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President of the All-China Women's Federation Gu Xiulian visited the village in Gansu with the water cellars constructed by the China Women's Development Foundation.

Areas of western China suffer some of the worst water shortages in the country because of poor natural and geographical conditions. People there collect rainwater by building containers under the ground, called water cellars. Before the "Land of Love, Water Cellar for Mothers" Project, many farmers could only rely on poorly constructed water pits as they could not afford adequate materials, like concrete. Such cellars would soon begin to leak. Serious water shortage causes hardships in life, reduce agriculture production, and affect education for local farmers. The amount of gynecological disease and the deaths of new born babies are always high in such areas. Women there have carried a burden much heavier than women living in other areas.

In order to help people there, especially women, to shake off poverty due to water shortage, China Women's Development Foundation (CWDF) carried out a project under the guidance of the All-China Women's Federation. The project intends to collect donations from the society to build concrete water cellars for people who suffer from serious water shortage in western China.

"Land of Love" is a theme that could last forever. "Water Cellar for Mothers" is a poverty alleviation project. The full name of the project covers both meanings in mother's love and love for mothers.

Building water storage pits to collect rain water in areas hit by water shortage is the most economical and practical way to improve conditions for farmers, according to experts. A water cellar of 36 cubic meters can collect 50 to 80 cubic meter rainwater. Such amount of water can provide sufficient water for a family of three to five people for a whole year. Having two water cellars, they can irrigate an acre plant. There are many other problems in their lives which can be solved by having more water.

For the water shortage in southwestern China, "Land of Love, Water Cellar for Mothers" Project has expanded to southwestern provinces. At present, the beneficial areas cover 15 provinces, including Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Guangxi. Nearly 1 million people in need in western areas were able to benefit after the launch of "Water Cellar for Mothers" Project.

Up to the end of 2003, "Land of Love, Water Cellar for Mothers" project fully invested a special fund of 110 million yuan. The 900,000 water cellars and 1,070 small-scale water supply projects can be found all over the 159 counties in 12 provinces, autonomous regions and cities. As much as 98 percent of projects were rated as excellent. In February 2003, the Foundation sponsored the international forum on "Land of Love, Water Cellar for Mother", and received satisfactory results.

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