Songyang creates employment opportunities for the poor

There’re 192 provincial grade poverty-stricken villages in Songyang County, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province. According to a survey in early 2015, there were 5,801 farmer households and 10,704 people in the county living under the poverty line, making less than 4,600 yuan a year. Half of those people lived in remote villages in mountainous areas.

In order to lift these groups of people out of poverty, Songyang County designed tailor-made plans for each household, and allocated a supervisor to oversee each registered record. The county offered industry training and financial services to the poor and accomplished the mission two months in advance, lifting more than 10,000 people out of poverty.

Cao Congxiang, a villager from Number 6 Village, Dadongba Town is much happier these days. “My life has become better since I got a stable job.” In 2011, Cao’s husband died in an accident, and the widow raised their son on her own by picking tea leaves. Her income was barely enough for the mother and son to get by. Local authorities in her town recommended Cao to work as the family planning person and meter reader since she could read and write. The jobs guaranteed Cao a 6,600 yuan annual income, while her supervisor also helped apply for a 3,000 yuan student grant for her son who was at vocational school.

In order to improve the livelihood of low-income farmers in Songyang, the county provided different employment opportunities according to people’s conditions. For example, it offered sanitary, patrol officer and social security jobs to those with lower work capacity such as seniors and the handicapped. It offered construction jobs to skilled low-income earners and encouraged them to leave home and work as migrant workers. In the meantime, the county launched village construction projects such as sewage processing and countryside construction, and gave employment priority to low-income farmers in the village. Such projects alone increased their income by at least 10,000 yuan a year.

Su Changguang from Huangshantou Village, Chishou Town used to work as a construction worker. In 2015, his village upgraded its country roads and sewage pipes, and Su got a job as bricklayer. “I now make 150 yuan a day just by working in my home village. It’s much better than before.” Su estimated that he could make a total of 20,000 yuan in 2015.

Nanshan Village, Shuinan Residential Block also provided similar jobs to its residents. Villagers were employed as onsite managers, porters, bricklayers and painters. The village created more than 30 jobs and paid workers more than 200,000 yuan, with each worker making an average of 8,000 to 15,000 yuan. Villagers from Sumaping Village, Anmin Town saw their per capita annual income increase by more than 10,000 yuan by going into the processing industry; low-income villagers from Xiazhai Village, Dadongba Town found employment opportunities in Henan province working as decorators. Thanks to assistance and recommendation by local authorities, the villagers’ per capita annual income reached 100,000 yuan.

According to county officials, more than 1,300 people in Songyang improved their livelihood and were lifted out of poverty with help from local authorities. The new jobs also helped them gain more confidence in life.