Apr / Jun 2021No. 157

30th June 2022

Community elderly satisfaction questionnaire survey

Project Progress

Hanyuan County, a comprehensive rural development project

Meat rabbit breeding for income-generating projects

In April, with the full promotion of the project, prospective rabbit farmers completed the registration of the meat rabbit breeding project. Through the screening of various conditions, 22 demonstration rabbit farmers were finally determined, and a rabbit mutual aid group was set up. From April to May, farmers held four group meetings. Through the meeting, the organizational structure, group responsibilities and job division of the rabbit mutual aid group were determined. At the same time, farmers repeatedly discussed the details of the funding agreement and supplier selection, and finally signed the funding agreement. According to each family's own needs and conditions, they purchased their own breeding rabbits. By June 19th, all farmers had completed the purchase of 440 breeding rabbits, and after passing the inspection, they received the first phase of project funding.

High-branch-shear support project for agricultural equipment

At the beginning of May, the project personnel found that most women had a high demand for multifunctional high-branch shears by investigating the current situation and demand of agricultural machinery and equipment in Pianma Village in the early stage. Because walnut trees are widely planted in Pianma village, the pruning of walnut trees every year is labor-intensive, especially the work on high branches, which is a challenge for left-behind women. Therefore, high-branch shears with telescopic function have become a great effective help for women. The women's team members and the village committee discussed the details of the high-branch-shear support project, and after comparing various types of products, finally determined the demand, specifications and suppliers of high-branch-shears and purchased samples for trial.

Survey on satisfaction and needs of the elderly in the community

In April, the project staff conducted a satisfaction survey and a variety of demand surveys on the elderly who participated in various activities and project support carried out in the early stage. Through a semi-structured interview, this survey interviewed 45 elderly people in Pianma Village and Ranmo Village. According to the analysis of the survey results, most of the elderly people have problems of lower limb pain and difficulty in getting up and down due to long-term heavy physical labor, so they have a high demand for assistance equipment (such as mobile toilets, bedside handrails and wheelchairs). On weekdays, the entertainment activities for the old people are monotonous, and they can only watch TV, chat with neighbors or stroll around by themselves in their free time. Therefore, most of the old people hope to have some gathering entertainment activities suitable for the old people nearby, so as to enrich their lives. Old people were full of praise for various activities supported by previous projects, such as medical insurance, toilet handrails, anti-slip crutches, moon cake condolences, etc. They all said that such activities are warm and intimate, which not only provide convenience for their lives, but also solved practical problems. More importantly, they feel cared for and respected.

Planting Chinese herbal medicines for income-generating projects

In order to continuously promote the income of women and the elderly in Ranmo Village, the project personnel, the village committee of Ranmo Village, and experts in medicine planting analyzed a comprehensive set of factors such as natural geographical environment, temperature, climate and soil conditions in Ranmo Village, listed the cultivation of Chinese medicinal materials such as Pinellia ternata, Polygonatum sibiricum and Achyranthes bidentata in the feasibility plan, and decided to inspect the sales market. From May 22 to May 24, Ranmo Village Committee, representatives of expert planters and project personnel made a field visit to Chengdu Chinese herbal medicine wholesale market. The origin, quality, current price, trends and other aspects of a variety of Chinese herbal medicines were studied in detail. During the investigation, it was found that the market price of Chinese herbal medicines fluctuates greatly at present, and the planting and sales are developing both regionally and on a large scale. The profits of scattered growers are low and the risks are high. Finally, after discussion, it was decided that the village committee should be responsible for contacting the local Chinese herbal medicine processing manufacturers and negotiating with them about the purchase, so as to reduce the risks and ensure the reasonable benefits of growers. 

