In his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women, held in Beijing on October 13, 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a series of measures China will take, in the next five years, to further support the global cause of women. One of the measures is: China will launch 1,000 "small and beautiful" livelihood programs with Chinese assistance that take women and girls as priority beneficiaries.
In recent years, numerous "small and beautiful" programs launched by China have taken root worldwide, playing a significant role in advancing economic and social progress in various countries, and in enhancing people-to-people connectivity.
Under the guidance and support of Shaanxi Women's Federation and Shaanxi Social Organizations Network for International Exchanges, Shaanxi International Exchange Center for Women and Children, in collaboration with Dream Building Service Association, in early August launched the Mama to Rescue program in Kenya. The program, which had previously operated from March 2025 to June 2026, had provided training sessions to women from Kamwokya Community, in Uganda. The women, mainly mothers, learned skills, which not only enabled them to increase their incomes by making clothes, but also enhanced their self-confidence and promoted the sustainable development of their community. Mama to Rescue, as a "small and beautiful" livelihood program, has helped strengthen people-to-people connectivity between China and Africa.
'A Gate to New Life'
Shaanxi International Exchange Center for Women and Children (International Exchange Center), is an institution affiliated with Shaanxi Women's Federation, the women's federation of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Dream Building Service Association (DBSA) is an international organization of volunteers established in 2014 by Chinese students in Nairobi, capital of Kenya. Guided and supported by Shaanxi Women's Federation and Shaanxi Social Organizations Network for International Exchanges, and given DBSA's efforts in launching charity programs in six African countries, International Exchange Center chose to collaborate with DBSA. During the past two years, international volunteers from the organization have made several visits to poverty-stricken communities in Kenya and Uganda.
In Kamwokya Community, DBSA and International Exchange Center provided training under the Mama to Rescue program, and they helped 18 mothers learn tailoring skills, and the skills needed to operate a clothing shop. Four of the trainees have managed to find jobs in local clothing shops.
Trainees received subsidies, which covered their meals and travel costs. Sewing machines, cloth-edge-locking machines and raw materials were provided at the program's training site. Funding provided for the program also covered purchases of needles, thread and the cloth used to make African-styled clothes. The funding also helped maintain and repair the equipment.
Many of the trainees have since become "role-model mothers" in the community. They have been widely appreciated for their willingness to learn skills so they could earn a living and improve the lives of their families. The mothers agree the Mama to Rescue program has opened "a gate to new life" for them, by greatly inspiring the recognition of their value in the community, and society as a whole, and by enhancing their self-confidence.
Repeatable, Sustainable Sample
Two years ago, International Exchange Center began exploring the possibility of launching women and children's exchange programs in Africa. Under the guidance and support of Shaanxi Women's Federation and Shaanxi Social Organizations Network for International Exchanges, International Exchange Center organized more than 20 charity institutions, from China, to visit Africa in August 2024. Also that year, the center and DBSA cohosted, in Nairobi, the first China-Africa Social Welfare and Cooperation Forum.
Shaanxi Women's Federation and Shaanxi Social Organizations Network for International Exchanges have continued guiding and supporting International Exchange Center as it has implemented the Silk Road Community Building Program and the China-Africa People-to-People Friendship and Partnership Program (2024-2026). Under such initiatives, the center has deepened implementation of several China-Africa people-to-people charity cooperation programs. Mama to Rescue is one of those programs.
The Mama to Rescue program in Mathare Community, in Nairobi, began in July 2026. It is scheduled to conclude by the end of this year. Under the program, 12 mothers, who are living in difficulties, will be provided with support.
Professional trainers will be invited to teach the mothers skills related to clothing-style analysis, clothing-pattern making, and sewing and tailoring. It is expected the women who complete all of the training sessions will grasp the skills needed to make clothes independently.
The DBSA will also work with tailors' shops, in Nairobi, to offer internships to trainees of the Mama to Rescue program. Tailors will provide technical guidance to the mothers over the long term. Various communities and schools will be encouraged to place orders for uniforms made by the mothers, so the women will receive product orders on a regular basis, which will ensure each earns a stable income.
Women who complete all of the training sessions will be provided with a basic sewing machine and some necessary tools, after they pass the program's exams. After the program ends, the women will form a network, through which they will help each other. Those who excel in making clothes will become assistant tutors.
If women have stable jobs, they can provide sustainable incomes to their families; as a result, the risk of their families being trapped in extreme poverty will be substantially reduced. The Mama to Rescue program adopts a collaborative work mode among international volunteers, local full-time workers and community volunteers. The program has developed a standardized support work system, which provides production tools, skills training, basic raw materials and subsidies that cover trainees' meals and travel costs. By involving participation of communities, Mama to Rescue has created a repeatable and sustainable sample for other Chinese social organizations to launch "small and beautiful" livelihood programs, which deliver benefits to women, children and their families in other countries.
According to International Exchange Center workers, who participated in the launch of Mama to Rescue, the program has not only provided African women with training and production materials, but has also improved their self-confidence and recognition of their social value. In addition, by helping women form a mutual-aid network, their status in their families and communities are raised, and their awareness of reaching self-development is enhanced.
The Mama to Rescue program has created precious opportunities for strengthening people-to-people connectivity at the grassroots level. The program's good practices will serve as an effective work mode for other Chinese social organizations as they help accelerate the process for women's all-round development.
Photos from Shaanxi International Exchange Center for Women and Children
(Women of China English Monthly August 2026)
Editor: Wang Shasha
