Wokai - Micro-Loans - RSS 2.0 Feed

Luo Xinggui

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 15:52:30 CST

I have been borrowing microloans for many years. The center has always supported me in my quest for a better life. It is only with their help that my business can be as prosperous as it is today!

Zhang Mingquan

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:28:07 CST

I am Zhang Mingquan. I am 58 years old. My family lives in Dahongba Village in Fuxing county. Even through we are near the market town, we have very little land and no other form of income. Life is still quite difficult. I have two sons. My older son is already married, but the younger one is not. They haven't been able to find good jobs and their incomes aren't high.

Right now I have three people living under my roof: my wife, myself, and my younger son. In order to support my family, I have been borrowing microloans since 2007, and been running a small shop for two years. My wife and I have now opened a small tea house, she does most of the work to run it.

Now we are applying for another microloan to help our son open a barbecue stand and slowly teach him to make a living. This way he can have a decent job in society.

Zhou Jiasheng

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 16:27:12 CST

My name is Zhou Jiasheng. I am 56 years old. My family and I live in a small and remote mountain village, where living conditions are tough. My two sons have both left the village to find work, so we rarely see them. It was only during the last Chinese New Year that we were reunited.

As for myself, now that I am older, I can't leave the village to find work. I stay at home and work in the construction industry. I hire myself out for construction projects. I specialize in building houses. The price to build a house is not very high here.

I just became a foreman and have more than 10 people under my supervision. Although I don't have to go out to do manual labor anymore, managing people can be quite difficult. I still believe that this sort of work saves both time and energy, and will allow me to earn good money, but I've found that construction work is very tiring! Workers are always asking to be paid for their work once the day ends! As for me, there are times where I don't receive immediate payment for our work, so it can be very frustrating!

On top of all of these, I need to purchase some materials for my construction site. We are short of funds, so I hope Wokai is able to support us!

Morigengaowa

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:04:22 CST

My name is Morigengaowa and my family and I live in Wuxing village in Daban township. There are four people in my family; my son is studying at university, and my mother-in-law also lives with us. Although she is very advanced in age, my mother-in-law helps us every day with work around the house.

I am a long-time borrower of microloans; these past years microloans have helped us get through some extremely hard times. We used to live in an earthen house and had no way of raising livestock. We had to rely on a few mu of land for our income, but relying on farming to make a living is really just relying on the heavens. If there had been enough rain, then our family would have made enough money to get by, but due to the serious droughts, we had almost no income for several years.

In order to improve our living conditions, my husband went out to look for a job to support the family, but every year he made just barely enough for us to scrape by. After my son started school, every semester's tuition fees have become a burden, and we often have to borrow money from other people to pay for it.

Through the women in the village, I learned about microloans, and after applying, was able to receive my first loan. My husband and I used the loan to purchase a few sheep, then borrowed more money to purchase grass fodder. After a few years of hard work, our sheep-raising business had grown and we had a sizeable income. We bought a few heads of cattle and milked them ourselves, producing milk and tofu. We then went to the township and sold them to a dairy store, earning some extra income. With the help of microloans, our family's living conditions have improved greatly. We built a brick house and my son could afford to enter university.

My husband and I decided that after our son finishes university, we will buy a few more heads of cattle and continue developing the cattle-raising business. However, for the past two years there has been a lot of snow and frigid weather, and some of our livestock have died from the cold. There has also been a severe fodder shortage, so this time I am applying for a Wokai loan of 4,000 RMB in order to buy more fodder.

Aodungaowa

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:53:12 CST

My name is Aodungaowa. I have a family of three and live in Wuxing village, in the Bulagdaban region of Inner Mongolia. I borrowed my first microloan six years ago. During those years this mircroloan helped me a lot and I have used it to be better at raising livestock than before.

Right now, my family’s main source of income comes from raising livestock. But in the last two years, there have been frequent droughts and no grass has grown in our pastures. During the winters there is always a serious shortage of fodder for the animals, making it very difficult for us to care for our animals.

In order to lessen our burden, my husband and I discussed selling a portion of our livestock, but even this wasn't enough to ease the shortage of fodder.

This year on March 1st, a livestock grazing ban went into effect, increasing the amount of fodder we had to use. Because of this, I am applying for my second 4,000 RMB microloan, mainly to buy fodder to feed my animals.

Siqinqimuge

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:47:04 CST

My name is Siqinqimuge, and my family and I are ordinary herders living in Wuxing village in Daban township. I have been borrowing microloans for ten years now.

