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US magnate Dow helps rebuild quake-zone schools
By Huang Zhiling (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-11-23 14:44

US magnate Dow helps rebuild quake-zone schools
Pupils and their teachers participate in the ground-breaking ceremony of Chongxin Primary School in Wuhuang County of Ziyang city, southwest China's Sichuan Province November 21, 2009. [chinadaily.com.cn]

ZIYANG: Third-grader Lan Haodong heads to school early on the morning of November 21, but this was no ordinary lesson.

Instead the eight-year-old was attending the ground-breaking ceremony for a new school thanks to a donation of three million yuan (US$441,176) from the Dow Chemical Company Foundation in the United States.

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Lan's Chongxin Primary School, along with Yongtai High School and Shichuan Junior High School in Wuhuang County of Ziyang city, southwest CHina Sichuan Province, were all devastated in last year's magnitude 8.0 earthquake.

Now thanks to the donation to the China Youth Development Foundation, all the schools will be rebuilt or repaired with a major facelift.

"Reconstruction of Lan's school and Yongtai High School will benefit more than 500 students in 13 villages while the repair and facelift of the Shichuan Junior High School will benefit some 650 students in 10 villages," said Chen Liping, chairwoman of the Ziyang Municipal Workers' Union.

The three schools were damaged beyond repair in last year's earthquake and it was feared the loss of the schools could result in students' dropping out.

The Dow Chemical Company has donated the money to in order to build school buildings which can resist magnitude-7.0 earthquakes.

Lan and his schoolmates told China Daily: "We do hope to move into the new school buildings early."

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