Waiting for the Next Harvest Season

In the past few days, the weather in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province shifted between heavy rain and light drizzles. In Wuyuan County, a scene of misty rain may be a picturesque holiday destination for many tourists; but for the local villagers, this raises concern over their autumn harvest. After suffering from the catastrophic floods in June to July this year, they cannot bear to have more crops destroyed.

 
►A World Vision staff finding out from Guiding about the impact of the flood on his family

Guiding, 43, lives in Wuyuan County. He brings up his 7-year-old daughter, Xiaobing, alone by raising cattle and planting crops. The flood is still a vivid memory in Guiding's mind: "It was around dinner time when the flood came. The water gushed in and the water level rose quickly." He witnessed the destruction of many paddy fields in the village. Nine of 11 cattle that Guiding and his daughter's livelihood depended on were washed away, and only two managed to survive. "The impact of the flood on the people is huge, especially for a single-parent family like mine."

After the flood, World Vision quickly inspected the flood situation in Wuyuan County. On July 15, World Vision delivered the first batch of aid such as quilts, hygiene kits and child friendly kits to help provide relieve to those affected by the disaster. To further help villagers survive until the next harvest season, when they can resume crop production and normal life, World Vision sent a second batch of aid on September 21. The aid items included 144 tons of rice, 3,600 quilts and 2,400 family kits.

Guiding received two bags of rice weighting 15 kilograms and a family kit. Each family kit consist of a water bucket, flashlight, wok, mosquito net, tableware and other daily necessities. "These things are very useful to me," Guiding said, "I'm pleased and very happy about it." 

  
►Guiding and the rice and family kit he received

As the sole breadwinner and caretaker of his daughter, Guiding is under a lot pressure. However, when asked about future plans, Guiding is optimistic: "With the help of the government, I got a loan from a bank and bought eight cattle.” He plans to slowly rebuild his livelihood by planting crops and raising cattle. He also hopes he can reap a full yield by the next harvest bring back some stability to the lives of his family.