For almost three years I have been a huge proponent of the concept of microfinance. In brief, microfinance is the provision of small loans (microcredit) to poor people to help them engage in productive activities or grow very small businesses.
I truly believe that microfinance can, in the mid- to long-term, have a huge role in giving the affected region China a second birth after the earthquake and that is the thesis of the discussions I have been having and will continue to have over the next few days with people who have the means to provide seed money.
For those unfamiliar with Nobel Prize winner, Mohammed Yunus and what he has done for the world through microfinance, he not only has a very good book but there are a series of Stanford University lectures by Dr. Yunus and his colleages, downloadable on iTunes.
So, here's a piece of really good news: The Beijing Red Cross has so many private donations right now that they're asking that people wishing to ship items to Sichuan take their things to China Post, at least for a few days so that they can catch up. Really, the response of regular people doing what they can, giving what they can has, to me, set a new international standard in and for philanthropy. I'd challenge anyone to dissuade me of this in terms of actual participation rates of giving.
As for today, I spent all afternoon visiting supplier for new clothing, by the gross, for Sichuan. While I didn't buy anything today, I negotiated price way down and believe that I'm close to a deal with a Beijing clothing manufacturer. I can buy 1,000 shirts at the cost of ¥6 per shirt. That's a good quality shirt for around 90 cents Canadian.
Then, pictures below, we wrapped up the afternoon with a meal at a famous Beijing Sichuan restaurant. The fish dish in the picture may be the spiciest dish I've ever had in my life. It's a whole fish poached in searing chili oil. It has about a million Sichuan peppercorns and chilis. There no such thing as too spicy for me, but this was INTENSE. And amazingly good.
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