The project, a charitable program launched in 2002 by the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, has helped more than 4,000 college students from poor families so far.

Peng Ya'nan, a student from Huairou County in Beijing, became one of the new beneficiaries last week.

Although having grown up in a poor village located in the remote mountainous area of Beijing, Peng has kept her head up in difficult times.

"My village rarely saw girls getting to senior high school, so when I passed the entrance exams, my family cherished my chance. They tried their best to finance my study at school," Peng said.

During her three years in the senior high school, Peng, who lived in a lent-out shack with her elder sister, studied hard every day, and burned the midnight oil hitting the books.

She was finally admitted by the Wuhan-based Zhongnan University of Economics and Law last month.

However, poverty stood in Peng's way for her pursuit of college.

Just to start, Peng needed nearly 8,000 yuan (US$976), of which 4,500 yuan (US$550) went for tuition and over 3,000 yuan (US$366) for basic living cost.

"When I took the admittance notice in my hand, I had all kinds of feelings welling up in my heart. Here came such a great surprise to our family, but also such a great amount of money, huge and unaffordable," Peng murmured.

To make things worse, Peng's elder sister was also enrolled by the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics at the same time.

Together, the cost of education for the two sisters would be more than 16,000 yuan (US$1,950), far beyond what the family could bear.

Disease had also dragged the family down, with Peng's father long tortured by blood disease. The mother had to support the family alone, but her monthly income was less than 500 yuan (US$60).

"My mother was working hard, grinding away to support our family. She went to a construction site to cut bricks and had blood blisters all over her hands. I heard her groan at night, but I knew she was trying to suppress it and she didn't want us to sense her pain. How I wished I were her at that moment," Peng said with tears brimming in her eyes.

Poverty is hard on Peng and her family, but people help those who help themselves, it seems.

The poor girl finally was rewarded for her hard work, when she received aid from the New Great Wall Project last Wednesday.

Peng is one among 424 who have benefited from the project this year. Every year, Peng and her fellow recipients will receive a sum of 2,000 yuan (US$240) from the project to finance their studies.

Two thousand yuan, maybe one month's cost for some urban students, is timely, vital assistance.

"It will help me a lot," Peng said in gratitude.

Gao Congming, a teacher from No. 1 Middle School of Xianxian County in Hebei Province, could not help weeping during the ceremony for the hard life her students have been through.

"One of the students is so poor that he lived on three pieces of steamed bread each day. He bought all three pieces at one time, not separately at each mealtime. Because buying three together would save him 0.1 yuan (1.2 US cents). But he had to eat the stone-cold bread when his classmates enjoyed their hot and delicious dishes."

Chen Weihong, also a poor student from Gao's school, did odd jobs every vacation to raise money for her living costs. For Chen, unlike urban students, working was to maintain her studies and not to gain social experience. Zhejiang University has newly enrolled her and she also has become a beneficiary of the New Great Wall Project.

Sun Sujie, a teacher in charge of poverty alleviation for students in the North China University of Technology, collected statistics on campus and found that 42.43 percent of the poor students receive less than 100 yuan (US$12) from their family each month, and of those 22.72 percent, some receive nothing at all.

According to the China Youth Daily, poor students make up nearly 30 percent of all college students, and the proportion is even bigger in less developed areas.

While poverty may be part of their fate, it is not unchangeable.

As Peng said, poverty is a challenge bestowed on people to provide them knowledge to understand and care for others like themselves.

An elementary task

A college education, for people in China's less-developed areas, has been somewhat a luxury, and some children cannot even finish the nationally required education, elementary school and middle school.

Statistics suggested that only 87.92 percent elementary students can get into middle school in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, 87.6 percent in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and 45.19 percent in the Tibet Autonomous Region, compared to nearly 100 percent in Beijing and Shanghai.

The nation, including individuals, is reaching out to help the poor.

The Carpoly Chemical Co Ltd, an individually-run enterprise in Guangdong, is one of those ready to help. It has donated 4.5 million yuan (US$545,000) to help children in remote ethnic areas pursue middle school education.

Qiu Qiming, president of Carpoly, said, "I once was a teacher and I know the importance of middle school education for children. It means so much for their whole life."

Qiu, searching out his wealth successfully in the country's fast economic development, is repaying society this way.

Just like Qiu, many others have given a helping hand to rescue the poor at an early age. And more than just to get children to finish their education and to prepare them for college, but to lead a happy life without the bonds of poverty.

(China Daily August 11, 2004)