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| Pite Niuniu and his wife, Azhe Zuotu, in Zhaojue County, Sichuan Province China |
by Heifer China
Pite Niuniu and his wife are living in Zhaojue County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. The county is threatened by AIDS and abuse of drugs. The whole family is depending on farming potatoes, rice and buckwheat, plus pig breeding. They have three children who are all at school, a 15-year old daughter and 2 younger sons. The low production and larger expenditure lead the family to poverty.
After Heifer China came to the village, his wife Azhe Zuotu joined a Self-Help Group. Heifer China gave this family a sow, 4 pigs and some other resources. She learned the 12 Cornerstones, animal breeding management, disease prevention, prevention of AIDS and drugs, crop planting techniques, sapling planting techniques and principals of cooperatives. With the consultation of technicians, they built a new shelter with bricks and cement. In the past few months, the sow passed on 11 offspring, which made the family a 3,500 Yuan income. What’s more, thanks to the seeds provided by Heifer and the couple’s hard work, they had a great harvest consisting of 3,500 kg potatoes, 500 kg rice, 200 kg buckwheat and 1000 kg corns, plus some vegetables.
Azhe Zuotu has received a profound understanding about the mutual support offered in self-help groups; as a result, she started caring for people who need support and love. When the project began, the family received a donation of 4,200 Yuan; so far, they are going to pass 2,200 Yuan to the pass-on candidate family this month. They are planning to pass on an additional 2,000 Yuan in March of next year.
At present, with the help of the Heifer program and the family’s hard work, the household had more income, a better quality and a more harmonious life. They had a repaired shelter, a new biogas pit and a self-owned toilet. Speaking of the future, Pite Niuniu said, “Thanks to Heifer program, I could learn skills and be confident to our future. Thanks for the donors’ help. We are going to be all right.” He would like to redecorate the house; well breed the sow, and make his kids happy.
Editor's note: This post is the first in a new series that follows the progress of specific families, starting at the beginning of their work with Heifer. Initially, this series will focus on our programs in Asia/South Pacific, where our colleagues have chosen one family in each region in the countries where we work and will bring us quarterly updates.
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| The newly-constructed animal shelter Pite Niuniu and his fmaily built with help from Heifer China. |
