Help ???

Hi guys,

word of warning about donating straight to the link. A member of the facebook group did some research and found out the following.

To send money to China you can use the SWIFT transfer service.

They charge 0.25% of the sterling value (minimum fee £13.00, maximum fee £35.00). Provided the information you give is correct, your transfer will be received within 3-5 working days. However, funds may sometimes be delayed by the banking practices of other countries.

With SWIFT transfers, the correspondent bank could also make a charge. This charge depends on the destination, amount and complexity of the transfer. As a guide, correspondent charges are around £9.00 - £35.00 (these are estimates). There can also be other possible agents fees (ie charges made by the beneficiary bank for receiving the transfer). If further agents fees do get charged back to your account then these can be debited from your account at a later date.

When you want to do a SWIFT transfer, send me a secure message containing:

- account number - This should be the IBAN (international bank account number) where applicable
- account holder's name
- SWIFT code (This is also known as a BIC or Bank Identification Code)
- if you don't have the SWIFT code, we'll need to know the bank name and address
- amount to transfer (in which currency)
- the currency the money is to be received in (important)
- whether you or the beneficiary are to pay our charges
- whether you or the beneficiary are to pay the agents
- the reason you're making the transfer

Optional information:
- contact telephone number
- any reference you need to quote

Please note that if you don't state who will pay the charges, the bank will assume that all charges should be paid by the sender.

They also need agreement to the following declaration each time you want to make any SWIFT, any Structured Payment transfer or a TIPANET to USA

Below is the declaration:

In order to make this payment, personal information relating to the individuals involved in the transfer may be processed for the purposes of:

a) Complying with applicable laws, including without limitation anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism laws and regulations

b) Fighting crime and terrorism

c) Disclosure to any Government entity, regulatory authority or to any person we reasonably think necessary for these purposes. This may mean that personal information will be transferred outside the EEA to countries, which do not provide the same level of data protection as the UK.

Please include your agreement to this declaration in your transfer request. It's best to copy and paste this into your secure message, but if there is not enough room to include this, please add this in another message or state that you have read and agree to the foreign transfer declaration.

The transfer may be delayed if there are insufficient details

Make sure both the BIC (Bank Identifier Code) and IBAN (International Banking Account Number) are provided where possible. If they're available for your transfer and not quoted, then there can be additional charges from the overseas banks. All transfers to foreign countries are done at your own risk.


It looks therefore like it's quite a long and complicated process where you may be charged additional monies and asked for information that isn't protected. I do think it's best to wait for production company still. Am still waiting though guys!! Thanks for all the support so far

There must be another way to donate without being charged at least £13 .

Channel 4 please advise

Hello to you all,
I am a 33 Female living in Devon, and have Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) or it has been known to be called von Recklinghausen Disease my son (7) also has NF1 but my daughter 13 does not have it as I did not pass it onto her. I lead a full and happy life and has been very good to me up to now, yes I have some problems, but don’t we all. I was very unhappy to see the way that NF 1 is shown we are not all like this man and are not freaks or as one person said hideous personal tragedy.
I was unhappy to see that there is no info on this condition anywhere on this site C4 and nothing was said at the end of the program which I was upset to see. There is a good site to go on and read up about this condition please and have a look to see that we are not all freaks.
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=neurofibromatosistype1

http://www.nfauk.org/about_nfa.php

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/neurofibroma1.shtml

Bxx

I dont think anyone thinks you are a feak babe ..
Some did not think he should not have been "put on display" And called it a freak show, but that mans dignity and the love of his family made me admire him and them and of course want to help

Oh and thanks for the link

Thanks for all your comments and sorry to have kept you waiting while we explored the options.

Having explored this matter with the production company, sadly we are unable to provide further information on a fund for Huang.
Channel 4 can’t vet or take responsibility for any funds purporting to act for Huang, so if you find any please satisfy yourself before making donations.

