Giving a Blessing

good afternoon

in 2008 while working as an expat

in shanghai i had the opportunity to go

on a trip

to qinghai china and it was there i saw

these kids

for the first time

[Music]

the school is on the mountain side of

qinghai

china and on an altitude of 3 700

meters above sea level it’s extremely

cold in the morning

six o’clock all the kids were already

out

on the dusty playground each one finding

their

little own corners with one hand holding

a stick

the other holding a book nailing down

using that stick to practice riding on

the floor

as i was standing there watching tears

just come down my face

i’ve never seen kids living in such

deprived conditions

my own educational background has been

quite different

i grew up in the states i went to the

states when i was 13.

i attended a boarding school very

similar to this one at phillips exeter

i went on to ucla after graduation

worked for a couple years and went on to

university of southern california to get

my mba

growing up all my friends my circle of

friends

were just like me we had similar

backgrounds

similar growth path so to me

i was simple and naive enough thinking

education was a given thing to everyone

the trip had a very big impact on me

when i returned i talked to all my

friends about it

i said we have to do something about

this we should help them

but we didn’t have a lot of money

we couldn’t go out and build schools we

couldn’t go out and buy equipments for

them

but that didn’t really discourage us we

thought we would start with a very

simple step

each one of us will go out

and raise funds collectively

we’ll use that fund to buy stationery

for the kids we thought stationery was

the most practical tool

all the kids would have to use during

their study

the first year we started with a single

pen we sent it out to night schools up

on the mountain side of china

years after that we added on we added on

erasers

pencil cases color pencils

notebook and eventually we have a

stationary kit

in the fall every year before the school

start

we all gather sort package

and then send these stationery kits out

to rural areas

in taiwan nepal budan

and china the stationery is also a

symbol of encouragement

for these kids we want them to know

that somewhere in the world there’s a

group of people that care

about them that want them to continue

their study

and succeed we kept doing this

year after year after year

and as more friends notice they join us

while i was doing this project i was

actually working full time

at fastenal a nasdaq traded company

as the vice president of asia pacific

in shanghai

in the eyes of many i was seen as a

business

a successful business leader

i had a nice job and a good career

that most people would admire

but the truth is i was working extremely

long hours

i’ll be working with my team in the

morning

and at night i’ll be having conference

calls with our headquarters in the

states

and in between all that i’ll be

traveling all over asia

for vendor meetings conferences

and after so many years day and night

day and night it was taking a very big

toll on my body

and my body fight back

about five years ago i had a near-death

experience when i fainted

unconsciously during a business trip

i remember waking up looking at the

white ceiling

and completely don’t know where i was

for a few seconds i thought i was in

next life

it was truly a frightening experience

lying in the hospital bed for a couple

days

i was reminded how precious and short

our life really is

the thought of those kids on the

mountainside kept coming back to me

what happened if i’m not here

and next year we wouldn’t be able to

send these stationery out to them

but they will be expecting

the thought of that really hurt

i’ve always enjoyed the privilege

of a smooth and comfort ride when it

comes to my

job and career i worked as a

consultant for accenture consulting firm

and 3 and director for 3m company for

many years

before taking on the executive world at

festival

things seemed very easy to me and

natural

until i got sick the sickness really

shook me

out of that comfort zone and forced me

to look at my future much more closely

how do i want to spend the rest of my

life

shortly after that i moved back to

taiwan

first to take care of my health it took

me

a year to reheal and it was during that

very difficult time

i made the decision instead of going

back to the corporate world

i would establish a non-profit

organization

called the near children foundation

designated to find the educational

resources

for the kids in the rural areas around

the world

in 2016 we’ve officially

registered the mayor with the taiwan

government

this shift of career change was not

so easy it’s such a big change

i’ve had family friends people

question me all the time about it

how can you do this how can you give up

a career that you’ve filled up for

yourself for more than 15 years

and start from ground zero again

i think with good intention people

worried

very much about me but i also think

it is because in our society today we

tend to value

glamorous job big title and fame

more important than impact to lives

so to give up a nice job

for a non-profit organization venture

seemed like a very insecure and

unattractive thing

to do but to me i know this change

implies enormous opportunities

an opportunity that is beyond my

generation

being sick i realize my time is limited

time is very short and i need to use

effectively to give does not necessarily

mean

money and material it also implies

