Zhang Sheng
Zhang Sheng has been working with Wokai for the past year and a half as Wokai's Director of Field Partnerships.
Hello blog readers! I would like to share the story of my first visit of the year to ARDY. The main purposes of the visit were to conduct hands-on training for the Wokai operators, microfinance officers, and accountants, and also to coordinate the accounts for Wokai’s website.
At the blink of an eye, my car arrived at ARDY’s headquarters on Panshan Road. I couldn’t help thinking about the last time I was here – it was for the same training purpose and had the same four-day travel itinerary – the only difference is that the Wokai training officers are not the same person. ARDY had previously employed a bright college student to become Wokai’s training officer. The results of the training at that time were very good. As a young person, however, he couldn’t bear the loneliness and hardship, and he also faced better opportunities for growth (and better pay) elsewhere. For these reasons, he decided to leave. Afterwards, ARDY hired a new training officer. One of the reasons for this training session was to replace the loss of ARDY’s skilled staff members. The aging of existing staff members is quite common among NGOs in China. The aging staff members inevitably lag behind in learning computer technology and acquiring new skills, while forgetting newly acquired knowledge more quickly. At the same time, skilled, young people are unwilling to engage in this sort of high-intensity work in a rather trivial work environment, all without less-than-spectacular financial compensation. Many institutions are facing the difficult problem of employee retention, and the “rejuvenation” (hiring younger employees) of institutions has become increasingly unrealistic. I noticed an interesting trend that the majority of employees working in Chinese NGOs are married. This phenomenon actually means that the selection criteria for NGOs’ staff members are very similar to those for NGOs’ clients. The characteristics of married clients, such as low mobility and sense of responsibility, are being considered for the selection of staff members as well.
The training went smoothly this time. We spent nearly an entire day deciding and dividing everyone’s responsibilities for particular tasks and processes in great detail. We spent two days explaining our website operations and photo filming techniques to the participating employees in the course. During the course of the training, I found out that the best training method is to randomly select a trainee and let him/her repeat the content of my speech or conduct the actual demonstration in front of the audience. The trainees were always a bit shy and felt uncomfortable to speak in front of people, or used amateur posture in the demonstration; however, they acted totally different in front of their juniors and customers. Because they were always looking for ways to avoid my questions, I had to act as a teacher and warned them seriously, “If you do not answer my questions, I will not let you go to lunch.” The statement that I used to dread to hear from my own teachers when I was a student still proved to be effective. It seems that sometimes, being a strict teacher could be a good solution. The training was effective and significant for every participant. I was very glad that they were able to grasp the operation specifics of the website so quickly, despite the fact that I could count the number of times that the branch director used the internet on two hands.
On the last day, I went to visit a Wokai client named Yang Zhengmin. The rain had just stopped on the day of our visit so the road was very muddy. After completing a 30-minute journey on the road (which normally takes 10 minutes), the local staff and I finally arrived at the client’s house. Their home was very simple; there weren’t much furniture or decorative items. There was a black-and-white TV that served as entertainment for the entire family. Yang and his family raised various farm crops such as lettuce and oilseed rape on the piece of land in front of their house. I happened to arrive while they were picking lettuce. The place was filled with a strong fragrance of the lettuce; I have never smelled such fragrance from the lettuce sold in supermarkets. This was his first business that he funded from micro-credit. The director of the branch and the microfinance officer told me that Yang and the officers went from not knowing each other to establishing a trusting business relationship within a span of three days. As a result of their mutual trust, the micro-credit transaction was completed smoothly.
I asked the client, “What would you do if you can’t repay the loans?”
He replied, “If I do not repay, they (MFIs) can't do anything to me, but my fellow villagers will talk behind my back and call me a repudiator or a thief. Is it worth it for me to move away for this little amount of money? The cost of doing this (running away) is way too much. Furthermore, Director Lin (Branch Director) and Mr. Chen (Creditor) both trust me, how can I give them a hard time? I can’t bear losing face for this (not repaying the loan)! Moreover, it is convenient to repay in little amounts. It's very good that it would only require the lift of a finger to repay such a small amount.”
ARDY’s chief vice secretary’s rich agricultural knowledge was very impressive. He can calculate the amount of money spent on feeds every month, as well as the final price and net earnings from selling pigs. Under this kind of supervision, farmers can easily and successfully carry out their projects.
My schedule over the four-day visit was very tight, and everything was done in a hurry. I was so sorry that I couldn’t stay at Yang Zhengmin’s home for lunch. For farmers, offering lunch is an important sign of courtesy. If you decline the offer, he may interpret the gesture as your looking down upon him. As a result, he may not want to interact (or do business) with you next time. I really hope that I can eat lunch with his family next time.
Because it had rained the day before, the road was very muddy. At times my shoes were even stuck to the ground. The microfinance officers have to cross these roads several times every day.
Director Lin (First from right) and Mr. Chen (Second from right) visit the clients multiple times before confirming and giving out loans. Director Lin is very popular with the locals. There are times when the village director holds town meetings after Director Lin’s science and technology seminars because the village director knows that the majority of the villagers attend Director Lin’s seminars.
(Left photo) Yang Zhengmin and his wife are picking the asparagus lettuce and preparing them for sale. After removing the leaves from the roots, the remaining parts of the lettuce are sold in supermarkets. Yang and his wife feed the stripped leaves to the pigs.
(Right photo) The plant is called "Oilseed Rape". The local villagers on the hillside would sprinkle the rapeseeds in the spring. Then they extract oil from the rapeseeds, which is used for stir-frying (a famous method that is used to prepare Sichuan cuisine) or for making Sichuan kimchi. You can say that Sichuan locals basically eat this oil because Sichuan dishes all have a special scent of rapeseed oil. Because Sichuan restaurants in other parts of China don't cook with this oil, it is hard to call their food real Sichuan food.
(Left) The piece of land in front of Yang Zhengmin’s home is his family’s most important asset. He picks the vegetables and walks down the mountain to the nearest market to sell them.
(Right) Besides the black and white television, the other piece of technological device in Yang’s household is a Methane gas generating equipment. Pig manure can be used to produce methane. Methane gas can also be used for cooking, and the residue can be used as a natural fertilizer for the vegetables. [Methane is a type of renewable clean energy – it can substitute straw, firewood and other traditional biomass energy, and it can also replace alternative energy commodities such as coal. Methane has higher energy efficiency than straw, firewood and coal do. From 百度百科 or search Methane.]
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