Residents embracing new changes in life
Migmar, a community official in Layak village in Saga county, said she is happy with the fundamental changes happening in her village in recent years.
“Our village had no proper roads or safe drinking water before 2016. But now, all the families have access to running water and the village is connected by paved roads,” said the 49-year-old woman.
She said the newly built roads and pipelines have helped lay the groundwork for a significant improvement in the villagers’ lives.
The local government’s measures to boost villagers’ incomes by helping their transition from traditional herding and farming have also reaped encouraging rewards, Migmar said.
“To make the shift, village officials organized a great deal of training for residents to help them learn different skills such as cooking, welding and operating excavators and loaders,” she said. “That has also helped villagers change their views on work and income.”
Dadron Lhazom, an entrepreneur in Namling county, owns a company selling handicrafts with Tibetan ethnic characteristics and local specialties such as carpets, cushions, blankets, honey, leather bags and incense, helping needy residents work toward a better life.
She has a workshop in her home village in the county’s Dana township that employs 12 local people, including five from formerly impoverished families and two college graduates.
Her company sells products all over the country via Taobao e-commerce platform. It also operates a business account on Douyin social media platform. It earned more than 420,000 yuan ($61,330) from sales last year.
The county government of Namling has held up Dadron Lhazom’s business as a model for poverty alleviation efforts.
Last year, with help from the government, a store selling her locally made products was set up at the county seat, with the rent waived.
“Without the support of the government, my family and my friends, I could not have gone so far in my business,” she said. “I feel grateful to all of them, especially the county government.”
Dadron Lhazom plans to further expand her business to benefit more villagers.
“I hope to encourage more villagers to learn skills to make carpets, tapestries and blankets,” she said. “I hope more college graduates will get involved in entrepreneurship and e-commerce.”
Moving communities to locations with better conditions is also one of the local governments’ efforts to improve people’s lives.
Samdrub Tsering, from Kyilung village in Namling county in Shigatse city, said he and his fellow villagers moved to a new settlement with modern amenities and technology in 2016.
Before moving, villagers endured a harsh environment at an average altitude above 13,400 feet. Medical treatment, transportation and schools were inadequate, he said.
“Before 2016, I did not know that a mother could get subsidies and support after giving birth at the hospital. I did not know it could be safer for both mother and child,” Samdrub Tsering said.
But livelihoods have improved tremendously over the years, Samdrub Tsering said.
“Before 2016, I did not plan to send my children to school because it was too far. I worried about their journey to school,” he said, adding that everyone now wants to send their children to receive education “as early as possible” because the school is just in the vicinity.
In the past, villagers had to
ride horses and yaks to go to hospital or get supplies, but now they can drive or take a bus, the 35-year-old said. “It takes only a few minutes,” he added.
Similarly, information about the latest policies and job opportunities to help residents move ahead are readily available in their new neighborhoods, a far cry from the remote, mountainous areas of the past, he said.
“The local government provides free vocational training programs to us as part of a poverty alleviation program,” Samdrub Tsering said. “We can learn different, useful skills that will help us get jobs, from cooking and welding to construction.”
He said three villagers who took two 60-day cooking courses opened restaurants in Namling county in 2018.
“Over the past two years, their family income has been between 20,000 yuan ($2,980) and 40,000 yuan,” Samdrub Tsering said.
He said he is learning to drive a truck at a local driving school, and has passed the first two levels of the four-level course.
“My plan is to get a driver’s license as soon as possible so I can find a job driving trucks on a construction site. That way, I can get a better salary,” he said.
The Tibet autonomous region has been a major venue
for China’s poverty reduction since the central government began an overall poverty-relief campaign in 2016.
During a news conference held in Lhasa on Oct 15, Wu Yingjie, Party secretary of the autonomous region, said a total of 628,000 people in 74 counties and districts in Tibet have been lifted out of impoverishment since 2016.