Diana Saw, a lady who used to be a highflyer in a multi-national firm, left her job after sick of being a wage slave. She went travelling and found herself ended up in Cambodia one day. The stark poverty of the Cambodians shocked and humbled her. There and then she decided to set up a business to provide people with jobs that pay them fairly. She believes having regular income gives people hope and a sense of the future. With her own savings, she started a small workshop to produce original, quality handmade bags.
Her efforts made me ponder how many of us actually have the courage to leave behind our comforts and earthly possessions, not to mention family and friends, to go help the less privilege in a third world country? Courage alone is not enough. Imagine in the course of your efforts, your supposedly trusted housekeeper stealing from you when you are there in their country with the sole intention of helping their own people. Can you trust them again? How about having to constantly beat off imposters who claim they are policemen or firemen asking for some license fees which is in fact just money for themselves. Some are actual policemen who do not earn much from their jobs. Hence they resort to extorting money from businesses. What about being handed a fake US$100 and you returned the US$75 change plus 2 bags to the conman? Furthermore you have to sort out work politics problems among the workers and worry about their living conditions at the same time. On top of that, you also worry if the business is going to do well, if you can pull this through, you get homesick, you miss the comforts back home... It can be too overwhelming and daunting at times. How do you chin up when things simply just don't go the way it's supposed to be?
It is a very challenging task which requires a lot from a person. A person who is selfless, courageous, generous, extraordinary and has a bigger heart than most people. And Diana Saw is such a person. Despite the difficulties, there she stands resolute in her beliefs and convictions.
My hats off to her.
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