Dragon Boat Festival for Community Celebrations

In order to inherit the national culture and strengthen community integration, the women's group members of Pianma Village, Fuyin Village, Ranmo Village and Chalin Village decided to organize an activity of wrapping ‘zongzi’ (rice dumplings) to welcome the Dragon Boat Festival in each village. From May 31st to June 2nd, the women's group members of the four villages divided their work in their respective communities, from preparing for cleaning ingredients, preparing fillings, wrapping dumplings, cooking dumplings to distributing dumplings. Everyone performed their duties and cooperated tacitly in every step, connecting every link in series with ease, and making the whole activity colorful. It is worth mentioning that Pianmacun Sunset Red Band also spontaneously glowed for this activity. The old people came to the scene to "join in the fun" with musical instruments and stereos on their shoulders. When the women wrapped dumplings, the old people gave talent performances such as musical instrument performance, solo and chorus. Finally, they joined the women's group to sing and dance together, adding a touch of bright color to the festival. The women in Yincun Village and Chalin Village haven't tried their hand for a long time, fearing that their skills of making dumplings were "at the bottom of the list", so they invited the experts from Pianma Village to give technical guidance. Finally, the women in Fuyin Village and Chalin Village also mastered the skills of making dumplings skillfully. With 100 hot and fragrant dumplings coming out of the pot one after another, everyone's joy and sense of accomplishment were beyond words.
This Dragon Boat Festival, the women in four villages not only made perfect rice dumplings with their own skillful hands, but also gave their love to the lonely elderly and families in distress around them, and wrote another year's festival hymn with the affection of rice dumplings and righteousness.

The third phase of mental health training to improve women's physical and mental health

In order to improve the health and happiness of women in the community and respond to the content of mental health courses put forward by women before, this mental health training mainly focuses on the parent-child communication methods that women were particularly concerned about. On June 9th, Pan Zhaohong, an old friend of the women, was invited to Pianma Village again and held a round table meeting with more than ten women present. On-the-spot interactive communication was adopted, with the most anxious way of getting along with parents as the core, and a comprehensive analysis was made from the multidimensional factors such as the manifestations of problems, root causes, positive ways for response, etc. Combined with on-the-spot questioning and answering methods, the meeting helped to relieve doubts and anxiety.
On-site women were most concerned about their children's cell phone addiction, learning efficiency and maintenance of the parent-child relationship. Teacher Pan analyzed the problems from a psychological point of view, and at the same time shared her experience: First of all, parents should try their best to be emotionally stable when facing their children, while respecting their children's personality and choices, which is the basis of good communication between parents and children. For children of different ages, parents should teach students in accordance with their aptitude, and efficient companionship is the best choice for cultivating children. "Having fun in learning", the exploration of knowledge can not only be found in class and homework, but also in daily life and play, so as to discover children's interests and specialties and cultivate them accordingly. When dealing with adolescent children, it is necessary to first understand the independent growth needs of the children at this stage. Parents should try their best to listen, accept and understand the emotional expression of the children, and express their concern and worry in a timely manner. Teacher Pan not only answered questions for women on the spot, and provided advice on good parenting methods, but also helped everyone to understand their inner expectations and relieve their anxiety.
In addition to the on-site training activities, Mr. Pan also visited three families in the village of Pianma to express condolences, understand the inner needs of women in distress, give psychological support, relieve grief and provide hope.

Handmade lipstick for women's group capacity building

In May, the women's groups in Pianma Village and Ranmo Village respectively carried out handmade lipstick making activities. According to the results of the demand investigation in the early stage by the activity group, it was organized and carried out by the core members of the women´s groups. The members of the women's group took care of everything from the proportioning of materials, the preparation of tools to the making of details. Not only to beautify themselves, the members also distributed the successfully baked lipstick to the women who were unable to attend in person. The activity not only satisfied the women's love of beauty, but also enhanced everyone's life happiness as well as team cohesion and tacit understanding. 

