Recently, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has organised poverty alleviation in Xinjiang Province. Yao Xinxia, president of the Experimental School of the Xinjiang Branch of the Open University of China (OUC), and leader of the work team stationed in Kalabashilangan Village (Village 10), Mangxin Township, Yingjisha County, Kashi Prefecture, is also secretary of the general Party branch, and responsible for poverty alleviation. She has been cited for her meritorious service, and is the only female cadre engaged in poverty alleviation to have received this honour in Xinjiang.
Leader of the poverty-alleviation work team and cooperatives, farmer, and salesperson have all been roles played by Yao Xinxia since being stationed in the village in February 2018. Under her leadership, the work team has made solid progress.
A Hard-working Public Advocate
When the work team began to assess the situation of Village 10, Yao Xinxia found the villagers reluctant to discuss it. The villages relied on assistance, and did not even want to be lifted out of poverty for fear of losing it. To remedy this, Yao Xinxia brought them together to study the speeches of General Secretary Xi Jinping on poverty alleviation, communicating the policy decisions relevant to their lives, interpreting these and explaining their benefits, and giving them typical examples of what they have accomplished. She has also analysed the causes of their poverty with them, and encouraged them to shed their passive attitudes, show self-respect, and strive for self-improvement in order to finally defeat poverty.
Communicating Poverty-alleviation Policies
Tuhan Abula, a low-income worker from the village, told us that her training in making noodles had enabled her to sell them in the village square, not only meeting her basic needs, but also allowing her to buy new clothing for herself and her children. Yao Xinxia was the one who organised the training, raising funds to teach not only noodle-making but also mushroom cultivation and other skills. Training is free of charge for villagers below a certain level of income, the belief being that training at least one person in a household for employment is the key to eradicating poverty.
Multiple Source of Income
Training of villagers helps them master job skills and generate income from home through domestic improvements such as sheds, fruit trees and grape vines, with which the work teams give them assistance customised to each household, and based on examples created for purposes of demonstration. The goal is to help each household generate 500 yuan of income in this manner.
Relying on the Cooperatives
Led by Yao Xinxia, the villagers have established seven farm cooperatives, creating jobs for more than 200 people. Saaiti Apudusataer owns a sewing shop of less than 15 square meters in Production Group 3 of Village 10, and told the work team how much she values hard work. The shop is small, but its walls are covered with clothing and cloth. Its styles are novel and popular, as are the design and craftsmanship of the shopkeeper. Saaiti Apudusataer told the team that she could not keep up with demand due to scarcity of labour and equipment. The work team helped her establish a cooperative and apply for and receive 25,000 yuan worth of equipment from the township, which she says will double her income to 2000 yuan a month. There are more examples of such cooperatives in the village that have helped labourers find stable jobs and earn a living at home.
Pioneering Innovation
Under the leadership of Yao Xinxia, another cooperative, this one for mushroom cultivation, was established in September 2018, and has provided jobs for 45 low-income residents. The challenge was not in the production but the marketing. Yao Xinxia led the members of the cooperative to every restaurant in Yingjisha County with baskets of their mushrooms. They set up sales outlets at vegetable markets, hired villagers to sell them on commission, visited the morning market …. Where there is a will, there is a way, and now the mushrooms are popular all over Yingjisha County for their excellent quality, low cost, and good flavour.
In March 2019, Yao Xinxia led this cooperative in a successful bid for a project to grow Oudemansiella Radicata, tendered by the Agriculture Bureau of Yingjisha County. Oudemansiella Radicata is a new breed mushroom cultivated mainly in Shandong and Henan provinces. Yao Xinxia visited farms there for technical guidance, and Sun Youjin, a technician from Shandong, impressed by her sincerity, came to Village 10 to help renovate the site, improve the equipment, and train the personnel. He even turned down his fee of 300 yuan a day because of how the hard work and dedication of the work team impressed him. The team has also inspired the villagers to work hard to improve their lives.
As the leader of the Xinjiang Radio and Television University work team stationed in Kalabashilangan Village, Mangxin Township, and the Party secretary responsible for poverty alleviation, Yao Xinxia's actions deeply affect both the team and the villagers. She has inspired the team and united the masses, making them believe they can eradicate poverty in 2019.
By OUC News Network