Faithful man with disability leads villagers out of poverty

Cui Xuejun. [Photo provided by Jiangxi provincial government]

A moderately prosperous society in all respects should be one filled with love and care.

These words were spoken by Cui Xuejun, winner of the provincial award for poverty alleviation in Jiangxi province in 2019. Cui, born in 1981, is from Gutang village in Guixi's Tangwan town, Yingtan, and is now the head of Jiaxin Stuffed Toy Factory in Tangwan.

Cui contracted poliomyelitis when he was just 1 year old, giving him a permanently disabled left foot. Yet he kept the faith to start a factory from scratch, not only raising himself out of poverty, but also leading villagers on the way to a better life.

Cui's family was registered as an impoverished household in 2016 when poverty relief cadres in Tangwan town undertook an on-site inspection. The cadres then helped explain national poverty alleviation preferential policies to Cui's family to ensure their basic needs were met.

In early 2017, Cui participated in a training program aimed at processing trade with client-supplied materials, organized by Guixi's poverty alleviation office and employment service bureau in Yiwu, Zhejiang province.

The program inspired Cui's entrepreneurial dream to make full use of his experience and personal network to mobilize the surplus labor in his hometown to process products for foreign trade companies in Yiwu.

Thanks to Guixi's disabled persons' federation and the local Tangwan government, Cui found six commercial units of 1,600 square meters to start his business. In addition, Guixi's poverty alleviation office helped Cui apply for a subsidized loan of 50,000 yuan ($7,700).

He named the stuffed toy factory Jiaxin, after his daughter. Efforts have been made in the continuous improvements of production techniques and market expansion since the establishment of the factory.

Currently, the factory has developed into one with more than 500 staff members, and with an annual tax payment of over 200,000 yuan.

"My entrepreneurial experience has made me aware that the success of a single person in stepping out of poverty cannot change the poor and backward conditions of a place," said Cui. 

For those with disabilities or other difficulties, Cui sends and collects materials to and from their doors every day, allowing them to make money without leaving their home.

By January 2021, Cui's factory had provided job opportunities for 508 people. Of them, 45 are individuals with disabilities. Members of 36 impoverished households were included.