(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-05-31 11:26

WASHINGTON -- Gifts In Kind International, a famous US charity organization, and United Parcel Service (UPS) have teamed up with the Chinese Embassy in Washington and several corporate donors to send a fully loaded UPS relief plane to China.

The relief plane from the United States contains more than 10,000 tents, 1,100 cots and 225 cases of surgical gloves, according to a press release circulated by Gifts In Kind International on Friday. The plane is expected to arrive in Chengdu, capital of the quake-hit Sichuan province in southwest China on Sunday.

"We are grateful to UPS for shipping these urgently needed products to earthquake victims and to the Embassy of the People's Republic of China for helping to coordinate the distribution within the affected area," said Gifts In Kind International President and CEO Richard Wong.

"Our corporate partners that provided these items and our nonprofit partners, including Feed the Children, have made this effort possible. But this is just the first step in getting victims back on their feet," Wong said.

"Gifts In Kind will continue to work with the Chinese Embassy and our many partners to provide the long-term assistance needed to restore lives," he added.

Almost 69,000 people were killed in the magnitude-8.0 quake which struck China's Sichuan province on May 12 and many others are still missing. Many survivors have been left homeless.

"Working closely with Gifts In Kind International and the Chinese Embassy, we are eager to bring these critical supplies to the people of Chengdu," said Lisa Hamilton, president of the UPS Foundation. "This delivery is among the most important UPS will make this year."

The Chinese government has estimated that millions of tents are currently needed to help those who have been left homeless by the earthquake. China will provide two million tents to earthquake victims, but an additional one million tents are desperately needed. Gifts In Kind International said it has organized a tent drive for both corporate and individual donors.