I really am honored to be here, and as Chris said, it's been over 20 years since I started working in Africa. My first introduction was at the Abidjan airport on a sweaty, Ivory Coast morning. I had just left Wall Street, cut my hair to look like Margaret Mead, given away most everything that I owned, and arrived with all the essentials -- some poetry, a few clothes, and, of course, a guitar -- because I was going to save the world, and I thought I would just start with the African continent.
很榮幸今天能在這裡,如同Chris剛提到的, 從第一次踏進非洲工作開始,已經有20年了。 象牙海岸阿必尚機場的炙熱早晨是我對非洲的第一個印象。 當時毅然決然地離開華爾街,剪短了頭髮,看起來很像人類學家瑪格麗特, 當時幾乎所有的東西都送人了, 只帶著必要的 -- 幾本詩書,一些衣服,當然,還有吉他 -- 滿腦子想的只是如何幫助這個世界, 而非洲大陸或許是個好的開始。
But literally within days of arriving I was told, in no uncertain terms, by a number of West African women, that Africans didn't want saving, thank you very much, least of all not by me. I was too young, unmarried, I had no children, didn't really know Africa, and besides, my French was pitiful. And so, it was an incredibly painful time in my life, and yet it really started to give me the humility to start listening.
結果剛到非洲沒幾天,一群婦女斬丁截鐵的告訴我, 非洲人不想要援助, 尤其不需要像你這樣的人,多謝你的好意。 當時我很年輕,未婚,也沒有小孩, 對非洲一無所知,除此之外,法語也很爛。 想起來,那段日子真是不堪回首, 但卻讓我學著放下身段開始傾聽。
I think that failure can be an incredibly motivating force as well, so I moved to Kenya and worked in Uganda, and I met a group of Rwandan women, who asked me, in 1986, to move to Kigali to help them start the first microfinance institution there. And I did, and we ended up naming it Duterimbere, meaning "to go forward with enthusiasm." And while we were doing it, I realized that there weren't a lot of businesses that were viable and started by women, and so maybe I should try to run a business, too. And so I started looking around, and I heard about a bakery that was run by 20 prostitutes. And, being a little intrigued, I went to go meet this group, and what I found was 20 unwed mothers who were trying to survive.
學著接受失敗,並且轉換為成功的動力, 之後我搬到肯亞,在烏干達工作, 1986年,在一群盧安達婦女的要求下, 我搬到吉佳利協助第一家小額貸款機構的設立。 這個機構最後被命名為"Duterimbere", 意思是"懷抱夢想前進"。在我們為它工作的時候, 我同時發現,在非洲大部份的商業活動,女人都沒機會參與。 促使我開始思考開個什麼店之類的。 想著想著,有人告訴我 有家由20個妓女共同經營的烘焙坊。 在好奇心驅使下,我登門造訪, 發現她們只是一群想要求生存的未婚媽媽。
And it was really the beginning of my understanding the power of language, and how what we call people so often distances us from them, and makes them little. I also found out that the bakery was nothing like a business, that, in fact, it was a classic charity run by a well-intentioned person, who essentially spent 600 dollars a month to keep these 20 women busy making little crafts and baked goods, and living on 50 cents a day, still in poverty. So, I made a deal with the women. I said, "Look, we get rid of the charity side, and we run this as a business and I'll help you." They nervously agreed. I nervously started, and, of course, things are always harder than you think they're going to be.
那一刻,我發現語言的力量, 我們對人的稱呼是如何影響旁人對他們的觀感, 甚至讓他們自己也看輕自己。 我同時發現這間烘焙坊的經營完全跟不上軌道, 不如說,它是由好心人士成立的慈善機構 每月捐助基本開銷600美元 讓這20名婦女可以做些手工藝品及烘焙食品, 靠著每日僅有的50分錢勉強糊口。 所以我和這群婦女做個交易。我告訴她們:『看,我們不需要別人的救濟, 讓我協助你們,我們一起把這烘焙坊經營得有聲有色。』 他們半信半疑的接受了,我也感到忐忑不安,當然, 事情總是比想像中來得困難。
First of all, I thought, well, we need a sales team, and we clearly aren't the A-Team here, so let's -- I did all this training. And the epitome was when I literally marched into the streets of Nyamirambo, which is the popular quarter of Kigali, with a bucket, and I sold all these little doughnuts to people, and I came back, and I was like, "You see?" And the women said, "You know, Jacqueline, who in Nyamirambo is not going to buy doughnuts out of an orange bucket from a tall American woman?" And like -- (Laughter) -- it's a good point.