If viewers were moved by Huang's story and wish to find out more about Neurofibromatosis or wish to make a donation to the UK Neurofibromatosis Association, please visit www.nfauk.org.
Please note that the Neurofibromatosis Association is a UK charity and unfortunately is unable to take donations on behalf of Huang or his family.

Thanks.

quote:

Thanks for all your comments and sorry to have kept you waiting while we explored the options.

Having explored this matter with the production company, sadly we are unable to provide further information on a fund for Huang.
Channel 4 can’t vet or take responsibility for any funds purporting to act for Huang, so if you find any please satisfy yourself before making donations.

This is very disappointing. Given the complexity of the arrangements that needed to be made in order to make the documentary, it surely cannot be beyond the wit of the production company to make arrangements so that viewers can make contributions to help Huang and his family?

The priorities are very disappointing. The documentary gets made. The production company gets its money. Channel 4 gets its money. Huang gets nothing. Viewers trying to help get nowhere.

Is my understanding of this situation correct?

Well Huang did get his treatment but i wanted to help to make life a bit better for him and his family.Can Chanell 4 tell us is he gettiing pain relief ??

It is disappointing, but Channel 4 and the production company are still two separate entities, so they may still be able to do something. If they don't, it might be worth following the advice of one of the posters above and getting in touch with a charity that can help donate money?

quote:

Originally posted by hoangiuk:
It is disappointing, but Channel 4 and the production company are still two separate entities, so they may still be able to do something. If they don't, it might be worth following the advice of one of the posters above and getting in touch with a charity that can help donate money?

There are only uk Charities they wont help him.

I seems the banks want a big fee for transfering money

Hey Madkitten, I think we can still do it. I used to be a consultant for the third sector (basically any business that doesn't make a profit) and that includes charities. I think someone mentioned the red across above, and my friend who's a nurse found a charity that works with people internationally who suffer facial deformities. At the moment they only work with children, but I'll have a look into it. I think we'll still need the production company as we'll need the link to the Huang.

quote:

Originally posted by hoangiuk:
Hey Madkitten, I think we can still do it. I used to be a consultant for the third sector (basically any business that doesn't make a profit) and that includes charities. I think someone mentioned the red across above, and my friend who's a nurse found a charity that works with people internationally who suffer facial deformities. At the moment they only work with children, but I'll have a look into it. I think we'll still need the production company as we'll need the link to the Huang.

Ok I shall keep looking I dont have that much to give you know Its like I said we are not well off but rich compaired to him )

I wonder how may of us want to give

Guys, I 'think' I understand how you feel, but Huang's medical attention looks to be in the hands of 'medical excellence'.

This seems to be the team that runs the show that got his surgery underway.
http://www.emic.com.my/index.php

It looks as though the best options are already available to him in this respect. Only 'other needs' such as rehabilitation, social welfare during 'convalescence', 'external' family support, etc etc. In fact everything that our 'western world' has come to 'expect'. However! China has a 'culture' that is so alien to our 'western way of thinking' that our presumptions of what should be done for Huang could well be disrespectful of Huang's true wishes and desires.

You may all want to 'send me to Coventry' for this, but I really don't care. Personally, I don't think that Huang wants your money (though this may be useful to him). Personally, I think that Huang would rather receive your love, wishes for a well future and contact in friendship. Somehow, I don't think he cares about hard cash (another 'western culture thing'), only the ability to cope with what he understands to be the things that he needs to do!

What are your responses 'in aid of'? The C4 Team, the production team, or Huang and your human emotion towards his affliction? I know! In an 'ideal world' this wouldn't happen, but this isn't an ideal world and it has happened. It would be 'nice' if some entity of C4 could make our 'posts' known to Huang, together with an understanding that a desire to make a 'cash donation' is the same thing as a 'gift of well being' and an 'empathic' exclamation of love across cultures!

Though I've said this, one question is gnawing at me. Did the production team 'discover' this case, or were they 'invited' by the medical directorate to 'cover it' as an advertisement for their establishment and receive a 'fee'?

Best regards, suricat.

