Chinese citizens donate 1,000MT of rice to Sri Lankan students
ECONOMYNEXT – Cash-strapped Sri Lanka, bracing itself for a possible food crisis amid a crippling forex shortage, has received 1,000 metric tons of rice donated by Chinese citizens to be distributed among Sri Lankan students.
The Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka tweeted Wednesday June 29 morning that 44 containers of rice arrived in the Colombo port, the contents of which were handed over to the Ministry of Education.
Quoting ambassador
Qi Zhenhong
, the embassy said Sri Lanka’s vulnerable population, especially children from low-income families, suffer the most in the island nation’s ongoing economic crisis.
“China supports the School Meal Programme of Sri Lanka
to provide daily nutritious meals to 1.1 million children in 7,900 schools across
[the island],” he said.
Another two shipments of rice donations will arrive in the first and second weeks of July, with more in the pipeline, the embassy said.
“China will try all-out efforts to sustain the Sri Lanka’s School
Meal Programme for at least six months,” it said.
The
embassy is also discussing with
Ministry of Education to provide school uniform for Sri Lankan students in the new school year, it added quoting the ambassador.
(Colombo/Jun29/2022)