首先,我們需要一批業務員, 很顯然,這些人絕非好手, 只有我受過這方面的訓練, 於是我示範給他們看,提著一只木桶 走到吉佳利人潮最多的街道, 賣光了所有的甜甜圈。 回來後,我就是指著空的木桶說:『看到了沒?』 這群婦女回答我:『Jacqueline,說實話, 誰不會買一個高大美國女人橙桶裡的甜甜圈?』嗯,這就像 -- (笑聲)還真直接。
So then I went the whole American way, with competitions, team and individual. Completely failed, but over time, the women learnt to sell on their own way. And they started listening to the marketplace, and they came back with ideas for cassava chips, and banana chips, and sorghum bread, and before you knew it, we had cornered the Kigali market, and the women were earning three to four times the national average. And with that confidence surge, I thought, "Well, it's time to create a real bakery, so let's paint it." And the women said, "That's a really great idea." And I said, "Well, what color do you want to paint it?" And they said, "Well, you choose." And I said, "No, no, I'm learning to listen. You choose. It's your bakery, your street, your country -- not mine." But they wouldn't give me an answer. So, one week, two weeks, three weeks went by, and finally I said, "Well, how about blue?" And they said, "Blue, blue, we love blue. Let's do it blue." So, I went to the store, I brought Gaudence, the recalcitrant one of all, and we brought all this paint and fabric to make curtains, and on painting day, we all gathered in Nyamirambo, and the idea was we would paint it white with blue as trim, like a little French bakery. But that was clearly not as satisfying as painting a wall of blue like a morning sky.
當時我所想得都是美國人的邏輯, 不論採團體或個人競賽,通通失敗, 但一陣子後,這些婦女有了自己的想法。 她們發現了市場需求, 創造了木薯、香蕉、 高粱麵包等,你聽都沒聽過的口味, 隨著市場知名度大增, 這群婦女的收入較平均水準高出3倍,甚至4倍。 自信心建立後,我想是時候設立一間真正的烘焙坊, 從牆壁粉刷開始,所有人都覺得這是個好主意。 我問他們:『你們想要什麼樣的顏色呢?』而他們回答我: 『你決定吧。』我說:『不,我想聽你們的想法 -- 這是你們的烘焙坊,你們的街道,你們的國家,應該由你們自己決定。』 但是她們沒人給我一個答案。 一個星期,二個星期,三個星期過去了, 最後我忍不住了,問說:『藍色好不好?』 他們回答:『藍色,藍色,我們喜歡藍色。就用藍色吧。』 之後,拖著Gaudence 陪我去店裡,她顯得很不情願, 我們買了油漆,窗簾要用的布料, 動工當天,所有人都聚在Nyamirambo, 原來是想漆成藍白相間, 像法式烘焙坊的感覺。但如果把整面牆漆成藍色 像早晨的天空一樣,豈不更酷?
So, blue, blue, everything became blue. The walls were blue, the windows were blue, the sidewalk out front was painted blue. And Aretha Franklin was shouting "R-E-S-P-E-C-T," the women's hips were swaying and little kids were trying to grab the paintbrushes, but it was their day. And at the end of it, we stood across the street and we looked at what we had done, and I said, "It is so beautiful." And the women said, "It really is." And I said, "And I think the color is perfect," and they all nodded their head, except for Gaudence, and I said, "What?" And she said, "Nothing." And I said, "What?" And she said, "Well, it is pretty, but, you know, our color, really, it is green." And -- (Laughter)
所以囉,藍色,全部都是藍色; 藍色的牆壁,藍色的窗戶, 門口的走廊也是藍的。 當Aretha Franklink 大叫著『尊重』二個字時, 所有人開心地搖著屁股 小孩子也吵著要摻一腳,所有人都好快樂! 之後,我們站在對街看著 辛苦一天的成果,我忍不住說著:『好美!』 大家都說:『是啊!』 我說:『這顏色真棒!』 所有人都點頭,唯獨Gaudence, 我問:『怎麼了?』 她回答:『沒有。』我又問:『到底怎麼了?』 她說:『藍色是很美,但...我們應該用綠色,綠色才是我們的顏色。』然後 -- (笑聲)
-- I learned then that listening isn't just about patience, but that when you've lived on charity and dependent your whole life long, it's really hard to say what you mean. And, mostly because people never really ask you, and when they do, you don't really think they want to know the truth. And so then I learned that listening is not only about waiting, but it's also learning how better to ask questions.
