Yanbian district in North-Eastern Jilin have suffered particularly hard from insufficient water supply and poor water quality which in turn has taken its toll on sanitary conditions in general. Starting with Chang Rong village in 2005, the scheme has already provided clean water to a number of villages in the region and there are there are still many to come.
Ambassador Sæther attended the ceremony, and was met by palpable enthusiasm from both the villagers and the local authorities. While in the region, Ambassador Sæther attended a meeting with the Governor of Yanbian prefecture and representatives from the Chinese Red Cross and DNV. The Chinese Red Cross describes the project as highly successful, and is making use of its structure as a model for similar projects elsewhere in China.
