BEIJING, April 7 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Xinhua Finance Library Foundation (“the Foundation”) announced plans to build three more libraries in remote rural parts of northwest China during 2008, in addition to the three libraries it has built and stocked with books in the Ningxia region of northwest China since the Foundation began in 2005. Meanwhile, a publishing house directly under the Ministry of Industry and Information of China has donated books to the Xinhua Finance Library Foundation.
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The Xinhua Finance Library Foundation was founded by Xinhua Finance Group in 2005, and was registered as a charitable organization in Hong Kong and the USA in October 2006 and December 2007 respectively. The mission of the Foundation is to build libraries in remote villages of China with the hope of helping villagers escape poverty through knowledge. The companies under Xinhua Finance Group provide none of the funding, which comes solely from Xinhua Finance employees and associates worldwide. They have donated funds and approximately 5,000 books in the last three years.
The Foundation plans to build three more libraries in 2008, one in Ningxia, one in Inner Mongolia and one in Shaanxi Province. In addition to building libraries, Xinhua Finance staff also sponsor students who would not be able to attend school without financial support. More than 450 students are currently receiving support.
“The Library Foundation is an important way in which Xinhua Finance and its staff give something back to China. It is an important gesture that we believe is changing the lives of the people in these villages,” said Xinhua Finance CEO Ms Fredy Bush. “Our plans for 2008 and 2009 are more ambitious, as we are expanding our library activities to villages in two other regions apart from Ningxia -- Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi Province.”
“Many villages in poor and remote parts of China lack even a simple school, and many of the schools have no library room and only a handful of books,” Ms Bush added. “Providing books and libraries allows village people to teach their children, and gives children an opportunity to read. Most villages have at least one person who can teach the kids if they have the books. In China, the government pays tuition fees for primary and junior high school students, but many families in these villages cannot afford accommodation, transportation and books. The average household cash income in these villages is around US$400 per year, but a year of schooling for one child costs $100.”
“I feel thankful that our colleagues from various business units of the company, from different parts of the world, have not only donated funds and books, but also their time and energy. They have literally dug the foundations, stacked the bricks and laid the mortar. We have worked side by side with the people of these small, poverty stricken villages,” Ms Bush said.
The Foundation has recently received 2,000 children’s books donated by the Publishing House of Electronics Industry (“PHEI”), which comes directly under the Ministry of Industry and Information of China and specializes in science and educational books. The books will be placed in new libraries the Foundation plans to build in 2008 in the Ningxia, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia regions of China.
PHEI President Mr. Wen Hongwu said, “The most valuable treasure today is knowledge. As a national first-class publishing house, we are very supportive of charity endeavors that can help the country. We are so pleased to recognize Xinhua Finance Library Foundation as a platform to deliver educational and inspiring books to children and students in poor areas. Moreover, we hope that we can maintain a long-term cooperation with the Xinhua Finance Library Foundation to continue the efforts of helping villagers escape poverty through knowledge.”
“I would like to sincerely thank the Publishing House of Electronics Industry,” said Ms. Bush. “We appreciate its understanding and support for our mission.”
“As a company that provides information and knowledge, we have a keen understanding of the importance books to the growth of a child, and to the development of China as a whole. Xinhua Finance has been benefited from the expansion of China’s markets, and now it is time for us to contribute something back,” she added.
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