The Jiuqian Voluntary Center in Shanghai helps underprivileged children secure a brighter future with extracurricular education, which would otherwise be hard for them to get.

Pushed to the brink of depression because of family issues and a punishing learning environment in school where teachers only cared about making their students exam smart, Huang Ting stopped studying two years ago.

Huang, from Meishan, Sichuan province, was prepared for a premature entry into the work force when her sister told her about a program offered by the Jiuqian Voluntary Center based in Shanghai. Jiuqian means "forever hand-in-hand" in English.

Life has not been the same for the 19-year-old since enrolling in this new educational service. She credits the special program for turning her life around and reigniting her interest in education.

Since joining the program, she has done a sewage survey with undergraduates from East China Normal University, participated in photography activities, and attended to a violin concert.

"I've never been to such events before during my time in previous schools," she said.

Founded by Zhang Yichao, the Jiuqian Voluntary Center offers free extracurricular education for subjects such as English, history, art, economics and science.

The idea behind the center was born in 2001 when Zhang worked as a volunteer teacher during his undergraduate days at Fudan University in Shanghai. He said that it was through teaching at a primary school for migrant workers' children in Jiangwan town, a suburban region in northern Shanghai, that he discovered the predicament faced by these youths.