那一刻我赫然發現,所謂傾聽,需要的不只是耐心, 尤其當你的生活依賴外界援助時,時時需要看人臉色時, 你更害怕說出內心真正的想法。 當然,大多時候也沒人真正問過你, 即使問了,也不在乎你說什麼。 我了解到傾聽不光是等待, 更要主動發掘問題。
And so, I lived in Kigali for about two and a half years, doing these two things, and it was an extraordinary time in my life. And it taught me three lessons that I think are so important for us today, and certainly in the work that I do. The first is that dignity is more important to the human spirit than wealth. As Eleni has said, when people gain income, they gain choice, and that is fundamental to dignity. But as human beings, we also want to see each other, and we want to be heard by each other, and we should never forget that. The second is that traditional charity and aid are never going to solve the problems of poverty.
在吉佳利的二年半,我一直在學如何聽,如何問, 這是我人生一段非凡時光。 讓我領悟三個道理 對我們每一個人都很重要, 當然對我的工作也是。 第一,人的尊嚴比財富更重要。 如同Eleni說過的,基本生存先得到滿足,才有選擇的機會, 而人的尊嚴是生存的根本。 永遠都別忘了, 人是群居的動物,沒有人能離群所居。 第二,傳統的慈善機構及援助系統 是無法解決貧窮的。
I think Andrew pretty well covered that, so I will move to the third point, which is that markets alone also are not going to solve the problems of poverty. Yes, we ran this as a business, but someone needed to pay the philanthropic support that came into the training, and the management support, the strategic advice and, maybe most important of all, the access to new contacts, networks and new markets. And so, on a micro level, there's a real role for this combination of investment and philanthropy. And on a macro level -- some of the speakers have inferred that even health should be privatized. But, having had a father with heart disease, and realizing that what our family could afford was not what he should have gotten, and having a good friend step in to help, I really believe that all people deserve access to health at prices they can afford. I think the market can help us figure that out, but there's got to be a charitable component, or I don't think we're going to create the kind of societies we want to live in.
我相信Andrew 剛已經說得很清楚了,所以我直接跳到第三點, 僅僅透過資本市場 也無法消弭貧窮。 是的,耐心資本是個追求獲利的企業, 因為即使是慈善事業 員工也需要受訓,也要找好的管理人才,以及策略合作的伙伴 更重要的, 要能打開不同的人脈網絡,拓展不同的市場。 因此,就微觀角度而言 它是投資及慈善的結合。 但就宏觀而言,剛有些人也提到 醫療體系也應私有化。 但是,想想家中有個患有心臟病的父親, 而這些醫療費用 不是家中成員可以負擔的, 最後是一個好朋友伸出援手,解決燃眉之急, 但我認為醫療保障應該是所有人的基本權利 應該讓每個人都能負擔。 我也相信資本市場能解決些問題, 但慈善元素仍不可缺 否則無法創造出我們心目中的理想世界。
And so, it was really those lessons that made me decide to build Acumen Fund about six years ago. It's a nonprofit, venture capital fund for the poor, a few oxymorons in one sentence. It essentially raises charitable funds from individuals, foundations and corporations, and then we turn around and we invest equity and loans in both for-profit and nonprofit entities that deliver affordable health, housing, energy, clean water to low income people in South Asia and Africa, so that they can make their own choices. We've invested about 20 million dollars in 20 different enterprises, and have, in so doing, created nearly 20,000 jobs, and delivered tens of millions of services to people who otherwise would not be able to afford them.
