Boat residents in Yueyang settle on land

Yueyang is located on the shore of China’s second largest lake, the Dongting Lake, and many aspects of life from ancient times till today are affected by this dominating geographical feature.  In fact, the very name of the province Yueyang in located in, Hunan, literally means “south of the lake”.  For those who live and work on the lake, life is not always wonderful.  Recently, the government has been trying to persuade families that live on boats on the lake to move to the land in an effort to improve the lives of these residents who are among the most poor and the most vulnerable in northeast Hunan province.

(Xinhua) — Some 7,550 people living on boats in Hunan Province have recently been persuaded leave behind life on the lake and to live on the land.
Mr. Xiao, 36, moved his family from their fishing boat to a 75-square-meter apartment at the end of last year.  “It’s the first warm winter we’ve ever spent. It’s like a dream,” Xiao said sitting beside an electric heater with his wife and son in the three-bedroom apartment in Yueyang County, Dongting Lake region.
“Before, we spent every day in an 8-square-meter houseboat for fishing. I thought I would live like this for the rest of my life,” Xiao said.  The couple suffered serious rheumatism and schistosomiasis like many other fishing people in the region.
Dongting Lake, China’s second largest freshwater lake, has been home to thousands of fishing households unable to afford life on the land.
Many of them suffer waterborne diseases and are not able to enjoy social welfare services or preferential policies for farmers.
So far, about 7,550 people in 2,322 households of Yueyang, Yiyang and Changde cities in the Dongting Lake region have been relocated to apartments on land.

Please pray for the ‘grass roots’ people of Yueyang, those who are NOT caught up in the race to own the biggest apartment and the most expensive new car.  Pray for those who struggle just to provide the basics for their families.