Ten years ago, life was very hard for my family. We lived in an earthen house; in the summer we feared rain, and in the winter we feared snow. We didn't have any way to raise livestock, so we relied on a few mu of land for our income. However, the land did not bring us much income due to droughts, so my husband often traveled far away to look for work so that he could support our family.

While living under these circumstances, I found out about microloans through the women in the village and decided to apply for one. The loans have helped me so much throughout the years. With them I have generated income from my sheep-raising business, and we were able to build a brick house. Life has improved every day.

However, in the past few years we have had serious droughts which have affected our income and brought hardships upon our lives. This time I am applying for a 4,000 RMB loan in order to buy grass fodder, to help ease the fodder shortage we are currently experiencing.

Siqingerile

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:42:15 CST

I am an ordinary herdswoman in the village of Baolige, Guguilong, town of Daban. My name is Siqingerile. There are three people in my family. My son is in junior high school; he's doing well and is a very fast leaner. When the school semester finishes and he comes home, he helps us with jobs around the house. My husband and I both hope that he will study diligently and be able to go to a good university. Because of this, my husband and I work very hard every year to earn money so that we can pay our son's tuition fees. Next semester our son is starting high school where the tuition fees are even higher. As parents we can't put pressure on our son, and although we work hard, we try our best to create an good environment for him to study in.

At the moment we mainly rely on the income from raising livestock and cultivating about half an acre of land to cover our day-to-day living costs. Last year it rained quite a bit more than in previous year and we made some income from the crops we planted.

This time I am applying for a 4000 RMB microloan to be used for planting crops, buying enough urgently-needed grass fodder, and continuing to increase our income made from planting crops.

Jinmei

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:54:11 CST

My name is Jinmei, and I am 38 years old. There are three people in my family. Before I got married, I left home with my husband to do day labour because my family was poor and did not own livestock.

In 2005 we stopped our aimless drifting and returned to our hometown where we used our savings on building a three-room house. In 2008 we bought three dairy cows and started living a genuine herdsman's life. Our situation showed clear signs of improvement.

But there is a constant threat of bolts from the blue, and the same year I was diagnosed with a tumor in my uterus. I had to undergo major surgery which cost us a lot of money. One disaster after another, one of our dairy cows died for unknown reasons, and we sunk back into our original poverty.

But we did not give up when faced when this difficult situation. The cow might have died, but our spirit did not! Even though my family is very poor now, I believe that there is no problem that the three of us cannot defeat as long as we encourage and help each other. I will carry on firmly, and some day in the future I will be able to climb out of poverty and be on my way to wealth.

The year before last I was granted a 4,000 RMB microloan, which I used to buy grass fodder. In order to better be able to raise my cows, I now apply for another 4,000 RMB, which I will use to buy more grass fodder.

Menggensiqige

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:51:53 CST

My name is Menggensiqige. In Mandarin, my name means silver fower. I am an ordinary herdswoman. I am 41 years old this year. My mother-in-law is 70 years old, and my daughter has already been admitted to university.

Before 2005, we did not have our own house and had to rent an apartment in the city. We did menial jobs to scrape by. We are also migrants. But in 2005, we returned home to take advantage of government subsidies and built a three-room house. We took on debt to purchase two cows; and we have already paid off the debt. Last year, I borrowed 4,000 RMB in start-up capital to buy a milk processing machine. Using this machine, I produced higher quality dairy products. The money I make from selling my dairy products is decent. Last year, I borrowed capital from Wokai. This year, I am planning to continue borrowing capital from Wokai to buy fodder and to increase my family's income.

Sarengerile

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:48:53 CST

My name is Sarengerile, which means moonlight. There are three people in my family. I have cute, energetic 17-year-old daughter. She has loved painting ever since she was little and has won many awards for her paintings. I am an experienced microloan borrower, and am going on my seventh year as a borrower. It has really helped me a lot and solved my family's short-term funding problems.

In 2005 we moved to Hongqi Village. At that time, my daughter was attending correspondence school and money was tight. Life wasn't easy. We pooled together all the money we had and came up with 3,000 RMB that we used to buy a used car to do deliveries. Because the car was so old, expenses were high and that impacted earnings.

In 2005, we used loans to purchase a diary cow. Our lives got better and better, day by day, year by year. We have paid back our loans and now have ten diary cows. We used our 4,000 RMB of loans last year to buy feed and increased our revenue. Having paid back that loan already, we are applying for another 4,000 RMB microloan to purchase more feed.

Guilesuhua

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:45:01 CST

I am Guilesuhua, which means apricot blossom. My husband and I have a son and daughter. My daughter already has her own family, and my son works away from home.

