IN BRIEF (Page 8)

Funds for the poor

The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) will provide funding to 10,000 people who live in extreme poverty in China.

The charity foundation will select 10,000 qualified beneficiaries from across China and offer each of them 3,000 yuan - the fund's largest expenditure this year.

CFPA plans to distribute the money to 1,000 orphans, 1,000 senior citizens, 1,000 disabled people and 1,000 ill persons.

Funds also will be distributed to 1,000 farmers, 1,000 intellectuals, 1,000 college students, 1,000 teachers, 1,000 migrant workers and 1,000 laid-off workers.

CFPA established 10 hotlines for eligible people to register and apply for assistance.

Aid to farmers

The government of Guangdong province initiated a new program designed to help 700,000 impoverished farm families.

According to the Guangdong Provincial Poverty Alleviation Work Team, there are 3,409 poor villages and about 3.16 million people who are living with an annual net income of less than 1,500 yuan in Guangdong province.

During the next three years, the program will help poor families in 3,409 villages and households whose members earn less than 1,500 yuan.

The goal is to augment their incomes to reach 2,500 yuan per year.

The team will implement other steps to help the farmers reach an average per capita income of 9,000 yuan by 2012.

Computer donations

The China Association for Poverty Alleviation and Development (CAPAD) is calling on Chinese companies and individuals to donate unused computers to rural schools.

CAPAD will modify the old and used computers to make them more environmentally friendly before distributing them to schools.

The charity organization said it has acquired more than 3,000 computers from Lenovo and Sohu.com, as well as individuals.

The organization has refurbished and delivered them to more than 20 schools.

(China Daily 07/20/2009 page8)