Ma Lixia attended a year-long computer studies program in
Beijing in 2003 which was offered free of charge.
The training changed the life of the poor rural woman from
Tianshui in northwest China's Gansu
Province. Due to economic difficulties, Ma originally stopped
going to school after attending junior middle school.
"I have learnt new skills and am able to make a living for
myself," said 19-year-old Ma, who now works at a hotel in Qingdao,
east China's Shandong
Province, and earns more than 500 yuan (US$60) a month.
Ma sends part of her salary back home to her father in the hope
it will help improve the old man's life.
Although she is now employed, Ma has not stopped learning. In
her spare time she continues to learn more about computers, and
studies English by herself.
"I'm confident that my future will be better and better," she
said.
From today, 34 young women like Ma will attend a three-month
computer course at the Beijing-based Practical Skills Training
School for Rural Women, according to the head of the school, Luo
Zhaohong.
The women are from poor areas in provinces like Hebei, Gansu and
Qinghai. Their expenses, including train tickets to Beijing and
accommodation, are all covered by the school.
More training courses are under way to help poor rural women,
she added.
Luo's school was established in 1998. By the end of last year,
more than 3,600 young women from poor areas had benefited from
training ranging from computer studies to hairdressing.
The women were picked by local women's unions, which then
recommended them to the school.
Two-thirds of the women found jobs afterwards in cities.
The rest went home and tried to start their own businesses, Luo
said.
"Our program aims to give women the skills that can help them
find employment," Luo said. "Most trainees will be offered a job if
they wants one after training."
She said most of those who were offered jobs went to big cities
such as Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Qingdao.
As the program is not profit-orientated, it costs the trainees
either nothing or a very small sum, she said. The school is
financially supported by donations from both home and abroad, and
by government aid.
Some women, after studying at the school and getting a job, even
give some money back to the school so that more women can be
helped, Luo said.
(China Daily March 8, 2005)