Right on Target

By Chen Ran

When Mureli Ajati opened the doors to his own home-based convenience store， it was the fulfillment of a life-long dream. The 34-year-old resident of Manas County， northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， who has polio， has used the location of his street-facing family home to his advantage.

This spring， Ajati， who lives with his mother and brother， was encouraged by the countys federation of people with disabilities to set up the store. He was impressed by the speed and efficiency with which the operating license and other business documentation was processed and delivered to his door.

The contact information of suppliers and how-to guidelines were also provided and the motivated entrepreneurs operation is now running smoothly.

Targeted measures

Xie Yande， the newly appointed head of the federation， and his co-workers were instrumental in helping realize Ajatis dream. Since the beginning of 2014， some 200，000 staff members working at government institutions across Xinjiang have been assigned in groups to work in villages， some of which are povertystricken. The program forms part of a threeyear-long campaign launched by the regional government in the hope of improving peoples livelihood.

A four-member team headed by Xie took up residence in Ajatis village on February 25. One of their top priorities since then has been poverty alleviation using targeted measures.

Unlike past experiences that heavily relied on outside donations and assistance， Xies team focuses on finding solutions from within. The members conducted door-to-door surveys， registering eight people with disabilities from seven impoverished households. Plans were then designed around the requirements of each person. Villagers with disabilities are encouraged to raise livestock or poultry， provide labor services or buy shares in local projects to increase incomes. In addition， Xies team and local officials are pairing up with each targeted impoverished family to ensure full implementation of the plan.

Chicken breeding was one item on Xies agenda， as some of the villagers living with disabilities wanted to convert their backyards into farms， but struggled to obtain funding. To date， Xies team has provided 17，000 yuan （$2，500） worth of chicks to needy households. “We have a shared belief that its better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. Besides， we are making close friends with local villagers through various communications，” said Xie.

Like Ajati， Yakufu Maysuti， who also lives with a disability， saw his dream reach fruition with government sponsorship. A native of Shanshan County， some 220 km away from Manas， Maysuti comes from a big family with scarce land resources， and the only income was from his son who did odd jobs around town. Earlier this year， he was given seven sheep for breeding along with the necessary funding and breeding information. Moreover， his family was relocated into newly built affordable housing twice as large as his previous shack. “I couldnt be happier with my life now，” said Maysuti.

Policy support

Official data shows that some 1.74 million people in Xinjiang have been lifted above the poverty line in the past five years. According to the Chinese Government， people in rural areas with a net income per capita of less than 2，300 yuan （$343） annually going by 2010 prices are deemed to be living below the poverty line.

In addition to existing national policies concerning poverty alleviation and people with disabilities， the State Council， Chinas cabinet， unveiled a new aid project targeting more than 20 million poverty-stricken people with severe disabilities on September 25， 2015， which became effective across the country on January 1.

Xinjiang still has 2.61 million people living below the poverty line. Some 332，400 people with severe disabilities could benefit from the aid project by receiving monthly living subsidies and home-nursing allowances.

“All the assigned government workers in poverty-stricken villages will not leave until local poverty eradication missions are complete，” said Zhou Junlin， Chairman of Xinjiang Disabled Persons Federation.

“As President Xi Jinping had said， ‘We are trying our best to make sure that nobody will be left behind on the road to build a moderately prosperous society in all aspects by 2020. That is our promise and also commitment，” he added.

Proactive approach

No one has a better understanding of the importance of helping lift people with disabilities out of poverty than Zhang Haidi， Chairperson of the China Disabled Persons Federation.

A national role model of self-motivation， Zhang， 61， who became paraplegic when she was 5 years old， has bitter-sweet memories since taking office in 2008.

At the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on October 3， Zhang said that during the past decade， people with disabilities in China have experienced changes in many areas. For instance， more legal documents are issued to better protect rights， driving licenses are accessible， guide dogs are allowed on public transportation and talented youths are admitted by normal colleges.

However， Chinas poverty rate in rural areas is double that of urban areas， as more than 70 percent of its 85 million people with disabilities across the country live in rural areas. Zhang said the obstacles for poverty- stricken people with disabilities include limited access to rehabilitation， education， employment and funding.

Her view was echoed by Zhao Li， economics professor at the Hainan Academy of Governance. Zhao said vocational training programs designed for people with disabilities， but capable of working， is a feasible solution running parallel with rehabilitation for poverty alleviation. Enterprises should play a key role in creating jobs for people with disabilities as part of their social responsibility.

Hadventure， a Beijing-based IT company， sets a good example in this regard. The company trained 30 people with disabilities in south Chinas Hainan Province to upgrade their typing skills. These people were then able to complete digital and hard copy data projects. “They did a great job， and their monthly salary could reach more than 2，000 yuan （$300），” said Cao Zhe， Manager of Hadventure.

Making good use of technology is also advocated by Zhang. Besides field surveys， compiling accurate demographics based on big data is a primary task of Zhangs organization， to help enhance the efficiency of poverty eradication targeting people with disabilities. Currently， more than 4 million people with disabilities have been registered in the national poverty-stricken population database.

“Looking up to role models who lead a happy life through their own efforts helps building morale， strengthens self-confidence and cultivates self-motivation. I do believe that small changes from within could make a big difference，” said Zhang.