體認這些道理後,6年前我下定決心 成立Acumen基金。 它是為幫助貧民而設立的非營利創業基金, 聽起來有些矛盾。 事實上,我們由個人,基金會,或是公司團體募集資金, 然後再投資或融資 給營利及非營利機構 而這些機構提供亞洲南部或非洲地區的貧民, 各項醫療,住家,能源,甚至是乾淨的水源, 讓他們對未來重新燃起希望。 我們投資了2仟萬美金給20個企業, 而且,創造了2萬個工作機會, 更提供了數仟萬個服務 這些在之前他們是享受不到的。
I want to tell you two stories. Both of them are in Africa. Both of them are about investing in entrepreneurs who are committed to service, and who really know the markets. Both of them live at the confluence of public health and enterprise, and both of them, because they're manufacturers, create jobs directly, and create incomes indirectly, because they're in the malaria sector, and Africa loses about 13 billion dollars a year because of malaria. And so as people get healthier, they also get wealthier.
在這我想說兩個故事,都發生在非洲。 兩個都是企業投資 都願意提供服務,對市場也都熟悉。 除了致力於改善公眾醫療體系,也同時兼顧企業獲利, 而且兩個都是生產製造者, 不但直接創造工作機會,財富也間接增加, 因為他們對瘧疾特別關注, 而非洲一年因瘧疾而損失的金額,高達130億美金。 所以只要瘧疾能消除,人們生活水平一定能提昇。
The first one is called Advanced Bio-Extracts Limited. It's a company built in Kenya about seven years ago by an incredible entrepreneur named Patrick Henfrey and his three colleagues. These are old-hand farmers who've gone through all the agricultural ups and downs in Kenya over the last 30 years. Now, this plant is an Artemisia plant; it's the basic component for artemisinin, which is the best-known treatment for malaria. It's indigenous to China and the Far East, but given that the prevalence of malaria is here in Africa, Patrick and his colleagues said, "Let's bring it here, because it's a high value-add product." The farmers get three to four times the yields that they would with maize.
我所說的其中一個企業叫做Advanced BIo-Extracts有限公司。 這家公司差不多7年前於肯亞成立。 這位了不起的創辦者是Patrick和另外三位同事。 他們都是農夫老手 30年來在肯亞 經歷過農業景氣無數次的起起伏伏。 現在,他們主要生產蒿屬植物, 這種植物內含青蒿素, 對治療瘧疾很有效。 它原產地在中國及遠東地區, 為了對抗瘧疾, Patrick 和幾位同事說:『把它引進非洲吧, 因為它可是高附加價值的商品。』 收益較以往種植玉米時高出3至4倍。
And so, using patient capital -- money that they could raise early on, that actually got below market returns and was willing to go the long haul and be combined with management assistance, strategic assistance -- they've now created a company where they purchase from 7,500 farmers. So that's about 50,000 people affected. And I think some of you may have visited -- these farmers are helped by KickStart and TechnoServe, who help them become more self-sufficient. They buy it, they dry it and they bring it to this factory, which was purchased in part by, again, patient capital from Novartis, who has a real interest in getting the powder so that they can make Coartem. Acumen's been working with ABE for the past year, year and a half, both on looking at a new business plan, and what does expansion look like, helping with management support and helping to do term sheets and raise capital. And I really understood what patient capital meant emotionally in the last month or so. Because the company was literally 10 days away from proving that the product they produced was at the world-quality level needed to make Coartem, when they were in the biggest cash crisis of their history.
而且藉由耐心資本,他們得以提早引進資金, 雖然這些資金的報酬較市場平均來得低, 但仍然願意長期投入 甚至注入管理及策略等各方面的資源, 現在這家公司已有7500名的農夫。 大約5萬人更因此受惠。 我想你們之中有些人或許見過這些農夫 -- 經過KickStart和TechnoServe的幫助後, 現在更能自己自足。 他們買下青蒿素,經過乾燥處理後,帶到工廠加工, 這間工廠的資金部份來自於耐心資本,出資者是Novatis, 他對這種青蒿素極感興趣 用它製作出"複方蒿甲醚",也是治療瘧疾的藥。 過去一年半,Acumen和ABE合作, 不斷找尋新的投資項目, 而且依據其拓展計劃,給予管理支援 以及所需營運資金。 直至上個月,我才了解到耐心資本的真正含義。 這家公司在送樣檢驗所生產製作的 "複方蒿甲醚"是否符合世界標準時 竟停工10天, 原因是他們遭遇到創立以來最大的資金短缺。
And we called all of the social investors we know. Now, some of these same social investors are really interested in Africa and understand the importance of agriculture, and they even helped the farmers. And even when we explained that if ABE goes away, all those 7,500 jobs go away too, we sometimes have this bifurcation between business and the social. And it's really time we start thinking more creatively about how they can be fused. So Acumen made not one, but two bridge loans, and the good news is they did indeed meet world-quality classification and are now in the final stages of closing a 20-million-dollar round, to move it to the next level, and I think that this will be one of the more important companies in East Africa.
