Immediately following the May 2008 earthquake that devastated China’s Sichuan Province, the Li Ka Shing Foundation, jointly with the Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa Groups, responded with a donation of RMB $110 million that, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, will fund an education program to help Sichuan students.

The program’s primary objectives are to help students overcome the challenges created by the earthquake; to live normal, healthy lives; and to complete their education. The Foundation formally launched the program on March 25 during a ceremony at the Chengdu University of Information Technology in Sichuan Province.

More than 200 people attended the ceremony, including honored guests Tu Wentao, Director-General of the Education Department; Tang Xiaowo, Deputy Director-General; and Huang Yangrong, Vice Governor of Sichuan. Professor Li Yuguang attended the ceremony as a representative of the Foundation.

Specifically, this education program will provide financial aid to students from earthquake-affected families, offer psychological counseling and training, and support a project that enables students to participate in the rebuilding of the area devastated by the earthquake. The program will benefit 35,950 students during the 2008-2009 school year.

25 March 2009

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