Monalisa smile, prompted by a charitable grant

Monalisa Singatini Sigauke, a 19-year-old from Zimbabwe, never imagined she would come to a Chinese university to pursue further studies - but that was before she gained life-changing funding support from China this summer.

After her graduation from high school two years ago, poverty at home meant that Monalisa could not afford to go to university. But, thanks to a scholarship program from Qingdao Hengshun Zhongsheng Group Co Ltd, Monalisa began her four-year undergraduate study at Ocean University of China in early September.

She was one of the 50 Zimbabwean students who were selected to study at the Qingdao-based university. Hengshun will pay their tuition fees as well as a monthly stipend of 2,500 yuan ($375). The students are mostly majoring in the Chinese language, international economics and trade and business administration.