Because there have been several years of drought in the north that caused desertification, the government responded by moving us to Hongqi village, in order to preserve the environment. At that time, we didn't have a home and lived in housing provided at the village. Because of poverty, my daughter left to go work after graduating middle school. She sends money once a month.

Additionally, with some hard work on the part of my husband and myself, our economic condition has improved. We were able to build a new home in 2008. We borrowed 4,000 RMB in 2010 to purchased grass fodder and raised 40 fat lambs. We have already paid back our last loan. We would like to borrow another 4000RMB to purchase grass fodder and continue to improve our lives.

Wuyun

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:30:30 CST

My name is Wuyun, which mean "wisdom" in Mandarin Chinese. I will be 44 this year, I completed my education up to Junior High, and have a warm family of 4.

I moved to my current home in Hongqigazha Village in 2001. At that time I was only apportioned 10 Mu of land, and this did not include any grass land. I had no money to buy fodder, and trying to raise more than 40 sheep and approx. 10 head of indigenous cattle without any fodder was an extremely hard thing to do. Consequently, my husband and I discussed the matter and decided to sell off more than 40 sheep, and specialize in raising cows.

In 2004 I changed the variety of cows I was raising, sold off all my indigenous cows, and bought 4 cows which would produce more milk. My husband and I raised them with the utmost care and attention. We raised 9 dairy cows between the two of us up until 2009. As my annual income increased significantly, so did my living standards improve.

In 2008 we bought a brand new milking machine. In 2011, we sold off several cows and now have just 3, to whom calves were born this year. In order to adequately prepare their fodder, I would like to again submit an application for a 4,000 RMB microloan with which I have decided to buy fodder to increase the cows' milk yield and also increase our household income.

Wulan

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:15:29 CST

My name is Wulan, and I am a 42-year-old ordinary herder and am loyal to my country. There are five people in my family; three generations live together in my house. In 2001 I moved to Hongqi Gacha village. Everyone in my family has always been a herder, and we don't have any new technology, nor are we experienced at selling and trading for money. Our existence relies on a few heads of cattle and sheep. There are 144 families in my village; every family has dairy cows, and we take care of them all together. My family also has dairy cows, and we rely on the women's industrious hands to milk the cows. I thought that if we had a milking machine, then it would free the women from this arduous task, and would also help us earn money. Two years ago, I took out my first microloan worth 4,000 RMB to buy a milking machine that I used personally and also rented out to make life easier for all the women in the village. My income increased, and it brought positive changes to our family! I have already paid back my last loan, so now I am applying for another loan of 4000 RMB in order to buy grass fodder.

Wurensiqige

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:12:45 CST

My name is Wurensiqige. I am a herdsmen in Hongqi village. I am 44 years old and have a family of four. My son is attending college in the county seat.

In 2000, because of environmental reasons, we moved to our current place of residence and scrapped together everything we could in order to build a large three room house.

At that time, although we had finished building our home, our family didn't own a single head of livestock. Later on we borrowed money and bought two cows to make dairy products. We take the dairy products to the county seat to sell, in order to make money so that we can send our two children to school. Our family relies on selling dairy products for its main source of income.

The year before last, my husband had a very serious motorbike accident on his way home from selling dairy products in the county seat. He had to be hospitalized and we spent a lot of money on his medical treatment. Now my son has successfully entered college, which is another big expense for us.

These last few years it has been particularly dry and there is a serious shortage of grass fodder; moreover our stalls are also shabby. Thus, the year before last, I borrowed 4,000 RMB of Wokai funds in order to build warm stalls.

Our family raises local dairy cows, but they don't produce much milk, so we really don't have any income in the winter. Last year I also borrowed another 4,000 RMB microloan. Now again the grass fodder shortage is starting. Therefore, this time I am continuing to apply for another 4,000 RMB so that I can buy grass fodder to solve the shortage problem.

Samuga

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 23:46:26 CST

My name is Samuga and I am 39 years old. I am just an ordinary herder. Our 16 year old son is still in junior high school and his grades are very good. Aside from our animal husbandry work, my husband and I would also take turns to work temporary jobs in the city during our free time. On the one hand we can earn more money to support the family; on the other hand we can also save for our son’s tuition fees. Nowadays, university costs are high so we have started to save up bit by bit to prepare for the future.

This year I would like to apply for a 4,000 RMB microloan to buy in stockpiles of fodder. Animal husbandry is the main means of income for us herders; therefore we need to be prepared in case of heavy snowfall this winter.