The Civil Affairs Department of the Tibetan Autonomous Region plans to invest CNY29.85 million to build a new children's welfare center to meet the increasing demand of orphaned and disabled children.
The existing Tibetan Children's Welfare Center, which was built in 1999, is now no longer able to meet the needs of orphaned and disabled children due to its limited facilities.
The new children's welfare center is slated to open in 2010 with a total construction area of 11,950 square meters. Providing 300 beds, the center will consist of a children's activity area, a recovery area, a service area, and a residential area.
At present, the Tibetan Children's Welfare Center cares for up to 900 orphaned and disabled children. By the end of 2007, there was a total total of 5,073 registered orphaned and disabled children in Tibet, but most of these were scattered throughout the region and did not have a home.