Dealing with disability to beat poverty

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They said there was a secret behind their house.

So, I left the couple shoveling corn into a wooden roasting barrel to investigate.

It turned out to be a cave containing buried treasure — liquor. The couple uses the cavern hidden behind their home to store large ceramic urns in which their corn liquor ferments. I sniffed the finished product. It smelled … potent. Deng Zaiquan and his wife haven’t yet relocated from Guizhou province’s underdeveloped Yikoudao village to Tongren city like most of their neighbors. He’s concerned about getting a job, since he has a disabled arm.

So, they’ve spent the past four years brewing spirits to support their three children in high school in Tongren.

“Disabled people are wor- ried there are no jobs for them in the city,” said Xiao Han, a public servant in Tongren, who helped relocated villagers to adapt to urban life.

“There’s no specialized training for them.”

Deng’s family owns a 120square-meter modern apartment in Tongren. But the couple only visits it about five times a year.

“I want to find a job in the city to stay with our kids,” Deng said, shoveling corn in front of his rustic house.

The kernels flew from the blade like sparks as he spoke.

“But most of my family’s income comes from alcohol. I can do that here.”

They earn 40,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan ($6,000-7,700) a year selling booze.

I’ve focused on covering poverty alleviation during my 11 years in China.

No society in human history has lifted so many people out of poverty so quickly.

The relocation program in Tongren and the construction of infrastructure in Guizhou serves as a microcosm for what’s happening nationwide, as China has declared it’ll eliminate extreme poverty by 2020.

Everyone knows China is a huge country with a huge population.

But fewer people appreciate the role of geography, which has largely conspired against the 1.4 billion people who inhabit the country’s terrain.

China is crowded not only with people but also with geological hazards.

Its inhabitants dwell among an inordinate density of fault lines, mountains, deserts and plateaus.

Guizhou has long remained one of China’s poorest provinces because of its mountainous terrain. It’s diced by karst peaks that make agriculture, industry, transportation — basically, you name it — difficult to develop.

The country has made great strides in overcoming such roadblocks as mountains to enhance transportation in such tricky terrains.

Urban centralization in places like Tongren provide advanced, accessible public services and modern, private amenities in homes.

A growing number of programs provide job training to former farmers and herders that offer better livelihoods. Deng is an outlier. One of the final steps to eliminating poverty is to provide new opportunities for people like him.

I’ve noticed that when people remain poor in places where the government has generally brought prosperity, it’s often linked to illness or disability. Deng’s family is doing OK, financially.

But if he could work in the city, he could live there, too.

And he could enjoy its advantages — including being with his kids. Contact the writer at erik_nilsson@ chinadaily.com.cn

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