US university program reaches out to survivors, report Gao Qihui in Sichuan and Zhang Yuwei in New York.

The 8.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Southwest China's Sichuan province on May 12, 2008, destroyed tens of thousands of lives, but following the catastrophe a program by the State University of New York (SUNY) provided a unique opportunity for 150 university students.

They were the beneficiaries of an offer by SUNY that June to study at 22 of its campuses for two semesters without charge. Three months after the quake, on Aug 15, the students flew from Chengdu to New York.