Tweet
Wearing a thick support belt and hunched over thanks to back and leg problems, 63-year-old Chen Shu-chu puts peppers, taro and mushrooms into bags for customers at her vegetable stand in eastern Taiwan.
She does this for up to 18 hours a day, six days a week. But no matter how much money she makes, she spends no more than a few dollars a day on herself so that she can give away the rest. Meet one of the world's most unlikely and humble philanthropists. Over the past two decades, Ms Chen has donated over 10 million Taiwanese dollars ($350,000; £210,000) to the building of a school library and a hospita wing. She has also donated to a local Buddhist organisation and orphanages. The donations included money inherited from her father, royalties from a book written about her and cash prizes for her work. To some people, it might seem like madness to give away most of your wealth. But Ms Chen insists it's not that difficult. "Everyone can do it. It's not just me. It's not how much money you make that matters, but how you use your money," she says. "I don't see money as being that important. After all, you can't bring it with you when you start a new life and you can't take it with you when you leave this life."
What has helped Ms Chen, a Buddhist, save so much is her austere lifestyle. She is a strict vegetarian and eats simple meals of cured tofu and rice. She also has little desire for material goods. When asked if she has ever purchased anything extravagant for herself, she says she once bought an imported piece of clothing, but regretted it later. "When I wore it to the market, a customer said she had the same item of clothing and that mine must be a fake. I felt bad and I realised no matter how I dress, it doesn't change the fact that I'm a vegetable vendor."
Personal motivation
Born in 1950, Ms Chen has struggled with poverty for most of her youth but credits it as a source of motivation. When she was still in primary school, her mother died after a difficult childbirth because her family could not afford proper treatment at a hospital. But how has a woman with such a modest profession accumulated so much money to give away in the first place?.............Read more here
Found this a Lovely read.............
She does this for up to 18 hours a day, six days a week. But no matter how much money she makes, she spends no more than a few dollars a day on herself so that she can give away the rest. Meet one of the world's most unlikely and humble philanthropists. Over the past two decades, Ms Chen has donated over 10 million Taiwanese dollars ($350,000; £210,000) to the building of a school library and a hospita wing. She has also donated to a local Buddhist organisation and orphanages. The donations included money inherited from her father, royalties from a book written about her and cash prizes for her work. To some people, it might seem like madness to give away most of your wealth. But Ms Chen insists it's not that difficult. "Everyone can do it. It's not just me. It's not how much money you make that matters, but how you use your money," she says. "I don't see money as being that important. After all, you can't bring it with you when you start a new life and you can't take it with you when you leave this life."
What has helped Ms Chen, a Buddhist, save so much is her austere lifestyle. She is a strict vegetarian and eats simple meals of cured tofu and rice. She also has little desire for material goods. When asked if she has ever purchased anything extravagant for herself, she says she once bought an imported piece of clothing, but regretted it later. "When I wore it to the market, a customer said she had the same item of clothing and that mine must be a fake. I felt bad and I realised no matter how I dress, it doesn't change the fact that I'm a vegetable vendor."
Personal motivation
Born in 1950, Ms Chen has struggled with poverty for most of her youth but credits it as a source of motivation. When she was still in primary school, her mother died after a difficult childbirth because her family could not afford proper treatment at a hospital. But how has a woman with such a modest profession accumulated so much money to give away in the first place?.............Read more here
Found this a Lovely read.............