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Ji Yongbo: “Soldier” fighting poverty in Qujing, E Yunnan

Updated:2019-10-29 10:54:29   XinHua

A camouflaged suit, a kettle and a satchel are a set of standard “equipment” for Ji Yongbo, the person in charge of the poverty relief working group in Pukeying Village, east Yunnan’s Qujing City.

Since he was discharged from military service in 2017, Ji Yongbo has volunteered to start his new life in this small village. He said that he is now still a “soldier” who fights against poverty.

Wang Youcai lives in a poor family in the village. His parents are too old to do farm works and his son is with disabilities. To improve their living conditions, Ji helped Wang’s family cultivate corns and potatoes and raise livestock. Now the income of Wang’s family can reach at least 20,000 RMB (approximately 2,830 US dollars) a year.

Apart from helping villagers grow crops, Ji also pays attention to education of the children in the village. He said that knowledge is the key to eradicating the “root” of poverty. Starting from the age of 17, he has donated money and goods to over 400 students up to now.

Currently, listening to the suggestions of Ji has always been the first thought of many villagers whenever they have problems about crops growing or family conflicts.

“Lifting villagers out of poverty is our target, so we should not sit in the office. Instead we should stay with the villagers and solve problems for them,” Ji said. Within half a year, he has visited 460 households in the village and treated the locals as family.

Recently, he set up a studio and created “studio+internet+poor family” mode, introducing beneficial policies for the locals. He said that his dream is to help the locals get rid of poverty, and he will continue to fight against poverty. 

By Luo Chunming and Zhao Pufan; trans-editing by Li Hengqiang

Keywords:   soldier poverty