A charity campaign was launched among pupils and students in
Luohu District on Friday, the Daily Sunshine reported.
Pupils and students who donated 100 yuan (US$12) to support a
child from poverty-stricken families in Heyuan City, would be
eligible for up to 10,000 yuan medical allowance, the campaign
organizers said.
More than 60,000 students in Luohu District were given a piggy
bank and were encouraged to save up their pocket money to help poor
children.
Liu Weiqiang, vice secretary general of China's health and
poverty relief project, said the non-profit medical insurance
system in China did not cover peasants and children from less
prosperous areas.
Wealthy families could afford health insurance, while peasants
and children from poor areas could not, Liu said. Traditional
public donations did not help much with the needy, he added.
The idea of the campaign was to establish a special fund for
children in need by encouraging pupils and students to save their
pocket money, said officials from the Luohu District Government,
who are also the co-organizers.
Meanwhile, Shenzhen also joined a one-yuan donation program
launched by the China Charity Federation last week.
On Wednesday, the Shenzhen Charity Community began placing 1,000
collection boxes at office buildings, hotels, restaurants and
residential buildings, the Shenzhen Economic Daily
reported.
The collection boxes also provide shoe polish free of charge.
The campaign calls on people to donate at least one yuan.
Shenzhen is the fourth city to join the campaign along with
Beijing, Tianjin and Guangzhou.
The money collected will be used for medical care and
educational aids for the needy and to help the unemployed gain
employment.
It is the first major campaign by the Shenzhen Charity Community
since it was established in late November. The community plans to
distribute a total of 12,000 collection boxes over the next two
years.
The community will later hire laid-off workers to maintain the
boxes. Its Web site, www.4343.net, will publish reports on how the
money is being used. Members of the public can e-mail xyz@4343.net
for suggestions.
(Shenzhen Daily December 14, 2004)