By Rachel Thompson | Individual Marketing Co-ordinator
Small loans made to older people in Sichuan province, Western China are allowing them to become healthier, wealthier and happier. Loans of 2000RMB (£180) to 3333RMB (£300) are distributed through Older People’s Associations (OPA) to vulnerable older people. Over time the project has proved popular and effective. With the loan money and hard work, older people and their families see huge changes in their lives. A year after loans were handed out we visited two older people who received loans. Mrs Huaizu and her son used their loan to buy 6 piglets and from them have raised many pigs. So far, they have sold twelve pigs at market for which they got 5000RMB (£450 pounds). With that money, they bought fertiliser for their farm and earned a further 10,000 RMB (£900) from selling their crops. 83 year old Mrs Huaizu is very happy with the project. She said that when people look at the new cement houses going up in the village people should remember how the Older People’s Association helped them. Another villager, 74 year old Mrs Qu, decided to open a small shop with a grinding mill. With a loan of 5,000RMB (£450) from the OPA, she set up the business and charges a small fee to those who want their wheat and rice to be ground. This covers her time and her electricity bill. Thanks to Mrs Qu hard work and the seed money from OPA, her family have 28 goats, ten pigs and a small shop. This year the net income of her family was more than 10,000 RMB (£900).
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