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Home Living in China Foreigners in China Foreigners in China MK Howard, A Aharitable Christian
MK Howard, A Aharitable Christian
Foreigners in China
MK Howard (right) shows her "antique," a collection of silver knives and forks made in the US in the 1940s to a Chinese client in a teahouse in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

CHENGDU: Sitting in an open-air teahouse in the western suburbs of Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, MK (Mary Kathleen) Howard looked calm while talking about her experiences in the city.

A graduate of American River College with a major in Environmental Resource Management, Howard is from Hawaii, the United States. She has been in Chengdu since September 2004, working mainly as a language consultant and business concept designer.

"I originally planned to stay in Chengdu for only one year, but it is the nice people of the city who have enticed me to stay longer," she said.

Howard, 60, was very close with her husband Mike Kubash who died of heart failure in the summer of 2004. Everything in her little house reminded her of Mike and their good times together, so she decided to get away from the constant reminders that he was no longer involved in her daily life.

"An advertisement in our monthly church magazine looking for English teachers for China caught my attention, and five weeks after Mike died, I was in Chengdu,," said Howard, a devoted Christian.

Since then, Howard has worked in both a university and a private foreign language school in Chengdu to help teach English as a second language. It is the first time that she has ever lived in a city in her entire life.

"I had lived for 11 years in a picturesque valley in a community of roughly 300 people in the United States before I moved to a large town of 1,380 people. The 'biggest city' I had lived in the United States was a town with nearly 5,000 people," she said.

Although she dislikes cities and prefers to live in the countryside, Howard likes Chengdu, a city with more than 11 million people, because of its friendly and helpful people.

"Whenever I lose my way and ask for directions, locals try their best to help me, although many cannot speak English. In addition, I feel very safe in the city. I don't feel scared even when I walk in the streets late at night," she said.

She is most impressed with a middle-aged Chengdu man who is ready to help others even though he is in poor health and financial straits. When the parents of a 9-year-old boy died in a car accident, the man found some 20 people to raise funds and help him to continue his school education.

"A Christian woman, I am moved by the man and want to be able to help the wonderful people of Chengdu, those needy people in particular," Howard said.

She told the story of a middle-aged Chengdu woman whose only child is in university. Working seven days a week to pay for his education, she walks home from work so exhausted she can hardly make it, but the walk saves a bus fare. Additionally, she must shop for food every day to take home and then she must cook the food every day, because they have no refrigerator. She washes their clothes by hand in cold water, which, in winter, makes her hands bleed.

"There is no washing machines, no microwave oven, no DVD player for their old television, none of the lovely luxuries we take for granted," Howard said.

The woman's experience prompted Howard to come up with some business concepts to help people like that woman and many others in unfortunate circumstances. .

Since last year, Howard has formulated a list of businesses. Topping the list is a little shop that sells ice, ice chests, and other ice-related products, located near universities, restaurants and clinics.

"A small ice chest is sold for only 99 US cents, and none of the ice chests use electricity. But they can keep food fresh and would appeal to trendy young people and to some of their families to ease the daily shop/cook food burden." Howard said.

Since last year, she has been looking for investors who can pay a sum of about 90,000 yuan (US$11,250) to rent a place, renovate it and buy equipment such as the ice-making machine and inventory, so that the shop can open.

"After investing in the shop, the investor gives the shop to a person who just needs a helping hand in order to have a better chance in life," Howard said.

The business is initially set up for operation, and the disadvantaged new owner trained, by Howard, who then steps away and thereafter acts only a consultant.

"The business owner will return a sizeable portion of the monthly business income to the investor each month so that he can recoup the investment and realize a comfortable profit for the help in providing operating capital." Howard said.

Taking pictures is one of Howard's hobbies in Chengdu where she likes walking in the streets to take photos showing Chengdu as a harmonious combination of the old and new.

Once she saw an old man with traditional black clothes and shoes carrying two baskets with one shoulder pole. "He reminded me of a painting fifty or sixty years ago," Howard said.

After Howard sought his permission to take his pictures, the man took Howard by surprise. "He took out a cell phone and talked with somebody. I laughed so loudly that tears came down my face," she said.

In an investor-targeted closing statement, Howard declared "I am confident that there are so many compassionate people out there in Chengdu who really have the heart to help others less fortunate, but are very busy or have not discovered the most effective way to help. It is my sincerest hope that some of those in the best position to help will be intrigued by this unusual concept and will want to combine forces to turn the dreams of disadvantaged Chengdu citizens into reality." 