time and energy so to find the

educational resources for these kids

in the rural areas so that they can

continue

their study i believe is the most

important thing to do

for their future a future i may not be

able to see

immediate results but i know

with the passage of time it will bring

long-lasting

benefit for them

so once i make that decision i take the

leap of faith

and move on it has then opened up a new

world

way beyond my imagination nepal has been

rated one of world’s

poorest countries about 42 percent of

its population is living below

poverty line poverty illiteracy

and whitening of wealth gap has resulted

in many children

being denied of educational rights and

it’s one of the countries

where we support the schools on a long

term

basis here’s a picture of the kids going

to school there

it is very common for the kids on the

mountain side

to chase over buses like these

and jump on to the bus hang their hands

very tight on the handrail

with half of their body hanging out

they could be sitting on top of the

rooftop of the bus or vents

in order to get to school that’s because

on the mountain side there’s just not

enough public transportation to go

around

there could be one bus going up and down

per day

so if they were to miss that bus they

would have to run

or walk miles in order to get to school

there’s also a lack of electricity in

this country

at night kids often light up candles or

they use flashlights

in order to study but kids there

cherish most of what they have i

remember one time

after teaching i was going to give them

some bag of attendees

they quickly lined up into this one line

and without saying much i didn’t say

anything they would each

take one candy from my bag and no more

kids there really don’t have a lot but

they show great appreciation

for the little things that we give them

traveling around to these rural areas

i’ve also brought my volunteer teachers

to bhutan

to give art and english classes

there’s one time the volunteer and i

were going to give an art class

and we brought the lion colored pencil

we carry all the way from taiwan

we walk into the kindergarten class the

bb class they call it

the little one was already drawing

and the boy they had these on their

table were these

tiny used crayons

spread all over the desk

they look up very excited to see us

with their big smiles so we gave them

the color pencil as a gift first

so the boy in the middle started hugging

it very tightly to his chest

and this one boy started kissing the

colored pencil with his mouth

the girls in the back holding it up high

and then the two in the back start

dancing with them

they were so happy the classroom was

just

full of joy i was extremely touched

that day what seemed so ordinary for all

of us in taiwan

means a world to these kids

traveling around to these rural areas in

the past few years i’ve learned many of

the schools are looking for

qualified teachers given their

remoteness

of the locations it’s very difficult to

find

good teachers in these areas especially

in the rural areas of taiwan

nepal and budan so our foundation has

been trying to help

by recruiting and training young

volunteers

in their high school and colleges

providing them the tools they need to

develop courses

and lead kids classes in the summer

our young volunteer teachers would

actually first serve

at taiwan rural area schools

by giving some of the reading classes

leading

some activities play games with the kids

it is our hope that as they gain more

experience

and confidence and once the world opens

up again

they may be able to serve abroad

to nepal and bhutan not only to give

subjects teaching classes but also to

share

some of our taiwanese values and

cultures

to the kids there life is about

constant changes the ups and downs

whether we like it or not

the sickness and the shift of career

change

has brought a very uncertain and turmoil

time for me

but when i embrace the change change

becomes

enormous opportunities

these past few years working to get the

near children foundation grounded

has been the best thing that has

happened to me

from setting up our a programs

communicating with the schools

and also leading our volunteers to all

these

rural areas has not been easy

but it has taught me so much about

myself

and others my heart has always been

filled

with gratitude and it looks like

we are helping the kids but in fact

they’ve helped me they’ve helped me

open my horizons made connections

and friends from all cross of life

and more importantly they help me find a

deeper meaning

to my life to do something that’s not a

social norm

that may not bring a process fame

or even in the very short term see much

of a result

takes loads of courage

but if you know you’re doing this for

the right cause

then have faith have faith

and keep going keep giving 100

of your passion into something that you

truly care about

life will eventually lead the way

more people will come alongside

and support join you on this path

education is a very long process and

takes a long time to nurture

i may not see the result within 5 10

or even 15 years but i truly believe

giving is of itself a blessing whether

giving through our material help

or giving your time and energy

as volunteers it will all bring meaning

in the long term the little seeds we’re

planting in these children

eventually they will all grow up

and when they do they will in return

influence and impact the people around

them

and generations to come thank you

[Applause]

you