Seventy-one-year-old Hu Ting-fang makes his living by traveling from place to place mending umbrellas and shoes and sharpening kitchen knives. In these times, when most people just throw away broken things instead of getting them repaired, it is not easy to make a good living in this way. But for him, a person with only a few years of formal education and no other skills, being a repairman seems like the only way to make a living.

For more than two years, Hu has been coming regularly to the cultural center to repair umbrellas free for Tzu Chi people. When he found out that Tzu Chi was raising money to build schools that had been destroyed or damaged in the September 21 earthquake, he decided that he would donate, by installments, NT$100,000 [US$3,300] to the foundation to help children in the quake zone return to school.

It may not be too large a sum for most people, but for Hu, who charges NT$80 - 300 for sharpening a kitchen knife and NT$10 - 50 for fixing an umbrella, it was not easy to scrape together such a sum of money.

But one day, holding a certificate of appreciation awarded to him by Tzu Chi, he happily told us that he had fulfilled his wish--the contributions he made had amounted to NT$100,000 dollars. His contented little smile told us how happy he was to be able to contribute to a good cause.


A checkered career

Hu is a veteran who joined the Nationalist army to fight against the Chinese Communists when he was eighteen years old. In 1949 when the Nationalist government retreated from mainland China to Taiwan, he also came with the military to the island and worked as a janitor in a government office.

But the job did not last long. Two months later, he was sent away with a severance pay of NT$108 [US$2.70]. Hu had no relatives in Taiwan and not much of an education. After the meager money was used up, he could only wander around the island finding odd jobs to do.

It was not easy to make a living by doing odd jobs, so Hu also gambled to cheat people out of their money. "When you're poor and hungry, it's hard for you to resist anything," he said. "At that time, I often felt that I'd rather trade my life for a meal."

Once he even got into a fight with a policeman when he was scalping movie tickets in front of a theater and was consequently jailed. He was released six months later. Wandering in a prosperous area in Taipei, he saw some veterans selling used shoes on the streets. An idea occurred to him--"Why don't I do the same?" He secretly watched and learned how the veterans fixed broken shoes, and then he searched through garbage cans around the city for shoes that had been thrown away. After washing them clean, he mended them with the skills he had learned from the veterans. The repaired shoes were then sold off.

Hu's newly acquired skills helped him regain his self-confidence. After all, it was better to earn one's living honestly. Gradually, his skills got better and he also continued to learn other skills such as fixing umbrellas and sharpening knives.

A few years later, he had saved enough money to rent a small place on Chunghua Road in downtown Taipei where he could do business. His life was finally secure and settled. He got married soon afterwards and his three children were brought into the world one after another.

But his life could not stay calm and peaceful for long. Some misfortune happened (whose nature Hu considered unfit to disclose) which caused him to lose all his savings. The family was suddenly thrust into a difficult situation.

Having lost all his money, Hu could find no way to support his family. At his wits' end, he reverted to earning money by illegal ways again. But the police found out. This time he was not alone in the world. Afraid that his family would have no one to take care of them once he was put behind bars, he decided to run away with his family and live his life as a fugitive.

It was not until nine years ago when he had to register the birth of his oldest child so that the boy could go to school that Hu decided to give himself up to the law.

Hu said that when he was in jail, some good-hearted policemen looked after his family for him. He was so grateful to them that he promised that he would never take to evil ways again. "Ever since I was released from prison, I have done nothing illegal or bad. And I will never again do anything that would bring shame on my family."


Making friends with Tzu Chi

Hu started to live his life as a traveling repairman after he got out of prison. Taking only scanty meals with him--steamed dumplings and canned food--he circled around Taipei on a motorcycle that was given to him by a friend. But as the repair business went downhill due to the changing lifestyles in Taiwan, he could no longer support his family with the little money he earned.

The head of his district applied on his behalf for the allowances provided by the government to low-income families. If not for that money, Hu would not have been able to feed and clothe his family.

About three or four years ago when he was going round the city finding repair jobs to do, he suddenly got a stomachache. Seeing a nearby clinic, he entered and told the people there that he wanted to register to see the doctor. He was informed that he was in a free clinic set up by the Tzu Chi Foundation and that the medical service provided there was free of charge. Hu went on to say that he was not a Tzu Chi member, but the doctor still diagnosed and treated him with care and patience. "I was dirty and stinking at that time, but the doctor still massaged me in order to make me more comfortable." That kind act of the doctor deeply impressed and touched him.

Some time later, he found out that Tzu Chi also provided aid to the poor and needy. Because of his straitened circumstances, he applied to the foundation to become one of its aid recipients. A volunteer then visited his home to see whether his family was qualified to receive aid. Finding that the family did not meet their strict qualifications, she gently declined his request.

Hu was disappointed, but he did not blame Tzu Chi at all. "I don't resent that Tzu Chi volunteer. Instead, I'm thankful to her. When she rejected my application, I was spurred to work harder. She hardened my determination to depend on myself instead of on others." Before he had gone out to work at eight in the morning, but after that episode he started out as early as five-thirty. With his increased efforts, his business got better and the financial situation of his family was significantly improved.

"I have to thank Tzu Chi for not providing assistance to me, or else I might have become a parasite and simply relied on its help instead of earning my living through hard work," Hu said. "Where there is a will, there is a way. Nothing is hard in life. As long as you're not lazy, you won't starve to death."


Don't put off doing good deeds

Hu always regretted not having been adequately educated when he was young. The lack of a formal education made it hard for him to get a footing in society. Thus, when he heard that Master Cheng Yen was calling for people's help to support Project Hope, he immediately pitched in and made a commitment to donate NT$100,000.

That donation was a strain on his resources. People who knew his situation advised him to budget his resources and not to overextend himself. But he said, "I'm getting old and can't afford to waste any more time. I have to make the best use of my time to do good things."

Although his desire to donate $100,000 has already been fulfilled, Hu will go on doing whatever he can to help those in need. "I don't long for any enjoyments in life. Frankly, I'm willing to give all of myself to help others. The only thing I hope for is that people can care for each other more, so that our society will be peaceful and become a better place for us to live in."

As Duh Chun-yuan, a famous Taiwanese entrepreneur, said, "It is nothing for me to contribute ten million dollars, but it means a great deal if a poor man can make a donation of one thousand dollars." Even those who are themselves in need still want to make an effort to help others--this is what touches us most behind the story of Hu Ting-fang.