當時我們幾乎找遍了所有的社會投資者幫忙。 如今,他們之中有些人對非洲投資興趣極高 同時深入了解農業發展的重要性, 並因此幫助很多農民。 當時我們也坦誠,如果ABE不再投資, 全部7500個職位都會消失, 有時我們也會夾在商業及社會道德中間。 但在當下要做的應該是積極思考解決方案。 為此Acumen 二次提供過渡性貸款, 好消息是這公司確實通過世界標準的檢驗 並且獲得2仟萬美金的挹注, 我相信它會是東非最重要的公司之一。
This is Samuel. He's a farmer. He was actually living in the Kibera slums when his father called him and told him about Artemisia and the value-add potential. So he moved back to the farm, and, long story short, they now have seven acres under cultivation. Samuel's kids are in private school, and he's starting to help other farmers in the area also go into Artemisia production -- dignity being more important than wealth.
這個人叫Samuel,也是個農夫。 事實上他原來住在Kibera貧民窟 當父親教他認識艾草以及它的潛在價值後, 他決定回到農場,總之,我長話短說, 現在他們耕種土地面積有7畝。 Samuel 的小孩都能上私立學校, 他還協助其他農夫從事艾草的耕種 -- 人的尊嚴絕對勝過財富。
The next one, many of you know. I talked about it a little at Oxford two years ago, and some of you visited A to Z manufacturing, which is one of the great, real companies in East Africa. It's another one that lives at the confluence of health and enterprise. And this is really a story about a public-private solution that has really worked. It started in Japan. Sumitomo had developed a technology essentially to impregnate a polyethylene-based fiber with organic insecticide, so you could create a bed net, a malaria bed net, that would last five years and not need to be re-dipped.
下個例子,很多人或許聽過。 2年前,我在牛津演講時稍稍提到一些, 你們有人去看過"A to Z"的工廠, 在東非規模算屬一屬二的。 除了致力於提昇整體公共醫療品質之外, 也不忘追求企業本身獲利。 它證明了二者是能同時兼顧的。 它從日本開始。日本住友發明了一種科技, 在聚乙烯纖維上注入有機殺蟲劑, 用這科技製造出來的蚊帳, 不但可以抵抗瘧疾,殺蟲劑的效能還可以維持五年之久。
It could alter the vector, but like Artemisia, it had been produced only in East Asia. And as part of its social responsibility, Sumitomo said, "Why don't we experiment with whether we can produce it in Africa, for Africans?" UNICEF came forward and said, "We'll buy most of the nets, and then we'll give them away, as part of the global fund's and the U.N.'s commitment to pregnant women and children, for free." Acumen came in with the patient capital, and we also helped to identify the entrepreneur that we would all partner with here in Africa, and Exxon provided the initial resin.
像蒿一樣,是治療瘧疾的好方法, 這種含殺蟲劑的蚊帳,原來只在東非生產,基於社會責任, 住友說:『為什麼我們不試試是否可以在非洲生產, 使所有非洲人都能受惠?』 聯合國兒童基金會來到說:『我們為此成立一個環球基金, 然後我們會買下大部份的蚊帳, 讓懷孕婦女及小孩都能免費取得。』 Acumem基金接著響應, 我們負責找出適合的創業家 協助其整合所需資源, 而Exxon 則負責原料供應。
Well, in looking around for entrepreneurs, there was none better that we could find on earth than Anuj Shah, in A to Z manufacturing company. It's a 40-year-old company, it understands manufacturing. It's gone from socialist Tanzania into capitalist Tanzania, and continued to flourish. It had about 1,000 employees when we first found it. And so, Anuj took the entrepreneurial risk here in Africa to produce a public good that was purchased by the aid establishment to work with malaria.
