Taipei, April 18 (CNA) Students from 27 classes of the prestigious Taipei Municipal Zhongshan Girls High School have jointly sponsored 30 needy children from 16 developing countries. Starting early this year, the students have been learning to be "good Samaritans" to sponsor needy children from poor families in less developed countries, including nations as far away as Paraguay, Ethiopia and Uganda, using their limited daily allowance or hard-earned scholarship funds. Zhongshan Girls High Superintendent Huang Yu-yi welcomed the enthusiasm displayed by the students in joining the Foreign Sponsorship Program initiated by the Christian charity organization, Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF), saying that the activity would allow the students to practice the Biblical Good Samaritan principle of helping and loving other people and showing compassion. Students from 10th Class Yi have jointly sponsored a seven-year-old boy, known as Obrian, from the Caribbean island country of St. Vincent and Grenadines. Their sponsorship has helped pay for Obrian's lunch at school and buy him stationery, which the subsisting family of the seven-year-old could not afford. Obrian's father deserted the family years ago, and neither his mother nor grandmother has been able to work outside the home, according to Chen Mei-chun, a TFCF director. Hsu Wen-yu, a 12th grader, donated the full amount of an NT$3,000scholarship she received last month for outstanding academic performance. Chen called for all people in Taiwan who are financially capable, regardless of gender or age, to join the TFCF Foreign Sponsorship Program and the great cause of helping others. "We hope to be good Samaritans (Luke 10: 25-36) and do the right thing regardless of religion or status. Where there is a child in need, there is TFCF," Chen added. According to Hsieh Pi-jung, a TFCF volunteer, the charity organization was established in the 50s as an orphanage to help local needy children. It launched the Foreign Sponsorship Program in 1987 to allow the people of Taiwan to help needy children abroad. So far, a total of 23,314 foreign children have benefited from the TFCF sponsorship program, while 38,000 others from scores of third world countries are currently receiving donations, according to Hsieh. (By Deborah Kuo) END ITEM /pc