The Lijiang Credit Co-operative Project is jointly funded by the Credit Union Foundation of BC, the Canadian International Development Agency and the Lijiang Rural Labour Policy Research Office. Now halfway through his mission, Mr. Doucette is impressed with the Naxi people. As rural people, the Naxi already know the value of working together on common projects. Though women hold a place of equal if not greater esteem, compared to men, in Naxi culture, their burden is heavy, especially in the countryside. As there is no middle school in the villages the program serves, most girls leave school after grade three.
Local hygiene is inferior and even the most basic medical and health services are lacking.
Dysentery and gynecological diseases are common, social services almost non-existent. Soon after Mu Qun Fang and her new husband Hong Jie Hai exchanged their wedding vows and began settling into their modest hillside home in San Gu, tragedy struck. It should have been a happy time, but we were so sad. We thought he would die. Unable to afford medical treatment with their meagre income, Ms. Mu provided what comfort she could.