Doctors Xia Jiyong (left) and Zhao Xinyan deliver medical equipment to earthquake and tidal wave survivors in Sri Lanka yesterday. Chinese medical teams are busy treating victims of the most devastating tsunami in 40 years. — Xinhua

People from all walks of life across China have made an effort to donate money to tsunami-ravaged  countries.
The Liaoning Provincial Red Cross Society collected 1.07 million yuan (US$128,915) during the three-day New Year holiday.
The Red Cross Society of southwestern Yunnan Province has set up donation centers at railway stations and in parks, urging people to offer a helping hand to tidal wave victims. Yunnan residents have donated 263,500 yuan thus far.
The Red Cross Society in eastern Jiangxi Province has opened a special bank account to receive donations for relief work. The province has also opened a hot line and set up donation centers at universities, government institutions, neighborhood communities and public sites.
Carrefour International Foundation has started an emergency aid program to donate 300,000 euros (US$397,980) to tsunami victims in Indonesia, Thailand and India.
The fund will be used to supply water, food, as well as hygiene products such as soap and detergents, Carrefour SA said yesterday. The foundation also promised to rebuild schools and residential houses.
Some of Carrefour’s outlets in Indonesia are being used as food aid distribution centers,
local residents said.
Meanwhile, the central government yesterday donated emergency aid of US$200,000 to the Myanmar government for victims and relief work.
Chinese Ambassador Li Jinjun handed US$200,000 in cash to Myanmar Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Major-General Sein Htwa. Sein Htwa expressed thanks to China.
At the donation ceremony, he confirmed that 64 people were killed, 56 others injured and 29 villages destroyed. About 3,460 people were left homeless after tidal waves crashed ashore on December 26.
Casualties were lighter than some foreign media outlets estimated, he said, adding that there were no casualties on Cocogyun Island, home to 976 people.
On December 31, 2004, the Red Cross Society of China also donated US$20,000 in cash to its Myanmar counterpart.
The central government also provided a grant of US$100,000 to the Somali transitional federal government as emergency  assistance for disaster relief to the African country hit hard by the tsunamis.
The donation was handed on Tuesday by Guo Chongli, China’s ambassador to Kenya, and to Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, president of the transitional federal republic of Somalia, which is based in Kenya’s capital Nairobi.
Yusuf said he received the condolences of President Hu Jintao.
"We express our sincerest thanks to the Chinese government and the president himself,” Yusuf said. “China is the first country to donate money to us. A friend in need is a friend indeed. The Somali people will never forget that China always provides timely assistance whenever Somalia faces difficulties,” Yusuf said.
Up to 200 Somalis were killed and many more are missing. Efforts to assess the full extent of the damage are being hampered by poor transport and communication networks, which also affects the timely delivery of emergency relief.
The Red Cross Society of China also donated US$100,000 yesterday to Sri Lanka, the second hardest hit nation.
The tsunami killed at least 30,229 people and injured 15,683, another 3,858 missing in Sri Lanka.
On behalf of the Chinese Red Cross Association, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Sun Guoxiang handed the donation to Tissa Abeywickrama, chairman of the Rehabilitation and Relief Operation Task Force of the Sri Lanka Red Cross.
Sun said Sri Lanka and China have good relations and they always help each other in difficult situations. He said he hoped Sri Lanka’s recovery period would be short.
China previously offered relief materials worth about US$3 million as well as US$200,000 in cash to Sri Lanka. China will provide meteorological aid to tsunami-hit countries, said a senior official with the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) yesterday.
The CMA has sent telegrams to 10 countries hit by the earthquake-triggered tsunamis, and would like to provide meteorological information to reduce damage caused by future tidal waves, said Yu Jixin, director of the Department of International Cooperation of the CMA.
“We have also expressed our wishes in the telegram to provide meteorological equipment, including satellite information receiving devices,” Yu said.
He said they are still waiting for a reply.
“If those countries do have the need for our meteorological aid, we will provide it as soon as possible,” Yu said.
The Chinese Central Meteorological Station (CCMS) has opened a new service that covers the tsunami-hit countries. It will provide weather and climate forecasts, as well as an analysis of atmospheric conditions in the Indian Ocean.
Two large scale charity performances will be held in Beijing tonight and on Sunday to raise more money.
All revenue from the performances will be sent to tsunami victims by the Chinese Red Cross Society, according to volunteer committee sources.