President Chen Shui-bian (
In the letter carried on Chen's Web site newsletter yesterday, the president lauded Lien Chia-en (連加恩), a graduate from National Yang Ming University's medical school, for his efforts to help the sick in Burkina Faso and clean up the countryside of the sub-Saharan nation over the past year, establishing a commendable image for Taiwan in the international community.
Chen said only by making a trip in person to Africa could one imagine how fortunate he is and could one perceive that "it is better to give than to receive."
Chen told Lien that he is not at all alone, saying that in Africa, Latin America and even small islands in the Pacific Ocean, there are officials and individuals from Taiwan working unselfishly and relentlessly to help with infrastructure development and improve the livelihood of local people.
Lien, whose clothes-for-garbage drive to help the people and environment of Burkina Faso has turned him into an Internet star, has been soliciting the Taiwanese to donate their unwanted clothes.
Hundreds of thousands of people have so far responded to Lien's drive, launched by himself and a local Christian group in Burkina Faso to help rid the country of plastic garbage bags. People who gather and hand in such plastic waste are handed a bundle of the donated clothes in return for their efforts.
So far, thousands of people in Taiwan have responded to Lien's drive by mailing bags of clothes to a Burkina Faso post office.
In addition to the garbage collection drive Lien has also launched a fund-raising campaign aimed at helping dig wells and build orphanages in the African country.
Lien, 27, had never left home for longer than three months prior to being posted in Burkina Faso, where he had been for 15 months prior to returning home recently. Lien told his parents that he plans to extend his stay in Burkina Faso for another year despite the fact that the period of his compulsory military service is nearing its end.
"Living in Africa has at least helped me develop a habit of being frugal and economical," said Lien, adding that upon his return home he was shocked by the high prices in Taiwan, pointing to the unjustifiably extravagant cost of eating at a fast food restaurant as an example.
Lien said that most of the people in Bukina Faso rarely have the chance to have contact with medical personnel.
Over the months while being stationed in Burkina Faso, Lien said, he often felt powerless facing patients with unknown diseases. In one month, he recounted, eight people were rushed into the hospital suffering from strokes, with most of them dying over the next couple of days despite being young and not being in a critical state when arriving.
He recalled seeing a woman who had been bitten by a snake die because of the hospital's lack of blood supply.
Lien said that besides treating patients, he will also devote part of his time to researching and preventing parasite diseases among children. Lien said he has asked his father to send him books containing biological statistics and other information related to his research to help him carry out his work.
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