![Chinese mothers are the biggest victims of poverty. As the center of the family, they are concerned about their kids and husband, the family income and their daily welfare.[Photo/Yu Quanxing]](U347P886T1D4322F14DT20111202142532.png "Chinese mothers are the biggest victims of poverty. As the center of the family, they are concerned about their kids and husband, the family income and their daily welfare.[Photo/Yu Quanxing]")
Reducing the burden of mothers
"I have visited lots of places, all very destitute", says Yu Quanxing. This professor from Tianjin Normal University heads for impoverished pockets of western China every summer and winter to record on camera the lives and living conditions of poor mothers. Over a decade, he has traveled to 64 counties and photographed over 820 local mothers, reports China Youth Daily.
"I wish the public would understand that Chinese mothers are the biggest victims of poverty", says Yu in his non-fiction work Motherhood. Poor Chinese mothers are a special needs group who deserve our attention and care, he asserts, because as the center of the family, they are concerned about their kids and husband, the family income and their daily welfare. They shoulder a heavy burden.
Yu tells their stories of powerlessness and sorrow with his sensitive photographer's eye. He participates in the Happiness Project, a non-profit program focused on providing aid to mothers in poverty. It mainly offers three sorts of help: job opportunities, ending literacy, and free treatment for debilitating diseases. "Decision-making about funds allocation is not easy', Yu acknowledges, "You have to choose your priorities in the face of many needy mothers".
On the lookout for cheaters
Lifting the poverty line is a direct and laudable method of assisting the needy but, as Xinhua News agency has commented, China has learned many lessons on its mission to conquer poverty. It is not unusual for profit-seekers to try to take advantage of new classifications and pilfer the related subsidies.
Some counties actually walk out from under the shadow of poverty with these kinds of interventions, but pretend they are still technically poor in order to continue to qualify for aid. Besides that, where the central government has provided subsidies for the impoverished populations of certain counties, local governments at all levels have retained part of the funds for administration costs and lavish expense accounts, or they have simply pocketed the money. Getting the yuan where it belongs is more difficult than it seems.
Since China is committed to eradicating poverty, besides raising the poverty line it is equally obliged to build a sound anti-poverty mechanism.