在找尋創業家的過程中, 我們在A to Z工廠,發現了Anuj Shah, 說實話,不會有人比他更適合的了。 A to Z從事製造領域已有40年歷史,他們明白什麼是生產。 歷經坦桑尼亞由社會主義轉變成資本主義, 直至今日資本主義仍持續蔓延。Anuj從最初創辦時有1000名員工。 憑著一股創業家的冒險精神 他決定替援助機構 生產抵抗瘧疾的商品。
And, long story short, again, they've been so successful. In our first year, the first net went off the line in October of 2003. We thought the hitting-it-out-of-the-box number was 150,000 nets a year. This year, they are now producing eight million nets a year, and they employ 5,000 people, 90 percent of whom are women, mostly unskilled. They're in a joint venture with Sumitomo. And so, from an enterprise perspective for Africa, and from a public health perspective, these are real successes.
總之,長話短說,他們做得很成功。 2003年10月,我們合作的第一年,第一批蚊帳正式上市時, 預計的年產量為15萬個。 今年的生產量已達800萬個, 這工廠現有5000名員工,90%是女性,大部份都沒有生產技能。 現在連住友都加入合夥。 而,不論是就企業角度, 還是就改善公共衛生角度而言,這家公司都很成功。
But it's only half the story if we're really looking at solving problems of poverty, because it's not long-term sustainable. It's a company with one big customer. And if avian flu hits, or for any other reason the world decides that malaria is no longer as much of a priority, everybody loses. And so, Anuj and Acumen have been talking about testing the private sector, because the assumption that the aid establishment has made is that, look, in a country like Tanzania, 80 percent of the population makes less than two dollars a day. It costs, at manufacturing point, six dollars to produce these, and it costs the establishment another six dollars to distribute it, so the market price in a free market would be about 12 dollars per net. Most people can't afford that, so let's give it away free. And we said, "Well, there's another option. Let's use the market as the best listening device we have, and understand at what price people would pay for this, so they get the dignity of choice. We can start building local distribution, and actually, it can cost the public sector much less."
但如果真要徹底根除貧窮,充其量它只做到一半, 因為長遠而言,它缺乏持續發展性。 這家公司只有一個大客戶。 假設禽流感再度流行,或是其他任何原因 瘧疾不再是個威脅,這公司也就結束了。 因此,Anuj 和 Acumen 一直想把觸角延伸至其他的私人渠道, 因為傳統援助系統多僅限於, 像坦桑尼亞這樣的國家, 80%的人每天平均收入不到2美元。 而光蚊帳製造成本就要6美元, 再加上6美元的運送費用, 如果在自由競爭的市場,蚊帳市價就要12美元。 大部份人買不起,只能藉由援助免費取得。 而我們說:『一定有別的方法。 拓展不同管道,發掘市場需求, 找出人們願意購買的價格,讓客戶多了選擇的機會。 同時也開始建立地區性的分銷據點, 事實上,這可以省下不少成本。』
And so we came in with a second round of patient capital to A to Z, a loan as well as a grant, so that A to Z could play with pricing and listen to the marketplace, and found a number of things. One, that people will pay different prices, but the overwhelming number of people will come forth at one dollar per net and make a decision to buy it. And when you listen to them, they'll also have a lot to say about what they like and what they don't like. And that some of the channels we thought would work didn't work. But because of this experimentation and iteration that was allowed because of the patient capital, we've now found that it costs about a dollar in the private sector to distribute, and a dollar to buy the net. So then, from a policy perspective, when you start with the market, we have a choice. We can continue going along at 12 dollars a net, and the customer pays zero, or we could at least experiment with some of it, to charge one dollar a net, costing the public sector another six dollars a net, give the people the dignity of choice, and have a distribution system that might, over time, start sustaining itself.
