The girls' class had 30 members, but most of the students at the school were boys.

"The boys envied us because the girls' classes were highly valued by the local education bureau and they were taught by the best teachers from the county," Wang recalled.

She cherished the opportunity so much that she spent four years studying at the school. It was a three-hour walk from her home, so she only returned to Yizi once every two weeks.

Following middle school, Wang was admitted to the Sichuan Radio and Television Technical School in Xichang city to major in accountancy. In 2000, she returned to Butuo to work as a civil servant.

In 2019, after getting married and moving around the county for work several times, Wang was transferred to Boshi, a village in Butuo's Lada township, to work as an official. At the time, Boshi was listed as one of the most impoverished villages in the county.

Determined approach

"I made up my mind that I wouldn't leave until I had improved the lives of the people in the village," Wang said, recalling how she coordinated resources to build roads and houses, and promoted the relocation of people who lived in remote areas. In addition, she led the villagers in planting walnuts and herbs, and introduced training courses for farming skills.

She also helped solve the problem of local children dropping out of school as there was still an attitude of "boys over girls" in the isolated village.

To deal with the situation, Wang used her own experience as a guide.

She told the residents: "Even though I am married, if my parents are sick, I will still take care of them. You want to take care of your daughter? Well, let her study: her life will be good and she will definitely repay her parents."

To illustrate the benefits of education, she pointed out that illiterate women were unlikely to understand how to use modern appliances, such as smartphones, which would adversely affect their chances of finding well-paid employment.

When dealing with old-fashioned customs such as expensive betrothal gifts, which parents use to get daughters into arranged marriages when they are young, Wang usually said: "Look at me. If I hadn't broken off my engagement in my youth, would I still be me today? If you parents don't respect your child's opinion, she will not do well and neither will you."

Over the years, the number of girls dropping out of school has fallen dramatically, so the situation has improved. When a new semester begins, all the girls register on time, thanks to the country's assistive policies, according to Wang.

"The biggest change the project made for me is that I am able to live the life I want and I don't need to do manual labor in the countryside. Meanwhile, after the success of poverty alleviation measures here in the past few years, we can say that many beneficial changes have taken place," she said.

"No matter how capable you are and no matter what situation you are in, you must be grateful in your heart. Only you can change your destiny: no one else can do that for you."

Contact the writer at lihongyang@chinadaily.com.cn