Migrant workers club together to build a better future for impoverished home village
Savings pool allows community to build new library and other facilities
One community in central China has proved it really does take a village to raise the next generation.
A group of 56 migrant workers from Gaozhuang village near the city of Luohe, Henan province pooled their savings over the course of a year to convert an old house into a library and study centre and build a new cultural and entertainment square, the Henan Business News reported.
Their savings also went into repairing the village’s fish pond.
The newspaper described their efforts as working for “the next generation of villagers”.
The group – who called themselves “gaofushui,” a term meaning “tall, rich, and handsome” – worked various jobs outside the village, and were able to save around 30,000 yuan (US$4,500) in the space of one year.
“Although we had to work very hard away from home, our roots are in our hometown and if each of us donates some money, the entire village can improve,” the group’s leader Guo Tuozhu told reporters. “If we can make the villagers happier, why not do that?”
