School fuels hope of brighter future for struggling students

Project designed to keep children in poor families from quitting their primary education

In 1990, when it was still under construction, Jinzhai Hope Primary School in Anhui province received its first donation - about $0.10 - from Chai Peiying, an elementary student living a few hundred miles away.

Zhou Huosheng, a teacher in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, sent his first donation in 1993 after reading about the school in the media. Since then, the 59-year-old has contributed 480,000 yuan ($69,500), helping support more than 1,300 pupils.