Senior team serving for the aged

From April to June, all kinds of activities of the elderly team in Pianma Village were in full swing. According to the accessibility, the old people spontaneously set up five small teams, and carried out their daily entertainment activities, in which they rehearse songs and dances and exchange experiences. At the end of each month, all the team members got together, gave presentations, exchanged and learned from each other. The establishment and operation of the team for the elderly in Macun shows the old people's own love for life and their passion for having fun. The timely project not only stimulates the talent of the old people, but also ignites everyone's yearning for a better life. Every afternoon, old people could be seen everywhere in the village, chatting, listening to songs and singing in groups. After dinner, there were groups for small "square dances". In addition, a ten-member band with an average age of about 65 was built in the activity. It is composed of people who play all kinds of traditional musical instruments. After repeated rehearsals, the band members already had several excellent ensembles and they even planned future activities named "festival benefit performance" and "art going to the countryside". The creation and growth of the team of the elderly in Macun not only enriches the daily entertainment life of the elderly in this community, but also provides a new way for the interaction between the elderly in different communities. 

Summer pavilions for the elderly and women.

In order to make on-the-spot visits to the pavilion material manufacturers known earlier, in May, the representatives of Pianma Village and Ranmo Village went to Chengdu together with the project personnel, got an in-depth understanding of the specific situation of the pavilion construction manufacturers, and visited a number of suppliers, and made a detailed comparison on the production scale, wood materials, production technology, style price, delivery process, etc. Everyone favored the suppliers with a long history and good reputation, and the final pavilion material manufacturer was determined after discussion.

Finding local social worker candidates

In response to the state’s call of the training of social workers, and to better serve the key beneficiary groups of projects such as women, the elderly and families in distress, the project personnel, through many visits and surveys, jointly identified one social worker candidate in Pianma Village, Fuyin Village, Ranmo Village and Chalin Village with the village committee, and interviewed these four candidates respectively. For evaluating the candidate’s qualifications for the position as social workers in our project, the following aspects are discussed, including the personal recognition of the project, the willingness to help the vulnerable groups, the interpretation of public welfare services, and other relavant abilities . The final social worker candidate will be determined in the follow-up by combining the project requirements and multi-group comprehensive feedback.

Comprehensive Rural Development Project of Xide District

Siguojue Village Women's Group Caring for Five Guarantees Activities II

After the project team helped the women's group members to carry out caring activities for two 80-year-old lonely people in the village in March, the women never forgot their original promise: to do their best to care for more vulnerable groups in the village. In order to uphold the initiative of the women, and to advocate the formation of an atmosphere of caring for vulnerable groups in the community, the project team assisted the women's group in carrying out a second activity of caring for vulnerable groups. During the activity, women sent rice flour oil and warm greetings to a single deaf-mute old man; Another single old man in his 70s was given a military coat and a light coat that can be worn at present. When the members of our project team visited the house, they observed that the old people's ability to do things by themselves was poor, and that it was dangerous to walk outside the house. We installed a solar lamp inside and outside the house for the old people to illuminate the place while going to the toilet at night. The two old people were very excited and kept saying thank you. Actually, we feel that we haven't done much for them, but their reaction and feedback to us make us feel as if we have done a great thing. That kind of feeling is wonderful. Maybe this is the driving force that constantly inspires us to continue to deepen our efforts on the road of community development! I hope that in the future, with our assistance, our women's group members will also have such feelings and the motivation to continue to serve the disadvantaged groups in the community, so as to jointly build a better community and make the villagers more harmonious, united and friendly.

Siguojue Village Health Training Project

In order to make villagers, especially women, in Siguojue village have more opportunities to personally learn the knowledge of hygiene and health, the project team invited village doctors in Siguojue village to organize villagers to carry out relevant training activities regularly, expecting that through a series of systematic training, participants can master the routine knowledge of hygiene and health. Up to now, two training activities with different contents and themes have been carried out. One is about the knowledge of COVID-19 epidemic prevention, including how to wear masks and wash hands correctly. One is about the effective prevention of hepatitis. At the activity sharing meeting after the training, the women who participated in the training gave feedback that the training of village doctors was close to their daily life, and they could understand them since they can also speak Yi language. The women also showed the project team members the correct way to wear and remove masks on the spot. With the continuous and in-depth training activities, we hope that in the future, our women will not only live a rich and wonderful life, but also live a healthy life!

