WE Schools: Impacts in Rural China

Mid Year Report: December 2018

With a population of over 1.3 billion, China is the most populated country in the world and is
the fourth largest country in size after Russia, Canada and the United States. China is located
in the southern region of Asia and is bordered by fourteen other countries, including several
seas. While home to some of the most spectacular sites in the world, including The Great Wall
and The Forbidden City, almost half of China’s population lives on less than $1.90 per day. In
China’s rural communities, approximately 52 million people live in poverty.
[Learn more here]

Education Water Health

The lunch program at the school in Dao
Lazui is incentivizing parents to send their
children to school as it provides nutrition, an
additional meal and a higher standard of
education as children will be more attentive
in class. Whenever a lunch program is
initiated, community members are hired to
prepare meals for students and in Dao
Lazui, WE hired two community members
who previously worked in a local restaurant.
After passing a health and safety inspection
from the government, the lunch program is
up and running!
Nearly one third of China’s population
lacks access to piped water. WE responds
to these issues and invests in clean water
and sanitation initiatives that are specific
to each community’s location. The
community drilled to the desired depth for
the borehole in Dao Lazui! As a result of
this depth the community will be able to
sustain the irrigation system. The
electricity has been connected and is ready
for the installation of the pump. The pump
and irrigation system is on track to be
completed by end of year 2018.
Through the years, the government has built
small health centres in the towns with
greater populations. As a result, people
from the smaller communities must walk
for hours to reach any basic health services.
To improve the quality of health services,
WE Villages focuses on developing health
outreach and education by setting up health
workshops and preventive health training to
build the professional capacity of local
health care workers. Doctor visits are
arranged at schools to ensure that all
students and community members have
access to health care professionals.

Food
In the community of Wujiazhuang,
agricultural trainings are led by WE’s local
agricultural coordinator to emphasize the
importance of maintaining a nutritious diet,
including a variety of diverse food groups.
Farmers participated in workshops about
crop diversification and improved
agricultural techniques and learned
advanced skills for planting. These activities
help communities update their agricultural
practices, be more resilient to changing
environmental realities and ultimately,
become food secure.
Opportunity
China has a rural population totalling over
600 million people. WE Villages
programming is helping to support these
communities through animal husbandry
projects which include the provision of
pigs, chicken and goats. The breeding and
selling of these animals serve to improve
the income levels while also improving the
livelihood of families benefitting from the
milk and by-products of these animals.
“My life is better now than
before. The cabbage yield this
year is so much better because
of sufficient irrigation. It is
enough to support my family this
year. And my nephew has a
better diet now because we eat
more kinds of food.”
– Yajun,
61-year-old prod community member of Dao Lazui
 WE Schools: Impacts in Rural China
Mid Year Report: December 2018

Liping’s Story
Liping is a 47-year-old community member from the partner community of Dao Lazui,
China. She lives with her husband, mother-in-law, and teenage son. She is an avid
farmer, whose favourite activity is cooking for her family. “I love the people in my
community. Everyone is friendly; everyone wants to help each other.”

Her main source of income comes from growing maize, potatoes, beans, and peppers
on her farm. When Liping’s land did not receive enough rainfall, she explains that her
family struggled. “We had to eat a limited amount of food when the harvest was poor.
And we didn’t have varieties of crops and planting technology to help.” Liping
continues further, “We planted the same varieties of maize and beans for many years
and the yields were not good. I knew I needed better varieties of crops to increase my
yield and also gain a higher price from their sales.”

Through the WE Villages Food Pillar of Impact programming, Liping was able to
participate in seed testing and fertilizer experimentation trainings. She has improved
her crop yield and farming skills and happily shares that her income has increased as a
result this year.

“Because of the program in my community, I would rather stay at home doing farming
work,” she shares. Her other recourse to gain an income would be to leave and work in
a neighbouring city, as she previously has, as a waitress. “Now my whole community is
able to stay in our hometown.” She is grateful for her ability to share her success. “All
of my crops are growing normally. It’s supporting my whole family. I no longer worry
that we will suffer starvation during the winter season. We now have enough food so
that we don’t need to cook limited amounts for meals anymore.”

As for Liping’s hopes for the future, she announces, “I hope my son will study at the
university. And I hope my family members will stay healthy and that my whole
community will become more beautiful.

WE has partnered with over

5,500+ 26 communities,
children are attending schools
built in partnership with WE serving tens of thousands of
across Rural China community members across
Rural China

We are grateful for your generous support of our WE Villages programming in Rural China. Together, we are
empowering families and communities with the tools and resources to break the cycle of poverty and build a
brighter future. This remarkable change wouldn’t be possible without you.