這時藉著耐心資本對 A to Z 的再次注資, 是融資也是捐款,讓A to Z可以調整價格 收集市場訊息,同時我們還有幾個發現。 第一,不同渠道可以負擔的價格不一樣, 但在1美元左右的價格 購買意願較高。 再來,如果你願意聽,他們很願意說出 喜歡什麼,討厭什麼, 還有有些渠道其實是沒有用的。 這一切都是因為有了耐心資本的協助 才得以不斷進行嘗試, 我們也找到私人企業 願意花1美元購買蚊帳,再加上1美元的運送費用。 因此,就政策面而言,當你開始了解市場時, 你就有了選擇。 我們依然可以賣12美元的蚊帳,但別想從客戶端拿到一毛錢, 或是去找出至少願意付1美元的客戶, 再由政府部門負擔6美元, 這樣,客戶多了選擇,分銷據點也能建立 也許一段時間後,就能逐漸產生獲利。
We've got to start having conversations like this, and I don't think there's any better way to start than using the market, but also to bring other people to the table around it. Whenever I go to visit A to Z, I think of my grandmother, Stella. She was very much like those women sitting behind the sewing machines. She grew up on a farm in Austria, very poor, didn't have very much education. She moved to the United States, where she met my grandfather, who was a cement hauler, and they had nine children. Three of them died as babies. My grandmother had tuberculosis, and she worked in a sewing machine shop, making shirts for about 10 cents an hour. She, like so many of the women I see at A to Z, worked hard every day, understood what suffering was, had a deep faith in God, loved her children and would never have accepted a handout. But because she had the opportunity of the marketplace, and she lived in a society that provided the safety of having access to affordable health and education, her children and their children were able to live lives of real purpose and follow real dreams.
事不宜遲,我們應該立即付諸行動, 而且不會有比讓市場自由運作更好的方法了, 假以時日,定能吸引更多人的參與。 每一次當我造訪A to Z時,我總是想到我的祖母,Stella。 她就像這些坐在縫紉機前的女工們一樣。 她出身於澳洲一個非常貧窮的農場, 也沒有機會受教育。 當她搬到美國時,遇到我祖父 他是水泥搬運工, 他們有9個孩子。其中3個出生沒多少就夭折了。 祖母患有肺結核,但她還是得在縫紉工廠工作 賺取每小時10美分的微薄薪水。 她,和很多A to Z的女工一樣, 她們努力工作,犧牲奉獻, 堅持信仰,疼愛孩子 拒絕接受救濟。 但因為市場給她機會, 讓她可以住在安全 且有醫療保障和提供教育的環境, 她的子子孫孫 才能懷抱夢想,實踐未來。
I look around at my siblings and my cousins -- and as I said, there are a lot of us -- and I see teachers and musicians, hedge fund managers, designers. One sister who makes other people's wishes come true. And my wish, when I see those women, I meet those farmers, and I think about all the people across this continent who are working hard every day, is that they have that sense of opportunity and possibility, and that they also can believe and get access to services, so that their children, too, can live those lives of great purpose. It shouldn't be that difficult. But what it takes is a commitment from all of us to essentially refuse trite assumptions, get out of our ideological boxes. It takes investing in those entrepreneurs that are committed to service as well as to success. It takes opening your arms, both, wide, and expecting very little love in return, but demanding accountability, and bringing the accountability to the table as well. And most of all, most of all, it requires that all of us have the courage and the patience, whether we are rich or poor, African or non-African, local or diaspora, left or right, to really start listening to each other. Thank you. (Applause)
看著我的兄弟姐妹們 -- 如同我說的, 我們當中 -- 有老師,有音樂家,有避險基金經理,也有設計師。 是一位姐妹使其他人夢想得以實現。 我希望,我所接觸的這些婦女,這些農民, 甚至世界上的所有人 所有辛苦工作的人, 都能感受到機會和可能性, 亦能相信未來他們可以接觸到這些服務, 讓他們的子子孫孫能活出崇高的理想。 這應該不會太困難。 只是它需要我們每一個人的承諾 擺脫舊有思想, 跳出舊有框架。 投資這些創業家 也是創造更多的服務及成功機會。 它也需要你們張開你們的手,雙手,開闊的, 期待很少愛的回報, 反而是更多的責任, 責無旁貸,全力而為。 而大部分,大部分人, 我們都須俱備勇氣及耐心, 不論我們是富是貧,非洲人也好,不是也罷, 不論你是那一國人,是左派或右派人士, 就讓我們從今天開始學習傾聽。 謝謝大家。 (掌聲)