Thirty Chinese non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have won a
competition for poverty-alleviation ideas organized by the World
Bank, it was announced on Friday.
The winners will share a total of US$660,000 in funds donated by
international development agencies and private companies to support
the proposed projects. The World Bank itself does not provide any
money.
The award-winning projects, selected from 1,000 candidates,
ranged from sheep-raising and AIDS prevention among migrant
workers, to mutual assistance networks for garbage collecting and
establishing community service centres for deaf children and
youths.
World Bank officials said NGOs are in a unique position to
understand local conditions and generate project ideas
accordingly.
"Ideas are more important than money when it comes to
development," said David Dollar, the World Bank's country director
for China.
It was the first time that the World Bank organized such an
event, called Development Marketplace, in China.
Dollar said they will organize the event again next year.
World Bank Vice-President Frannie Leautier said she hoped the
winning ideas of the competition would encourage people to be more
innovative in development ideas.
On Tuesday, six NGOs in east China's Jiangxi Province won
US$1.36 million to implement poverty alleviation projects around
China.
Li Yong, deputy director of the Ministry of Civil Affairs'
Bureau of Administration of NGOs, said the winning NGOs should take
this opportunity to enhance their management capabilities and try
to be efficient in using the money.
China's threshold for poverty, which varies according to price
changes, currently stands at 900 yuan (US$111) per year. At the end
of 2005 there were around 50 million Chinese people living at or
below this threshold.
(China Daily February 25, 2006)