Hong Kong's Economic and Trade Office in Chengdu says they will cooperate with Hong Kong charity organization Sowers Action to promote a RMB15 Study-aid Program in Chengdu.

Under this program, each employee of Hong Kong organizations and companies in Chengdu are encouraged to donate RMB15 each month to help students from poor families in mainland China to complete their education.

Tan Guozhen, deputy director of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Chengdu, says that the RMB15 Study-aid Program was initiated in 2006 by two Chengdu volunteers and later they invited Sowers Action to join after a consultation with the launchers. Tan says that many Hong Kong companies in Chengdu, including Bank of East Asia, Dragonair and Hong Kong Trade Development Council Chengdu Office, have responded to the program by encouraging their employees to participate in the donation.

The first batch of donations is expected to be ready in May to benefit more than 200 middle school students from poverty-stricken families so that they can complete their college education or find employment.

Established in 1992, Sowers Action is a Hong Kong non-profit organization that aims to help promote the education causes of poor regions in mainland China. By June 2007, the organization had rebuilt more than 700 schools in the mainland and helped over 230,000 students with a total of more than RMB150 million.