You know what suricat you might be right

Hi Suricat,

as someone who is chinese and still has a huge chinese family who is supported in China, I do think that Huang will appreciate what we're trying to do. A lot of the rural Chinese community has been forgotten in the massive economic boom in China, hence the lack of health care etc.

I understand that what you're saying, but as someone who's family only has a roof over their head in China because my family here has paid for it, I do think there is a way that we can support them. And not just by sending our wishes. Although Huang is getting a lot of support for his medical side, he did say that he's really worried about how his parents will financially survive in the future - plus he has a dream to travel the world.

I've sat on so many regeneration boards, Voluntary sector councils, Charity committee boards and see the poverty and deprivation that goes on in this country - however, it's nothing compared to what is happening over there. Admittedly the last time I went to china was over 10 years ago, but even then, my grand parents didn't have running hot water or a toilet!

Even if it's not a lot, it'll mean loads to Huang to improve his quality of life by doing something financially. I'm going to keep trying to find a way to support him until I've explored every avenue available.

Hi hoangiuk.

You are in a better position to understand the cultural divide between China and the UK than most, but I still think that the Red Cross would be the better organisation to undertake that task. Anything that is organised will need to be external to C4's message boards. If you can't find the British Red Cross web site, here's a link.
http://www.redcross.org.uk/index.asp?id=39992

I think that if you are determined to do this, the first thing would be to e-mail the BRC outlining the situation and ask if there is any way that they can assist. It may well carry a cost as I'm sure they will need to make a 'link' on their site for any donations to be made. That is, if they can help and if the help that they may give is acceptable to you. You may find a way to help your own family here too.

I wish you luck.

Best regards, suricat.

Hi hoangiuk

I resonate very strongly with what you have said. It would be marvellous if something could be done to help Huang and his family, and I really value your tenacity, as well as your obvious experience and insights. Although I have limited time and energy, I would be willing to contribute help with an initiative; I have been the director of a national political and consumer rights campaign, and have some experience with setting up websites and Internet marketing, which could perhaps be helpful. Apart from the suggestion from suricat to contact the Red Cross, I was wondering whether you think the Chinese Embassy might be willing/ able to help?

Hi Suricat and Gary

thanks for your posts. It's definately a good idea to try and contact both the red cross and The Chinese embassy, so will give them a try. Have sent the red cross an email and will see who's the best contact for the chinese embassy on Monday. I also have links with Chinese business organisations and publications, so Gary, your experience in internet campaigns might be invaluable here. I think the best thing is to try and get an already existing international company to do the administration and we can try and sort out the fund raising bit. Although Channel 4 can't help, we'll probably still need to get the production company on board to help for the contacts etc.

I currently work for the BBC as well, so as we're in a slightly different position to Channel 4, I may also explore to see if our international charities like Comic Relief can do anything. The only problem is that they might not be able to fund individuals...

How ironic would it be if BBC ended up doing the follow up to Huang's story....

Shall keep poping in. Do you really think the chinese embassy will help us .That would mean admitting they dont take proper care of their people, still worth a try I would be more than happy to donate to the red cross for Hoang .I just wish some one would tell us how he is NOW

No news

below is the current update from production company I'm afraid, which isn't good news. However, I'm not giving up yet. Have written to Chinese Embassey and some more charities to see what we can do. Unfortunately Oxfam can't help, neither can the Red Cross UK, although they have an arm in China that can be written to.

I'm going to see if the embassey can advise on anything.

Thank you for your email. I’m very sorry to say that I’ve now discovered that broadcasting regulations prevent Channel 4 or September Films from having any involvement in collecting or administering donations for Huang. This would apply equally in China I’m afraid, and we’re unable to endorse the Fuda hospital fund, as it’s not a registered/accountable UK charity. I believe the Channel 4 website has links to the Neurofibromatosis Association (a UK registered charity) for anyone wishing to make general donations or find out information about the condition.
>
>We’ve been very touched by everyone’s response to the documentary and Huang’s plight.

Bless you your a good person