Micro-loans lend support to women

A national micro-lending program that provides loans as small as 3,000 yuan ($489) has lent a total of 12.16 million yuan to 3,638 poverty-stricken mothers in Shanghai through last year, the local government said Wednesday.

The program, called the Happiness Project, has raised more than 26.61 million yuan from social organizations and institutions from 1995 to 2012, according to the Shanghai Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission.

The program, which was started by the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China in 1995, has used the funds to provide interest-free loans to poor rural women who want to start their own businesses, though the ultimate goal is to improve the standard of living for their children.

In Shanghai, women living in the outer parts of the city are the most in need, said Li Lin, a project official from the Shanghai Family Planning Association. "Women in suburban areas usually have little education and lack the specific skills to find a job, which leaves them at a disadvantage. If they cannot find a job and have to rely on farming to make a living, many live in poor conditions," Li told the Global Times.

Women living in the countryside can apply for a loan through the program at sub-district government offices. The size of the individual loans ranges from 3,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan per person, though the program also offers business loans for anywhere from 300,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan, Li said.

"We review each applicant's household income to see whether it is below the area's average, which varies across the city, along with their business plans, personal health and their eagerness to grow their own businesses," Li said.

Every woman who has received a loan has repaid it within the three-year limit, and 91 percent have seen their living conditions improve, Li said.

Zhang Linjuan, 55, who was jobless in 1990s, has earned 80,000 yuan a year by growing fruit on a 133,334-square-meter plantation. She has received 600,000 yuan in loans over the past six years, without which she could have never started her own business.

The program also provides the woman with training and education to help them run their own businesses. "Education is a good way to empower these women, and a mother's education can even influence their children," Li added.