Why should we help the poor first? How important is education?

It is better to teach people to fish than to teach them to fish. The root of poverty is cognitive problems. There is a saying that "you will never make money beyond your knowledge". Helping the poor to help the wise first is not "IQ", but "wisdom" and "knowledge". Wisdom and knowledge need to be taught and learned, so education is the only way.

I remember when I first started working in 2003, I was assigned to a project site. At that time, our company undertook a bid section of Lishi section of Qingdao-Yinchuan Expressway, and the project department was next to a village more than 40 kilometers away from Lishi County. I remember when I first arrived there, I was stunned by what I saw. There are bare loess slopes everywhere. Locals eat potatoes and noodles are the staple food. According to local people, they eat an average of 4500 kilograms of potatoes every year. That village is a key poverty alleviation village in the county. There is a fish pond in the village, which is also the only place with plenty of water nearby. Every year, the county units donate a lot of fry to them to keep in fish ponds, but no fish have been caught. According to them, some fry were fished up and eaten soon after they were put down, and the rest died, so no one could raise fish. When I went to see it, the pond was covered with yellow water, just like barren land. I once asked an uncle why he didn't keep the fry to grow up. He said we can't raise fish. It's better to catch and eat than to die. I was startled.

In fact, we ordinary people are not ignorant or lazy, but because of the lack of resources and harsh environment for thousands of years, they have no chance to get in touch with the outside world and learn life-changing knowledge, so they can only live in front of them day after day. They also long for a better life and hope to live a rich life. Teach them how to raise fish when giving them fry, and even send someone to guide the professor. Only when our people master the knowledge and methods of fish farming can they gain the most.

If we only give money and materials to help the poor, we will only solve the immediate difficulties. The real difficulties are actually faced and solved by the people themselves. We teach them how to get rich, let them master real skills, let them know the outside world and know what a rich life is like. Only when we have an objective understanding of a better life can we work hard.

Therefore, education plays a decisive role in poverty alleviation.