Our Chicken Farming Program (CF) aims to help families increase their financial income to support their children’s education and improve their quality of life. Our goal is to help families earn an additional CNY 3,000 – 6,000 (USD 420 – 840) annually through raising chickens.
Unlike the city, communities in rural China are hard to navigate. One cannot simply rely on GPS or digital maps. When we were approaching Wuer Wuwu’s home, we had to rely on two second-graders to show us the way. When we arrived at our destination, we were met by Wuer Wuwu, a one-year-old son in hand, who politely accommodated us and answered our questions.
As we sat, we tried to get to know her more. We learned that there are eight members in her home, and she is doing most of the work in maintaining it and supporting their financial needs through farming corn and potatoes. A couple of years ago, her husband was herding sheep and accidentally fell badly. Due to their financial situation and location, he was unable to receive timely medical treatment. As a result, her once hardworking and physically capable husband now walks slowly and is unable to perform heavy labor. Now all the farm work fell upon Wuer Wuwu’s shoulders.
One might ask, well, aren’t there some government support in place? Well, there is, but even then, the huge family of eight still faces great pressure due to the children’s education needs. Four of the six children are in school, while the two others are yet to start schooling in a couple of years.
In simple Mandarin, Wuer Wuwu expressed that our Chicken Farming Program just came in at the right time. The knowledge she learned was truly valuable and the potential income generation is quite helpful to their household’s needs.
At first, she was unsure how to truly care for the chicks, but trusted her newfound knowledge from the training. On the first day, she kept the chicks in a warm environment to keep them from illnesses. Every day, she fed them three times—at morning, noon, and night. It took them two weeks to fully adapt to their new environment. She mixed their feed with cornmeal and she witnessed their rapid growth! All 20 chicks had survived, with the heaviest weighing 3 jin (1.8 kilograms).
They say confidence is built through little wins. Now that Wuer Wuwu sees real results in the new tending methods she learned, she feels confident in raising more! She cannot help but express her heartfelt thanks to our organization for giving her a chance to explore a new stream of income during a time where she felt immensely hopeless. Now, her anxieties about supporting her children’s education had been resolved.
Wuer Wuwu no longer needs to explore migration work options because she can now both look after her family while earning money at home. Right now, all she looks forward to is watching her chickens grow. As her fowl grows healthier and heavier, then so does her hope flourish for a better future for her children. Her one wish: they grow up, leave the mountains to find good jobs in the city and live happy and fulfilling lives.
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By supporting the Chicken Farming Program, you help provide essential training, resources, and a sustainable source of income for families in need.
Empower them today.
