Recently, a grand gathering to mark the nation’s poverty-alleviation accomplishments was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Lu Yi, an Autumn 2020 Law undergraduate at the Anhui Branch of the Open University of China (OUC), was named a “National Anti-poverty Role Model”.

Lu Yi works in the Data Resources Management Bureau of Mengcheng County, and is the first secretary and team leader of the poverty-alleviation mission stationed in Tuqiao Village, Xutuan Township, Mengcheng County, Anhui Province. Since arriving there, she has led the villagers to develop their own businesses, and promoted employment, with the result that low-income households have been lifted above the poverty line, gaining an annual net average income of 12,000 yuan, while the village itself has gained 1.193 million yuan in tax income, its first such income. Four new enterprises have been launched, offering local employment, and the village has gained orders for 164 acres worth of vegetables, making it one of the main vegetable-supply centres.

Over the course of helping the village out of poverty, however, Lu gradually realised that she still fell short in terms of knowledge and ability, especially legal knowledge, and therefore enrolled in the Law programme at Mengcheng RTVU. “Let learning be an interest, a habit, a way to enrich your mental world, and a lifestyle”, Lu said as freshman representative at the opening ceremony for the 2020 class. She herself was determined to study hard and achieve good marks, while striving to apply what she learned to the practical work of poverty-alleviation. In September 2020, Lu won a prize in a themed-speech competition for a speech titled, “Securing a Decisive Victory in Building a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects”, which fully expressed her outlook on front-line poverty-alleviation.

As poverty-alleviation first secretary and team leader in her village, Lu Yi has lived up to her duties, and with her team helped guide the village toward a prosperous future. To it, she is an “Emissary of Happiness.

By Anhui Branch