Chinese organization donates school bags to Ethiopian students in need

ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) on Wednesday donated 20,000 school bags to support Ethiopian students in need and launched the distribution ceremony of Panda Pack Project (2021-2022) with Ethiopian Ministry of Education.

The latest donation of school bags, comprising various learning supplies, is said to be the continuation of the CFPA's innovative initiative, dubbed Panda Pack Project, which had benefited about 98,000 young Ethiopian students since 2019.

Addressing the donation ceremony, Ethiopian Minister of Education, Getahun Mekuria commended China's comprehensive support to Ethiopia, ranging from support in education to socioeconomic and anti-pandemic cooperation.

The minister said the school bags will be distributed to students in different regions of the East African country.

"I would like to express my appreciation in the name of the many millions of children of Ethiopia who have been receiving direct and indirect support from the Chinese government and also from philanthropic foundations in China," Mekuria said.

Huang Xiaocen, Country Director of CFPA Ethiopia Office, on her part said the donation by ordinary Chinese citizens through the CFPA is a manifestation of the deepening people-to-people ties between the two countries.

"Tens of millions of ordinary Chinese people are able to participate in this Panda Pack project to jointly express and convey their friendship to Ethiopia," she said.

In addition to the Panda Pack Project, the CFPA has been carrying out various activities in Ethiopia through its major programs, including the Smiling Children School Feeding Program, Water Cellar Project, School Water Purification Project,as well as Women Economic Empowerment Program in Ethiopia.

The CFPA, which started implementing various programs in Ethiopia in 2015 and officially registered as an INGO in July 2019, works to deepen the people-to-people ties between the two countries.

As part of its life-changing support aimed at creating an enabling environment for school children to effectively undertake their education, the CFPA also provides food items to school students in different parts of the country.

Through its Smiling Children School Feeding Program, the CFPA provides meals in six public schools with nearly 8,000 students in Addis Ababa, Oromia and Somali regions.

Liu Keyi, First Secretary of Economic and Commercial Affairs Office at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, on his part reiterated that the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia will continue to promote all-round bilateral cooperation in the education sector and beyond.