In China's Sichuan Province, Training in Heifer's 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development led to one woman's transformation into a more peaceful and collaborative person.
Huang Yu, 47, is a mother to two children. She was born in a poor, remote village in Nanjiang County. The oldest of many children in her family, Huang didn't have an opportunity to go to school until she was 10. Three years later, she dropped out in order to take care of her younger sisters and brothers. The circumstances of her upbringing made Huang very strong and stubborn.
At 20, Huang married a young man she had never met. In a new environment with unfamiliar routines, she became withdrawn and quick-tempered. She didn't like to talk to others and was seen as proud. She had numerous quarrels and even fights with her neighbors, and it wasn't long before Huang became the least welcome person in the whole village.
When Heifer International conducted several trainings in her village on the 12 Cornerstones, especially Gender and Family Focus and Full Participation, Huang learned many new concepts she had never considered before. Looking back on her life journey, she realized that having such a strong personality, combined with a lack of education, directly resulted in her family's low income and miscommunication with others in the village.
