ACWF Team Stages Multiple Activities for Impoverished People in NW China's Gansu

On July 23, a poverty alleviation team from the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) held a wide range of activities at an impoverished village in Yanjing Town, in northwest China's Gansu Province as part of their regular Party-themed activities to boost the confidence of local women in fighting poverty.

The team members have been tasked to station in Zhangxian County and work with local residents for the improvement of their lives and the development of local economy.

During their visit, the members learned that the poverty-hit Qianjin village is home to 52 households with 215 people whose annual income is below the national poverty threshold and that its poverty headcount ratio has surpassed 20 percent.

Women account for only nine percent of all the Communist Party of China (CPC) members in the village. Xu Aiju, president of the village women's federation, has not yet joined the Party. Moreover, only five members in the village federation's executive committee have received a primary-level education, while the rest of them are illiterate.

Therefore, the team has been confronted with many thorny tasks when it comes to further strengthening the building of grassroots women's federations, encouraging more members of the executive committee to join the Party, and making full use of the executive committee in rallying support from female villagers to win the battle against poverty.

As to these issues, the team held a ceremony during which the local Party members refreshed their vows when they joined the CPC, and a lecture was given to local residents on laws and policies in connection with the protection of their rights and poverty relief.

In addition, the team invited a female village official from another township in the county to talk about her experiences leading 20 impoverished women to increase their family income via raising cattle and sheep, presented awards to model households for their maintenance of clean and beautiful courtyards, and held a donation of daily necessities to local poverty-stricken families.

Xu said that the women's federation will guide local women in following the Party's call and organize more activities to win the support of female villagers in bringing economic prosperity to them in the future.

Xu Bin, Party chief of the township, stressed that the team's activities have provided local people with great inspiration in the improvement of their lives. He added that the township will lead locals to further emancipate their minds, increase impoverished households' awareness of the importance of fine family doctrines, and encourage them to create bright prospects with personal efforts.

(Source: womenvoice.cn/Translated and edited by Women of China)