High-school graduate Qin Jinyan, whose family lives in crushing poverty in the countryside of Central China, has encountered a stroke of luck in her life. A warmhearted has vowed to help her finish college education.

The donor is Jiang Zhenghua, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Yesterday, Qin, a member of the Tujia minority from Hunan Province, greeted Jiang with hearty smiles and they held hands warmly like grandfather and granddaughter at a ceremony to raise funds for new college students from poor families.

"I am very grateful for the timely help given me by Jiang," said Qin, who has been admitted by Peking University.

The frail Qin and her poverty-stricken parents were jubilant when the university enrolment note came, but fell into depression when they faced the hefty tuition fees.

Through the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA), Jiang will give 2,000 yuan (about US$240) a year to Qin until she graduates from the university.

Jiang said that college students are the future of the nation: "What I have done is no more than what every citizen should do. I'm convinced these students will give far more to society than what we give to them."

Jiang was not the only donor yesterday. Eight renowned domestic painters have donated their works to be sold to help poor students across the nation.

The foundation also received about 7 million yuan (US$843,370) from individuals, companies and organizations at yesterday's ceremony.

However, the sum falls short of the foundation's goal, as it needs about 20 million yuan (US$2.4 million) to ensure that the 10,001 new college students chosen from poor families nationwide can enroll in their classes on September 1st this year.

"We have to work against the clock this month to find more sympathetic donors like Jiang," said Gao Hongbin, vice-director of the State Council's Poverty-alleviation and Development Office.

The CFPA started its campaign named "The New Great Wall Project" last August. By the end of July, the foundation had received 7 million yuan (US$843,000) and about 1,000 needy students scheduled to attend 128 different colleges have been given the money.

Official statistics show that at present, China had 16 million college students, with about 3.2 million of them badly in need of financial help.

The foundation's deputy president He Daofeng said the name of the project, "The New Great Wall," signifies that knowledge, love and talent would build a new Great Wall for China, adding that knowledge can change a nation's as well as a person's fate.

To ensure the funds are used properly, the project has stipulated that the students should write to their donors at least twice a year, He explained.

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