Families reaping the rewards of relocation
Guizhou has shifted 1.88m people from remote areas in recent times, improving job and education prospects
He Zhihong, 49, a resident of Tudi’ao town, Yanhe Tujia autonomous county, Guizhou province, said he used to live in a harsh environment where his clothes would be “covered by dust on sunny days and spotted with mud on rainy days”.
“Walking was the only way to get where we wanted and sometimes we yelled at each other from a distance as there were no phones available,” He said. “But those days have long gone.”
He said life dramatically changed after his family moved from a remote area to a new apartment in Tudi’ao’s Datianbao community in 2017, which houses about 300 poor families who came from surrounding villages. Relocation is one of the many measures the country has taken to reduce poverty.
He’s house is a two-story building of 120 square meters with five rooms, offered by the government for free. He and his wife work as forest rangers near their home, and they each earn 800 yuan ($117) a month.
The family receives 2,400 yuan per month from the government as a basic living allowance. He said after the family income increased, they had more time to take care of their children. In the past, they had done odd jobs and sometimes worked far from home to earn a living.
What pleases He most is that his five children now all have the opportunity to attend school.
The eldest, He Dandan, 14, began a new semester at Tudi’ao Town Middle School in August. It takes 20 minutes for her to walk from home to school. She eats lunch at the canteen, which offers three dishes and one soup, and likes to borrow books from the school library.
“The new house and school are much better than the previous ones,” she said.
He Zhihong said Dandan has made good progress in her studies. He said they don’t have to pay for tuition, books and meals.
As a middle school student, Dandan, receives 312.50 yuan in education subsidy every semester, while her four younger siblings, all pupils, are given 250 yuan each. “With these preferential policies, I don’t feel much pressure,” He Zhihong said.
Tudi’ao Town Middle School is one of the designated educational facilities for poor families moving from remote areas to modern communities in Guizhou. A total of 145 out of 1,354 students at the school are from relocated families.
Wang Guorong, principal of the school, said students whose families had relocated only needed to bring their residence booklets for enrollment.
He added the school is equipped with three teaching buildings, an office building, dormitories for teachers and students, a canteen and a washing facility. “We aim to provide a healthy environment for students, and to contribute to rural culture and education development,” Wang said.
Student Ran Honglian, 18, said she doesn’t need to walk a long way or rent a room to attend school as she did before relocating. Ran’s family shifted 20 kilometers to Datianbao community in 2018.
“Life here is much more comfortable. It’s very convenient to go to school, the hospital and the shops,” she said.
Ran’s mother Tian Suxia, 52, takes care of the family on her own since her husband died. They live in a 166sq-m house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Tian earns 800 yuan a month as a forest ranger. The new house and school tuition are both free. Her three other children have jobs. “My best wish is that Honglian can go to a good university,” Tian said.
Guizhou has relocated 1.88 million poor people since 2016, the most of any province in that period. With education one of the most urgent needs of residents, Guizhou has invested over 18.1 billion yuan to build or renovate 669 schools in the past four years, Xinhua News Agency reported in August.
Early this year, the province set a target of completing the construction of the last 96 educational facilities by the end of June and putting them into operation before last month.
Local education authorities said the goal was achieved, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 52,000 students from relocated families being enrolled. The completion of the construction work means all relocation sites in Guizhou now have educational facilities.
The schools will help relocated families adapt to urban life, ensure stability and gradually increase their wealth, local authorities said.