BCI exists to equip local people to effectively serve their communities. We see building local leaders in the context of effective projects as the most strategic way to equip enough local people to meet the needs of their communities. History and company description Our work began in 1994 in Xishuangbanna, a southern prefecture of Yunnan bordering Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. Dr. Rob Cheeley, an American physician, started a project with the Yunnan Provincial Bureau of Health training village doctors. Two years later, Dr. Lai Yong Tan of Singapore joined him and a similar project was started in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. undefinedIn 1997, around a common vision and purpose a cooperative was formed with a small group of professionals already working in Yunnan. The vision brought many other expatriate and national workers to join the cooperative. In 2003, this group became Bless China International (BCI) – which is a registered 501c3 (NGO) in the US. BCI is also registered with the Yunnan Provincial Government, and now partners with local governmental entities to accomplish its work. Partners include the Bureaus of Health, Civil Affairs, AIDS Prevention, the Disabled Federation, Center for Disease Control, hospitals and other educational institutions. Today the work spreads across the province where our people are living and working full-time. We are also actively supporting several local leaders who have taken on the responsibility of leading their own projects outside of BCI. The projects we run or support focus on the following areas: medical/dental, rehabilitation services, micro-enterprise and business development, orphan and foster care, community development, HIV/AIDS prevention/care and leprosy.