Poverty alleviation: Big changes in poverty-stricken Mannan Village

Newly-built houses, cement road…… everything in the Mannan Village in south Yunnan’s Menghai County has undergone tremendous changes. But nobody could imagine that a few years ago, it was a poor village without electricity, clean water and even a road to the outside.                                    

The poverty reduction in Mannan is not an easy work. At first, because the villagers had lived in the mountains for generations, they were unwilling to communicate with government officials who came to offer help. Regarded as “strangers” by the villagers, the officials tried their best to get familiar with the locals. They treated them as brothers and sisters and took them to visit neighboring villages where poverty had been eradicated in a bid to broaden their horizons.

The officials also brought pig cubs and fodder to villagers and invited animal husbandry experts to teach them the raising knowledge. Companies also joined in the poverty alleviation by purchasing pigs and tea from the villagers. Youngsters from the village were introduced to Menghai County learning motorcycle repairing skills. Being better off, the villagers now have lived in new houses and started a new journey.