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Orphan boy makes good, donates millions to help others
By Zha Junyan and Pan Zheng |
March 28, 2009, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ZHU Ke'an is a successful businessman, running a knit sweater company, but he still wears the same old gray sweater he has worn for years. He remembers what it was like to be without a sweater.
Zhu, in his 60s, donates many new knit clothes and 75 percent of his profits to charity, helping disaster victims and the needy. That's what he's been doing for 20 years.
Zhu opened Huabao Knitted Sweater Co Ltd in the early 1990s in the economic boom and the business took off. It was the success story of an orphaned boy who was given up by his poverty-stricken parents.
But what's the reason for earning all that money? Zhu's answer: charity.
Since 1998, Zhu has donated money and goods worth more than 25 million yuan (US$3.7 million) to the Shanghai Red Cross, Shanghai Charity Foundation and other organizations.
Although he is generous in helping others, he is thrifty in his daily life. He lives in the same old house in Chenhang Village with his wife Ling Aifang and eats the same simple breakfast of steamed buns every day.
"Zhu doesn't look or live like a boss at all," says a neighbor.
When he was a boy, Zhu was sent to an orphanage because his impoverished family could not afford to feed him.
He cannot imagine what his life would be like without the help of charitable organizations.
"I was an orphan and it wasn't easy to survive," says Zhu. "Without the government's support, I could not have gone to college and been successful.
"So I'm eager to do something for our country in return."
In 1998, his company began making profits. One day, Zhu learned of an earthquake in Hebei Province and heard that people urgently needed clothing. That night, he contacted the government of Zhangjiakou in Hebei and organized his employees to pack clothes immediately.
On the next day, with the help of the Shanghai Red Cross, his donations worth 1 million yuan were sent to the disaster area. He was one of the earliest donors to earthquake relief.
Zhu has donated money and clothing in many disasters: the Yangtze River flood in 1998, the Taiwan earthquake in 1999 and the Sichuan earthquake last year. He immediately donated 20,000 yuan in cash to Sichuan survivors.
Zhu married in 1953 and has lived in Chenhang Village for 56 years. Many villagers moved out when they made money and bought new houses, but not Zhu.
When he has money, what he thinks of is doing something for his poor village. He donated 80,000 yuan to help build a main road; he donates 10,000 yuan a year to help the elderly; he often sends sweaters and clothing to the elderly and the disabled in the village.
The boss of a sweater company, Zhu has worn his old gray sweater for years, instead sending the best sweaters to city and national model workers every year.
He has given financial assistance to help poor college students finish their education, saying that he himself would not have been to college without the help of others. Three of the students he sponsored have graduated and are working now. The students often write to him and he treasures their letters.
"I'll keep helping those who are poor like I used to be," says Zhu. "If their lives change for the better, I hope they will continue my tradition of charity."
Zhu, in his 60s, donates many new knit clothes and 75 percent of his profits to charity, helping disaster victims and the needy. That's what he's been doing for 20 years.
Zhu opened Huabao Knitted Sweater Co Ltd in the early 1990s in the economic boom and the business took off. It was the success story of an orphaned boy who was given up by his poverty-stricken parents.
But what's the reason for earning all that money? Zhu's answer: charity.
Since 1998, Zhu has donated money and goods worth more than 25 million yuan (US$3.7 million) to the Shanghai Red Cross, Shanghai Charity Foundation and other organizations.
Although he is generous in helping others, he is thrifty in his daily life. He lives in the same old house in Chenhang Village with his wife Ling Aifang and eats the same simple breakfast of steamed buns every day.
"Zhu doesn't look or live like a boss at all," says a neighbor.
When he was a boy, Zhu was sent to an orphanage because his impoverished family could not afford to feed him.
He cannot imagine what his life would be like without the help of charitable organizations.
"I was an orphan and it wasn't easy to survive," says Zhu. "Without the government's support, I could not have gone to college and been successful.
"So I'm eager to do something for our country in return."
In 1998, his company began making profits. One day, Zhu learned of an earthquake in Hebei Province and heard that people urgently needed clothing. That night, he contacted the government of Zhangjiakou in Hebei and organized his employees to pack clothes immediately.
On the next day, with the help of the Shanghai Red Cross, his donations worth 1 million yuan were sent to the disaster area. He was one of the earliest donors to earthquake relief.
Zhu has donated money and clothing in many disasters: the Yangtze River flood in 1998, the Taiwan earthquake in 1999 and the Sichuan earthquake last year. He immediately donated 20,000 yuan in cash to Sichuan survivors.
Zhu married in 1953 and has lived in Chenhang Village for 56 years. Many villagers moved out when they made money and bought new houses, but not Zhu.
When he has money, what he thinks of is doing something for his poor village. He donated 80,000 yuan to help build a main road; he donates 10,000 yuan a year to help the elderly; he often sends sweaters and clothing to the elderly and the disabled in the village.
The boss of a sweater company, Zhu has worn his old gray sweater for years, instead sending the best sweaters to city and national model workers every year.
He has given financial assistance to help poor college students finish their education, saying that he himself would not have been to college without the help of others. Three of the students he sponsored have graduated and are working now. The students often write to him and he treasures their letters.
"I'll keep helping those who are poor like I used to be," says Zhu. "If their lives change for the better, I hope they will continue my tradition of charity."
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