Yesterday, a US-based charity said in Urumqi, the capital of
northwest China's Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region, that it will donate 3.9 million yuan
(US$475,200) to help support 20 disabled children at an
orphanage.
The fund will cover six years' living costs for the children in
Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture in the west of the region, said
Dale Ditto, member of the directorate of the "A Helping Hand
Foundation."
Ditto made the announcement after his 18-member delegation
arrived in the city to launch a six-day program assisting local
disabled orphans.
The foundation will also donate a minivan for the orphanage and
arrange training courses for its staff, Ditto said.
It plans to expand its program to more areas of Xinjiang, and
more disabled orphans are expected to receive medical treatment in
the US, he said.
Since it was founded in 1996, the foundation has provided aid to
children's homes in many Chinese cites including Xining, Xi'an,
Lanzhou and Shenyang and helped around 1,000 US families adopt
Chinese orphans.
(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2005)