Chinese Orphan Gets Aid for CollegeAn orphan from a poor village in the suburbs of this capital of Jiangsu Province, east China, will go to college in Beijing with the help of warm-hearted Nanjingers.Chen Chuan lost both his parents when he was in primary school. Thanks to the help of his relatives, villagers, teachers and classmates, he finished high school and sat this year's national college entrance examination. Chen ranked second among all Nanjing candidates in the exam and will hopefully gain admission to Beijing Foreign Studies University, a leading university for foreign language teaching and researching in China. However, costs for college education have become a major obstacle for the orphan -- some 6,000 yuan (about 722 US dollars) required for tuition plus traveling and living expenses is an impossible amount for Chen to afford. Ever since Chen's story was published on the Nanjing-based Jinling Evening News last week, a number of Nanjingers have lent their helping hands. A laid-off woman worker, who preferred to remain anonymous, was the first donator with 1,000 yuan (about 120 US dollars), followed by a 28-year-old man with another 1,000 yuan - his full month's salary. Chen's story has moved officials from the local government, who made personal donations and allocated special funds to cover his living expenses at college. As the new school year is drawing near, the Nanjing office of an airline company has offered Chen a free trip to Beijing, where his college dream will finally come true. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |