To help poor students, the China Foundation of Poverty Alleviation started a fund-raising campaign that put 500 yuan ($64) in the hands of 584 college students by January 21 for a trip back home, said Huan Jing, a foundation member.

He said the foundation also introduced 120 poor students to prospective employers looking for extra help during the holiday season.

But there are still 450 others looking for work, Huan said, adding that the foundation's "New Great Wall" project hopes to help 1,000 students who cannot afford to go home for Spring Festival.

"We would like to help more, but we can't cope with more than 1,000," said Ling Yun, a project coordinator. "When we heard a girl saying her New Year wish is to see her mother, hear her mom's voice, and eat the food she cooks, we were very moved and are determined to carry on with the project in spite of all the difficulties."

Ling said when they initiated a similar program two years ago, they gave the poor students money for travel. But they have shifted their focus now to helping students find part-time jobs, so that they can stand on their own feet.

Unlike in the West, part-time jobs for college students are a relatively new concept in China. Previously, the State paid nearly all tuition fees for every student that won entrance to university by sitting a tough entrance exam. As State contribution to overall tuition costs declined in the mid-1990s, parents have to assume more of the financial responsibility.

With college tuition fees now at around 4,000-8,000 yuan ($510-1,020) a year, rural families have begun to crack under the strain. The average income of a Chinese farmer was 3,225 yuan ($410) a year in 2005, according to a research report released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Tang Jiaguo, a business management sophomore from China Petroteum University, stopped asking his family for money in his first year at college. But he said part-time job opportunities were scarce and poorly paid.

During the winter break last year, he worked at a Sinopec gas station on the eastern outskirts of Beijing, where he spent the Lunar New Year's Eve with his colleagues. "They treated us nicely, just like in a family. But I believe every poor college student would have chosen to go home for Spring Festival, if given a chance," Tang said.

Source: China Daily