Yili Dairy donates $3.3m to combat child malnourishment

Yili, an Inner Mongolian dairy company, recently organized a charity event at which 48,000 cartons of milk were donated in an effort to guarantee better nutrition for children of impoverished families.

As part of its Yili Nutrition 2020 poverty alleviation program, the company made a cash donation of 21 million yuan ($3.3 million) to the Red Cross Foundation of China during the event, which was held at Xiwulanbulang School in Hohhot’s Wuchuan county June 1.

The donated money will be used to combat poverty among 130 counties in 25 provinces, including Yushu in Qinghai province, Liangshan in Sichuan province, Lantian in Shaanxi province, and Xibaipo in Hebei province.

“In poverty-stricken areas, youth education is a primary concern,” said Xu Ke, vice-president of Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Company Limited. “Yili Nutrition 2020 is designed to improve the nutrition of impoverished students while also supporting local youth education.”

By the end of 2017, the program had benefited more than 120,000 students from impoverished areas in Yunnan, Gansu, Hubei and Henan provinces, and fulfilled the promise of a donation of 12 million yuan and 4.8 million cartons of Yili milk.

Yili Nutrition 2020 plans to donate 6.24 million cartons of milk to 12,000 schools in 130 counties this year alone.

Located in Wuchuan, a national-level poverty-stricken county, Xiwulanbulang School has 71 primary and middle students and 21 preschool students, many of them left-behind or from single-parent families. These children lack many basic resources including nutritious food, and many require both physical and mental care.

Officials hand gifts to students of Xiwulanbulang School in Wuchuan, Hohhot, in celebration of Children’s Day, June 1. [Photo/nmgnews.com.cn]