Published by: World Tibet Network News, Tuesday, July 30, 1996

LHASA (July 26) XINHUA - A new poverty relief program that provides low-interest loans for small household businesses is being applied in the Tibet Autonomous Region in the four poor counties of Tingri, Dinggye, Nyalam, and Gyirong, and in the Mount Qomolangma Nature Reserve.

In April of last year, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) signed an agreement with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the reserve's Working Committee, providing 880, 000 US dollars in aid to China.

The Chinese central government and Tibet Autonomous regional government are providing additional funds in support of the program.

Designed by the Research Institute for Rural Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the program is designed to offer small amounts of direct low-interest loans to those poor families, especially to women in need, who are running small household businesses.

Prior to this, a similar program has proven rather successful in Henan and Hebei provinces.

The Working Committee has organized a training session for 45 local rural people from the four counties to give them a better understanding of the credit program.

According to Nyima Yangzom, an official with the committee, the program mainly helps local women to get involved in livestock raising and making handicrafts.

The official expressed confidence that the poor Tibetan women in such areas, who tend to be diligent and thrifty, will go in for household economy by raising livestock and poultry and making handicraft articles and gradually improve their livelihoods with the financial and technical aid.