To Become a Century Commune, This Project Can Never Be Abandoned

On May 7, 2011, the day before Mother's Day, Zhang Mading never imagined that a sudden recollection of his mother would change the course of his life.

Speaking of that memory, he still recalls it clearly: “At the time I was accompanying my mother, who had cancer, to the hospital for treatment, when I happened to meet a Christian who was there to obtain a certification document. He told me that with that document he could apply to fellow believers for donations.”

Are there people who pretend to be Christians just to get donations?

Why not build an organization like a church, one that could provide financial assistance to people when they get cancer?

The idea struck Zhang Mading instantly. He acted quickly, and on Mother's Day the Mutual Protection Commune went live. Today the Mutual Protection Commune has completed its transformation and become KangAi Commune.

Zhang Mading explains that KangAi Commune is internet-based small-amount mutual protection—specifically, a mutual aid model built on the principle of “all for one, one for all.” “This is different from mutual insurance abroad; it is something I pioneered and defined here in China.”

“Our mission is to help members suffering from cancer and other critical illnesses raise medical expenses. After following the WeChat account [KangAi Commune Service Account], you can join simply by submitting your identity information—no membership fee needs to be paid in advance,” Zhang Mading says:

Once a member has passed the waiting period and is first diagnosed with one of 30 major illnesses, including cancer, or dies, he or she may submit documents to KangAi Commune to apply for assistance. The KangAi Commune team first reviews the submitted documents. To ensure the authenticity of the information, two third-party assessment agencies are brought in to investigate; after the investigation results are publicly posted, the amount to be shared is deducted uniformly from members' accounts at KangAi Commune.

“We never expected that many of the rules we figured out early on would become industry standards!” These standards include 30 critical illnesses, an assistance amount of 300,000 yuan, and so on.

Zhang Mading says the waiting period exists to prevent people who are already ill from joining the Commune as healthy members, which would deal a fatal blow to its credibility—members might suspect the Commune of fabricating cases to raise funds.

Following the disease categories standardized by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, KangAi Commune covers 30 illnesses in its mutual aid, including malignant tumors and acute myocardial infarction. Zhang Mading believes critical-illness mutual aid has broad market prospects in China, but the market is not yet mature; both policy regulation and users' not-yet-awakened cost awareness will further test mutual aid platforms in the future.

In the first two years of the venture, member growth was minimal and Zhang Mading wavered—but encouraging phone calls from all over the country and team partners who actively asked to join drove him to keep going.

By April 2017, KangAi Commune had more than 1 million members, covering 35 provinces and cities across the country. It had assisted 46 patients with critical illnesses, with total mutual aid funds of nearly 7 million yuan.

In March 2017, KangAi Commune was named China's Most Beloved Mutual Aid Brand at the first online mutual aid Golden Dolphin Awards.

Even as development gradually accelerated, Zhang Mading remained highly risk-conscious:

He has always regarded KangAi Commune as his ultimate life ideal, and is determined to make it a Century Commune—one he will never give up on, no matter what!

—Article adapted from an iyiou.com report by journalist Yang Mengying, slightly edited.

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