Shenzhen Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau has launched a campaign
seeking donations of daily necessities for poverty-stricken areas
in Guizhou, a southwestern province.
In 1996, Shenzhen designated Guizhou as the province which it
would give the most bedding and clothing donated by Shenzhen
people. Since that year, an annual campaign has been conducted and
large amounts of donated goods have been sent to the province.
"We will do something different from the previous years," said
Liu Runhua, head of the bureau.
He said Shenzhen people could give food, home appliances and
other articles this year as well as bedding and clothing.
Liu said most of the donated items would go to Guizhou to help
the people get through the winter and some would go to the charity
store which opened Tuesday. The store sells items at lower than
market prices for people living below the poverty line. Proceeds
from the store would go to charity.
According to a bureau document, people who want to support the
campaign?- which runs until Nov. 4?- can deliver their
donations to the neighborhood committees of their housing estates
or to the civil affairs bureau of the city's six districts. For
inquiries, people can call the city's donation administration
center at 2583-1639.
A bureau spokesperson surnamed Ma said foreigners had donated in
past campaigns, citing expatriate workers from Wal-Mart.
From 1996 to the first half of this year, the city has donated
nearly 400 million yuan (US$48 million) and 17 million items of
clothing and bedding to Guizhou and other disaster areas in the
country.
(Shenzhen Daily October 21, 2004)