Celebrating Dragon Boat Festival and Caring for Community Vulnerable Groups

Since the launch of the project, we have set up three women's groups in Siguojue Village and Machang Village respectively. In order to improve the project organization and execution ability of women's team members, and to advocate the community villagers to form an atmosphere of caring for the vulnerable groups together, on the occasion of the Dragon Boat Festival, at the request of the villagers and the two village committees, the project team assisted the three women's teams in carrying out a Dragon Boat Festival celebration and caring for the vulnerable groups. During the activity, the women distributed the wrapped and cooked ‘zongzi’ to all the villagers for free, especially the five-guarantee households and families in trouble. One elderly family with disabilities felt the deepest emotion. He said, ‘zongzi’ is delicious. I haven't eaten it in my life for so many years, and even my own children have never wrapped it for me. Thank you very much!" The activities not only made the vulnerable groups in each village feel the concern and care from women and other villagers, but also made the women sublimated in the activities and feel healing. In his speech, the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee Jin gave great affirmation and appreciation to this activity. He said that the activity was very successful, which was inseparable from the hard work and efforts of the women's group members, and gave great affirmation and appreciation to their creative ideas of caring for the five-guarantee households and disabled households. 

Livelihood development project

At the beginning of February, we started the first batch of 51 farming projects in Siguojue Village. Through the later acceptance and project follow-up process, we found that the villagers' recognition of this project was very high, and everyone was very satisfied, whether it was partners, village committees, farmers or households without independent development ability. Therefore, at the strong request of the villagers, this quarter, we started the second batch of 18 farming projects in Siguojue Village. These also follow the principle that 3 farmers each help one family who has no independent development ability or is in trouble, so that they form 6 pairs for caring and helping.
Besides Siguojue Village, we also promoted this project in the third group of Machang Village. A total of 107 villagers participated in the project, including 23 sheep farmers, 25 cattle farmers and 59 pig farmers. There are 18 groups of self-help groups formed with the rule of every six farmers with one poor family which has no development ability or is in trouble. 
Coincidentally, as soon as we helped the villagers to complete the project of expanding the scale of breeding, the government issued a policy of subsidizing farmers, that is, for every sow that the villagers breed, the government issued a breeding subsidy 1000 yuan, with a ceiling of 4,000 yuan. This is undoubtedly great good news for these farmers. 

Siguojue villagers go out to visit the project

In order to help the pepper growers in Siguojue village to sell their own pepper and other agricultural and sideline products at a better price, at the request of the members of Siguojue village cooperative and community capable people and with the strong support and assistance of Siguojue village committee, we funded a group of 13 of them to visit Shimian Pingyang Cooperative, Agricultural Incubation Park, and the e-commerce and pepper cooperative in Qingxi, Hanyuan. The purpose of this visit is to enable these communities in Siguojue Village to increase their understanding of the win-win cooperation development model, and at the same time, it is hoped that through this activity, they will have the opportunity to learn from other peers who have done well, increase their knowledge and broaden their horizons. More importantly, we expect that through their contact with other partners, they can exchange needed goods, which is also an effective way to increase their own product sales channels.

Health Improvement Project in Third Group of Machang Village

With the implementation of the sanitation improvement project in the third group of Machang village, the villagers of the third group gradually realized the benefits brought by the project. From the first batch, only 5 villagers were willing to sign up for the project, then the second batch, 10 households, and now the third batch, 12 households, have signed up for the project, which shows that the villagers' recognition of our project is steadily rising.
The villagers' traditional consciousness can't be changed overnight, and it always takes a long process. For example, when the second batch of sanitation improvement projects were started, the villagers only approved the construction of bathrooms and solar water heaters, rather than the construction of sanitary toilets. When the third batch of sanitation improvement projects was started, with the in-depth development of our project work and repeated patient preaching, 4 households out of 12 finally showed their willingness to try to build bathrooms, install solar water heaters and build sanitary toilets. Although four households are a small number, we hope that these four households can play a leading role in demonstrating and influencing other villagers' behavior and values. Only when their thoughts changed will they change spontaneously.