    在中国西部城市,四川的省会,成都的一个露天茶馆里聊起她在这个城市的生活的时候,玛丽.凯斯勒.霍沃德显得很放松。

    霍沃德来自美国夏威夷,毕业于美国瑞维大学环境资源管理系。2004年9月以来,她就在成都做语言顾问和经营理念设计师.

    她说:”刚开始,我打算只在成都工作一年,但是那个城市友好的人吸引了我,所以我才打算住久一点。”

    霍沃德,60岁,和她2004年夏天因心脏病去世的丈夫麦克.库巴西感情一直很好。小房子里所有的一切都让她回忆起麦克以及以前的快乐时光,所以她决定远离勾起回忆的一切。

    “一则刊登在我们教堂月刊上的广告吸引了我的注意,是要找一位到中国教书的英语教师。麦克死了5周以后,我就来到了成都。”虔诚的基督徒霍沃德告诉我。

    从那以后,霍沃德在大学和私立的语言学校里教授英语。这是第一次她完全的生活在城市里。

   “我最先住在美国一个只有300人的风景如画的山谷的社区里,11年后我搬到了一个有1380人的镇上。我在美国居住过的最大的城市也只有大约5000人。”她说。

    尽管她不喜欢住在城市,而更喜欢乡村,但霍沃德喜欢成都,一个人口超过110万的城市,因为那里友好又乐于助人的朋友。

   “每当我感觉迷失找不到方向的时候,当地人总是竭尽全力的帮助我,虽然他们很多人都不会讲英语。除此之外,我在这个城市里感觉非常安全。就算我很晚独自走在大街上也不会感到害怕。”她说。

    最让她感动的是一个中年的成都男人,在他自己的身体并不好,而且经济窘迫的时候,还在帮助其他人。一个9岁孩子的父母在车祸中丧生了,他找了20人捐助并帮助小男孩继续学业。

   “作为一个基督徒,我被这个男人和成都乐于助人的人们打动了,尤其是那些贫困的人。”霍沃德说。

    霍沃德讲了一个成都中年妇女的故事。她唯一的孩子在上大学,为了支持孩子的学业,那位妇女一周七天都走着上下班,虽然很累,但是她一直坚持,就是为了省公交车费。而且,由于没有冰箱,她每天还得自己买菜做饭。在寒冷的冬天,得自己洗衣服,手都会出血。

   “我们所认为理所当然的一切,洗碗机,微波炉,DVD,那里都没有。”她说。

    那位妇女的经历是霍沃德开始计划一些商业理念来帮助像她那样在不幸环境中生活的人。

    从去年起,霍沃德列出了一个商店清单。最上面的是一个离大学,饭店,诊所很近的商店,买冰淇淋,冰柜和一些和冰有关的产品。

   “一个小冰柜只卖99美分,而且都是不用电的。但是它可以保鲜,可以缓解每天做饭的压力,因此可以吸引一些赶时髦的年轻人。”霍沃德说。

    从去年起,她已经开始寻找投资者,希望能够又9万元(大约11250美元)的赞助来租地方,装修,买生产冰的机器等设备,以及货物等,来帮助商店开业。

    在投资这个商店之后,投资者会把这个商店交给一个人打理,这样那个人就会获得更好的机会。“霍沃德说。

    最初,商店由霍沃德成立经营,然后培训没有经验的新店主,然后,霍沃德退出,只当顾问。

   “商店的所有者会把每月经营所得的相当一部分给投资者,这样他就可以收回投资,并且意识到提供运营资金可以获得丰厚的利润。

    霍沃德的一个爱好是照相。她走在成都的街道上照得照片体现了成都旧城与新貌的和谐同一。

    有一次,她看到一个老人穿着传统的黑衣服和鞋子,挑着扁担。“他让我想起了50或60年前的画。”霍沃德说。

    在霍沃德正征求他同意照他的照片的时候,那个老人让霍沃德很吃惊。“他掏出一个手机然后和人讲电话。我笑得眼泪都出来了。”她说。

    作为一个针对投资的结束语,霍沃德表示“我相信在成都以外也有很多又同情心的人,愿意帮助那些不幸的人。可能因为太忙或者没有找到合适的途径。我真心的希望一些身居高位的人会对这个不平常的理念有兴趣,并且想要把力量联合起来实现那些不幸的成都人的梦想。




 

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