Three months have passed by and there is great news to Pite Niuniu’s family that his wife, Azhe Zuotu, has given birth to a healthy baby girl!
After Chinese Lunar New Year, the eldest child, who is 16 years old, went to Guangdong trying to find a job. The two sons have begun their new semester. They go to school in the day time and after school both of them need to help the family with chores. And, now they have a new job: looking after their baby sister who is now just less than two months old.
Every March is the time for spring plowing, and that also means it’s a time of great expense. The family spent 1500 RMB (about US $230) for animal feeding, $30 for grass seed, $80 for fertilizer, and bought 200 kg of potatoes. Another big cost is for the new Yi village, a housing project supported by the local government, which will provide about $3,140 for each family. The rest of the construction cost for each family home (about $6,300) needs to be supplied by the family. More than 70 families will join in the construction here in Zhaojue County, Sichuan Province.
Azhe Zuotu, a self help group member, participated in the trainings of grass planting, animal rearing, drug prevention and the 12 Cornerstones. She also took part in the community events of art performance and tree planting, and she did all these things while in the final three months of her pregnancy.
Spring is the beginning of the new year, and we Chinese have a saying: “Plan your year in Spring.” Pite Niuniu and his family hope the rain will come early to end the drought and the pregnant sow will give birth smoothly and bring them as many piglets as possible. They also hope the construction of the new Yi village will be done soon so they can move into their new house. All of these are giving them some excitement and happiness.
Editor’s note: This post is part of a series that follows the progress of specific families, starting at the beginning of their work with Heifer. Read the first post about Pite Niuniu and his family here.
