The UK Department for International Development (DFID) confirmed that British government will continue its support to rebuild people's life in quake affected area in Sichuan, China.
In a recent interview with People's Daily Online, Mr. Adrian Davis, head of DFID North and East Asia, explained how UK would help survivors there in the reconstruction process.
A total of 3 million pounds will help survivors to try alternative livelihood opportunities. That includes 400,000 pounds which, through the International Labor Organization, will help the Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security with training programs for victims to start their own business. DFID has completed similar projects in Sichuan and other parts of China before the quake.
DFID is also considering another one million pounds to provide expertise to China in various fields as a technical assistance.
The British government has offered some 2.2 million pounds of aid in cash and in kind to China for quake relief. One million in cash was used to buy food, water, blankets and tents in China within a few days after the quake. And the remaining went to tents and shipment of those tents from Dubai.
Compared with the sums of money put by the Chinese government and donated by Chinese in and outside China, the international donation is quite small and "more symbolic of our wish to be supportive," he said.
Mr. Davis noted that the UK aid would be more in the form of expertise. The UK's comparative advantage is in health, basic education and getting local people involved in planning. DFID will look at its ongoing programs in Sichuan --- basic education, rural water supply, sanitation and poverty reduction --- and see how they can adjust those programs to help those survivors.
"There's also a mental reconstruction where people will require counseling and need to put their life back together," he said.
By People's Daily Online
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