Ling Ling knows more than most the need for love, understanding and support.

The 21-year-old student was born with a chromosomal abnormality, known as Klinefelter syndrome, placing her somewhere between male and female.

And she has drawn on her own experiences, and the help she has been given in her own life, to help others.

Following a field trip to the southwestern Guizhou Province, where she saw children living in extreme poverty, she set up the Runling Charity Project to offer educational and financial support to them.

"I know the importance of encouragement and understanding. Even a single word may make all the difference," she said in a recent interview.

Ling first visited the area in the summer last year.

"I had never realized that people could live in such abject poverty," said the Beijing native.

Ling was shaken, not only by the level of indigence but also by the lack of educational resources in the mountainous area. She believed that education could help lift the children out of poverty. "It can change their way of thinking and open up their world."

Since then, she has used the business savvy that she has garnered from her own education at one of the top business schools in the nation, together with her own compassion, to create the support programme.

'Unique talent of persuasion'

Ling, who is vice-president of the student union at the school of management at her Beijing-based university, rallied 42 of her schoolmates and as many as 300 volunteers from other universities all around Beijing for Runling.

Literally meaning "enriched spirit," the project, launched in September 2004, has four teams in Fujian, Guizhou and Hebei provinces and also in Beijing suburbs.

During the summer this year, she designed a mini-project that offered students in their senior years a one-month internship in exchange for a voluntary donation to the Guizhou children.

It was not easy, to say the least. Firstly, she had to convince employers. She tried 50 companies, but only five of them gave a positive response, among them Chinese subsidiaries of three big accounting firms.

"She has the unique talent of persuasion. The way she recounted the misery of those Guizhou kids had to be compelling enough to evoke the compassion of potential employers," said Tu Shunde, vice-chairman of Runling Charity Project, of which the summer internship forms a part.

It also gave an opportunity for her schoolmates to be exposed to the corporate world and help determine their directions for career.

Tong Chuang, a 21-year-old accounting major, got a stint at the accounting firm KPMG's Beijing office.

"I realized that this is not the kind of job I would want now," he said, after keying in data most of the time during the internship. "I'll go for a master's instead."

Tong, who is not from a particularly well-off family, ended up donating 400 yuan (US$50) out of his 2,000 yuan (US$250) paycheck to Runling.

"I have relatives just like those in Guizhou, who had to quit high school because they had no money left to go on. I can understand their situation and I'm glad I can help in my small way," he said.

Bao Xiaoyan, a classmate of Tong's, got her internship at Ernst & Young Hua Ming. She liked the work she was doing and is now considering full-time employment there. She chipped in 1,200 yuan (US$150), about 40 per cent of what she was paid during the month-long tryout.

Overall, 25 junior and senior students from Ling's management class participated in the internship programme, raising a total of 25,700 yuan (US$3,200).

The donation has been channelled to 64 high-schoolers in Guizhou Province, and worked out as the equivalent of half a semester's tuition fees for each student.

"We have to keep the project rolling in order to get enough money to pay the tuition fees of those students before the new semester comes," said Ling. "It is important that they keep the light of hope and do not despair."

Ling revealed that she telephones scores of potential employers to plead with them to join the scheme. "It's a long list of companies and we will keep trying."

But difficulties remain as the winter vacation is shorter and revenues from coming internships may not match those of the summer programme.

'Charm and compassion'

Ling herself feels like she has been the beneficiary of more than a little understanding in her life up to now. This young lady with long curly hair, dyed stylishly brown, and a pair of big earrings, speaks in a feminine voice, but she is technically not a female yet.

She is undergoing a series of operations to "clinch her status as a woman."

In a society of conformity, gender ambiguity can be difficult to cope with.

Mao Dawei, a teacher at the management school student union, told China Daily that he and other teachers were aware of Ling's unique gender status as soon as she entered the school. But they always see her as a woman, just the way she wants to be seen.

While she does not hide her identity from her social circle, Ling is keen for attention to fall on to her charity and not herself.

As she develops her social skills and business know-how as she gets older, she is determined to turn her own experience into something positive for those less fortunate.

"It is Ling's charm and compassion that won over the employers. The Runling project cannot go this far without her," said Tu Shunde, her colleague at the school student union.

Ling said: "The reason I came to this school is the level of acceptance I could expect here. I feel grateful when someone gives me understanding and encouragement. It has supported me through times of difficulty.

"Now that I'm in a position to help others, I won't shirk away. A little love, understanding and support can go a long way."

(China Daily December 20, 2005)