Wokai Blog: I have a deep passion for microloans: Wokai China Microfinance Blog

A view from the field...a blog from Chunhua, a community officer in Inner Mongolia:

Wokai loan recipients at Wokai Field Partner CZWSDA in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia

Chifeng: Very few people know this name, and most have never even heard of it. Actually, I was the same until I joined this office two years ago. At that time, I didn’t know anything about microfinance and the work that they do here.

Two years have passed, but I still remember clearly the first day I went down to the office, on the first day of my apprenticeship: it was a rainy day, me and another loan officer went down to a village called Hong Xing, 50 miles away from the city...

Our leader is an older loan officer called Qimulige. She has a lot of experience in this field of work- she told us everything we needed to know and answered every question that we had. We went down to the village every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. At that time, I was five months pregnant, and she took care of me very carefully, both in work and after work. It is very hard to travel from Daban to this village; there is only one bus a day going this way. So usually the loan officers that go to Hong Xing come back on the second day. I remember the day - 13rd of May 2008, Qimulige and I went down to Hong Xing village together. I was still pregnant at that time, so she suggested not staying in the village for the night. Since it was the middle of summer, there was heavy flooding and so our car couldn’t go over the river. Qimulige and I had to walk around the river to reach the village. After we finished our work at the Hong Xing village, we decided to head back to Daban. There were barely any cars on the way back, and we had to walk for an hour till we found a tricycle that offered us a ride back to town. During my two-month internship here, we often ran into situations likes this. However, no matter what the difficulties are, as loan officers, we are always on time.

Living through these experiences, I have seen the long hours and hard work that every single loan officer puts into the job. I have learnt how to communicate with the people living in farming and pastoral areas. Most importantly, I have started to understand the significance of microloans. On 1st of December 2008, I officially became part of the microloan team at Balingyou office.

These women in poverty do not only receive financial help from the loans, but also mental and everyday support. Once we’ve helped them set up their own projects, their attitude towards life and their living environment changes dramatically. Every time we go down to the village and hear from out clients and they tell us how the loans they received helped them through the most difficult of times, it makes us feel like what we do is truly meaningful. This is a very special job for me because, through this job, I gained the villagers’ trust. Every time when my clients ask me ‘Are you cold?’ ‘Are you warm enough?’ I always feel a deep warm current flow through my heart. I am most satisfied when I see the businesses set up with microloans running successfully. During a loan period, I usually end up becoming very good and close friends with my clients. It makes them feel like what they received is not only financial support but also friendship.

So here, I have to first thank Chifeng for providing me with this platform to prove my abilities and for giving me the chance to do what I can to help the women living in the agricultural and pastoral areas; I also want to thank my colleagues who have always looked after me and made me a stronger person. Even though this job is intense and time consuming, I feel like I am living meaningful life. Although it is tiring, I get joy and happiness from it.

Balingyouqi community officer: Chunhua

11st/Aug/2010