English - IFAD

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“In their own words”: introducing
the testimonies
Listening to poor rural people is essential if we are to understand rural poverty and
identify appropriate and effective solutions to overcome it. Throughout this report,
you will find first-hand accounts from men and women living in rural areas in six
countries around the world: China, Egypt, Madagascar, Pakistan, Peru and Senegal.
Panos London coordinated the interviews, working with local partner organizations
in each country. 1 A total of 30 interviews with 15 men and 15 women between the
ages of 15 and 82 were recorded between November 2009 and May 2010. 2 These
individuals are referred to as narrators; their accounts provide a glimpse into the
lived reality of rural poverty today and of these people’s hopes and aspirations for
their children’s future. A brief background to the six locations is presented below.
These first-hand accounts are not intended to be representative of rural poverty in
any particular country. They do however help us appreciate how these men and
women have been affected by poverty and the strategies they have developed to try
to overcome it.
Short first-hand accounts from all 30 people are interspersed throughout this
document to complement the main text. (The full transcripts of their testimonies
are available at: http://www.ifad.org/rpr2011.) Each chapter begins with a brief
biography of two narrators, highlighting aspects of their own lives that reflect the
content of that chapter.
China
Narrators: Li Guimin, Zhang Guobao
The narrators come from Donghao village, in Hebei Province, northern China. The
village has a population of around 2,500. Most households only have small areas of
land where they grow vegetables, wheat and maize for home consumption and limited
marketing, and some also keep pigs, chickens and rabbits. Most young male villagers
and unmarried women – up to 50 per cent of the population – have left to find jobs in
other places, leaving mainly the elderly and women and children in the village. There
is only one primary school; while there are five health clinics, they provide only basic
care. The poor condition of the roads makes accessing emergency health care difficult.