July 25, 2011
Xu Xuejun graduated from the Asian Institute of Management with a master’s in Development Management in 2006. As a poverty alleviation specialist in the Yunnan Province, he is ensuring that poor villagers and local governments have a voice in the design and implementation of projects designed to address poverty in their communities.
CREATING SOCIAL CHANGE THROUGH BEHAVORIAL CHANGE
Training is the process of changing a person’s behavior—it is helping people perform a task better than before. As my eyes have been opened through the education provided by my fellowship, my IFP journey is not finished, but will certainly influence the rest of my life.
Before becoming an IFP fellow I worked in the Poverty Alleviation and Development Office of the Yunnan Provincial Government for eight years, and took part in national and provincial level poverty reduction programs. Sometimes I encountered difficulties related to the efficiency of this work, and felt that the outcomes of our programs were not very significant. With this in mind, I started to look for study opportunities to increase my work skills in this area.
I was lucky, and after a rigorous selection process I was awarded an IFP fellowship in 2003 and went on to receive my Master’s in Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in the Philippines. I learned a great deal of applicable knowledge and tools related to poverty reduction work. During my studies I also completed a Sandwich Program course in Governance, Democratization, and Public Policy through the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague, the Netherlands, and completed a project paper titled, "Increasing the Participation of Local Government in Poverty Alleviation Program’s Design: the Yunnan Provincial Case".
I learned the need for participatory efforts in poverty reduction. Well-intentioned government poverty-alleviation programs have often been hampered by inaccurate assumptions about poverty, as well as the fact that poor people and local governments at prefecture, county, and township levels have had little say in the design and implementation of such programs.
In the spring of 2008 I was able to participate in an IFP sponsored Global Leadership for Social Justice Forum (GLSJF) for the Asia Region, and completed a course in Asset–based and Citizen–driven development. Through this course I not only learned practical methodology for rural community development work, but also shared working experiences with IFP fellows from other countries. I now understand development concepts that I did not understand before, I can tackle issues I was not confident to address before, and I can design a framework for planning, administering, and analyzing an area’s development.
I returned to my work unit— the Yunnan Foreign Capital
Poverty Alleviation Project Management Center, which is a branch of the Poverty Alleviation and Development Offices of Yunnan Provincial Government, and became a project management division director.
I gave trainings for poverty alleviation office staff from different government levels many times a year during the implementation of the China Poor Rural Communities Development Project (PRCDP), a project co-financed by the World Bank and the Department for International Development (DFID) from September 2006 to July 2010. Training topics included basic issues and concepts related to poverty alleviation, local governance, participatory methods, leadership skills, program and project development and management, finance management, and resource mobilization.
In 2009, I was sent to a poor village in Yunnan province to administer a new construction program. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I used the Asset–based and Citizen–driven development approach that I learned during the Global Leadership for Social Justice Forum to work with local government officials and villagers to form a ten year village development plan. At every step of this development plan I used a participatory approach, and thus was able to train local government officials in these methods. By successfully addressing the development demands of the villagers, both villagers and village leaders were satisfied with the plan.
Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with colon cancer in July 14, 2010, and after my initial operation on July 22, I began chemotherapy treatment. I was very lucky to receive so much love from relatives, colleagues, and friends—especially from the IFP China family, who encouraged me through letters and home visits, with the 2003 cohort even giving a donation to help support my recovery. I will never forget their help and support during this difficult time.
After eight months of therapy I am recovering well and have a positive attitude toward my future cancer treatment. I was able to return to my work unit on March 2, 2011, and will continue to carry out my commitment as an IFP Fellow—to serve the people of my rural community and to continue to be an influence on my colleagues.
Photos, top to bottom:
Xu Xuejun;
With a Miao family while inspecting the local poverty reduction program;
Receiving support and a donation from IFP CHINA Alumni Association during cancer treatment.