ACWF Holds Training Course to Help More Women Escape Poverty

The Department for Women's Development of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) held a special training course for 100 women's federation officials from poverty-stricken areas and 100 heads of poverty-alleviation demonstration bases, in Beijing from June 25-29.

President Xi Jinping has given important instructions on the country's three-year campaign to fight poverty, stressing that it is necessary to work hard to win the battle.

Meanwhile, the ACWF has been implementing the spirit of Xi's instructions and adhering to a strategy of "precision", focusing on eradicating abject poverty across the country.

The ACWF has also furthered the implementation of its Women and Poverty Alleviation program to encourage women to actively participate in and contribute to the overall victory of the fight against the condition.

Content at the event included sessions titled "Interpretation of the 'No. 1 central document'", "Poverty Alleviation Situations and Policies" and "Internet Plus and Agricultural Products E-Commerce".

Further discussions focused on the "Rural Vitalization Strategy and Rural Women's Entrepreneurship and Innovation" and sharing of inspirational stories.

Participants were deeply moved by the incentives and all made the decision to contribute to the poverty alleviation.

Participants came from 21 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, and 91 key national poverty-alleviation and development counties and districts.

Most came from national-level poverty-stricken areas in Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan provinces, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region and northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which are strongly representative of 11 ethnic minority groups, such as the, Tujia, Miao, Li, Yi and Uygur people.

"I really appreciate the training. It can make us learn new knowledge, make friends and learn new experiences. I'm more confident in leading grassroots women to shake off poverty now," said Zhang Qiong, president of the women's federation in Meigu County in Liangshan, Sichuan, after participating in a few days of learning and exchange.

Liangshan is the largest Yi settlement in the country, a well-known area for rich resources. As a typical, heavily poverty-stricken area, it has been a deep concern of President Xi.

Affected by various factors such as nature, society and history, there are still around 491,000 people in Liangshan out of 942,000 who have registered as poverty-stricken villagers, living in poverty.

There are also 273,700 people living there in extreme poverty, where they are unable to get enough food.

Most villagers were indifferent to the poverty-alleviation officials who came from other places at first.

Zhang and her colleagues changed their work place from the office in the county to inside the village to conduct poverty-alleviation work.

Relying on the charity initiatives such as the Spring Bud Program, and breast cancer and cervical cancer patient aid project held by ACWF and the provincial women's federation, officials sent basic articles for daily use such as rice, oil and personal hygiene products to poverty-stricken women in the village.

In addition, they have raised a total of nearly 1 million yuan in charity goods and materials to benefit and help  poverty-stricken women and children through 2,000 times of service.

Nowadays, one of the two impoverished villages that the county women's federation is responsible for has already shaken off poverty.

Xu Weina is a member of the local working committee on women and children in the Maiji District of Tianshui, Gansu Province. She set up a practice techniques training class for villagers, inviting professors in science and technology to conduct training.

The project has helped poverty-stricken people pick the proper industry to get rich whilst guaranteeing that poverty-alleviation loans have a better effect.

Officials in Meigu county have applied for funding and program support and had 500 outstanding people in innovation and entrepreneurship, according to a spokesperson.

Moreover, the officials in Moyu County in Xinjiang have helped 1,423 women get employed through several projects such as a Women Handmade Art Crafts Project.

Satellite factories and poverty-alleviation workshops have absorbed a total of 3,302 impoverished women to get employed in the county.

Furthermore, officials of grassroots women's federations in various areas have taken actions to help villagers shake off poverty and gain more sense of achievement."

(Source: paper.fnews.cc/ Translated and edited by Women of China)