Things and people in the village

[Celebrating Dragon Boat Festival] 

In order to cultivate the ability of organizing and coordinating activities of women's group members in Siguojue Village, improve community cohesion, and advocate the formation of an atmosphere of mutual respect and love among villagers, we cooperated with Siguojue Village Committee and the National Archives Bureau, and the women's group members in Siguojue Village organized the left-behind women and the elderly in the village to carry out this "Celebrating Dragon Boat Festival and Caring for Vulnerable Groups".
On the eve of the event, the women finished the preparations for washing the leaves for rice dumplings, scouring glutinous rice and mixing meat stuffing. A little after 8 o'clock in the morning of the activity, a group of 16 core members of the women´s group had already sat in the activity room of the village, and made preparations for making dumplings in an orderly way. Everyone had a clear division of labor. After the rice dumplings were cooked, volunteer Zhang Yi organized everyone to share the customs and culture about the Dragon Boat Festival. On this occasion, Xie Ling, a village doctor, once again explained in detail the scientific methods to prevent the COVID-19 epidemic, including seven-step washing techniques and how to wear masks correctly. After the training, the women got up and danced the national dances Lale and Lisu's laundry dance.
After the dumplings were cooked, the women's team members sent nearly 150 cooked dumplings to the homes of four disabled families, three lonely elderly families and other elderly people. The old people hold zongzi in their hands, and their faces are filled with happy smiles, and they all sigh, "I am very grateful to you. We Yi people have never celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival, and we have never wrapped zongzi. This activity has made us taste it, and made us feel the happiness of the Dragon Boat Festival, and we also like it very much. Thank you! " . Women also asked about the daily life and health of the elderly in detail. Women's care and greetings moved the elderly very much. They were thankful for being thought of and cared for.
When zongzi was delivered to the disabled, they gratefully said, "On a hot day, you came home to deliver zongzi. It's delicious. I haven't eaten it for so many years, and even my own children haven't given it to me. Thank you very much!" The women encouraged them to overcome difficulties, and build up a firm confidence in life. They also exchanged views on their current life problems caused by their mobility difficulties, and listened to their opinions and suggestions, so that the disabled people felt the warmth of the community. The disabled people and their families who received assistance expressed their gratitude to everyone for their concern and support. They will also be happy about their future life and face the reality optimistically.
The activity ended, but in a way it didn't. The dumplings were finished, and the vulnerable groups in the village, such as the elderly, women and children, ate them. Everyone was happy, showing a harmonious atmosphere and scene everywhere. However, it is not over because our women's group's action of caring for the vulnerable groups in the village is not over yet. With the continuous improvement of their own abilities, I believe that in the near future, we can all see more of their hard-working on the journey of rural revitalization, and wish them and more villagers in the village a better life day by day.

About us

DORS has been insisting on the participatory approach throughout all projects since its establishment, focusing on the sustainable development of project villages. DORS works closely with local villagers, and on the basis of full respect, trust, openness and transparency, creates opportunities and atmosphere for target groups to actively participate in the whole process of the project and decide, plan, design, perform and manage the project on their own. DORS projects benefit the whole community as much as possible, especially women, disabled people, families in distress and other groups in the community.
Over the years, DORS has formed a DORS working family with project staff as the core, office staff as the guarantee, and volunteers as the auxiliary. Family members perform their duties and cooperate sincerely, expecting to serve the people more professionally and effectively and contribute their own strength.
In 2022, we will work together to realize our expectations with our common strength.
May the world become more and more beautiful.