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Written by Wen-Hao Wang,Photo by Yu-Jong Peng and Wen-Hao Wang,Translated by Christine Hsiang

The Peasant’s Hospital is located at Samalauk village, 60 kilometers from the western suburb of Yangon city. This hospital has been donated by a Taiwanese enterprise Known-You Seed, Co., Ltd.. The medical team has cured more than 800 farmers bitten by venomous snakes, delivered many new-born babies and provided poor rural residents the free medical service and operation. To memorize Taiwan Watermelon King Wen-Yu Chen’s charity, the first child born in Peasant’s Hospital has been named as “Known-You”.

As Known-You supplies the watermelon seeds and establishes hospital, Burmese peasants have good impression about Taiwan in terms of agricultural technology as well as the charitable heart, even if Taiwan is 4,000 km away from Burma.

Medicine Street Stands Served as Medical Service at the Burmese Village

Peasants occupy 70% of the total population in Burma and they need to produce enough food. The poverty and the medical resources shortage are other challenges. Burmeme people cannot afford to be sick. The contrast between the new fancy department store Parkson in Yangon city center and the traditional Bogyoke Aung San Market next to Parkson demonstrates the disparity of medical service in Burma. Inside the building of Parkson, the decoration of the premium clinic will not be worse than the private clinic in Taipei. However, just across the road, there is a traditional market where you can see lots of street stands selling the cloth, books, and stationary. The “pharmacy” displays the western medicine, operation tools, anatomy chart and medical books.

The “pharmacy” is only a booth with five-six pieces of Japanese straw mattresses (tatami). The owner displays the cheap Western medicine and medical applications from China and Thailand at the “pharmacy”. Some booths even pile up the medicine along the aisle. Some owners might have the concern to reveal what they are selling. Once the tourists take the camera, they always wave their hands and do not allow any tourist to take photos.

Originally, we could not understand why there are so many booths selling the medicine and medical instrument at Bogyoke Aung San Market. In the rural area, we often see the street stands where the female owner takes care of the kids and sells the medicine at the same time. After she knows the clients’ demands, she will select the appropriate medicine and put all colorful pills together in a very skillful way. It reminds us exactly the same situation in Taiwan 40-50 years ago. The rural residents relied on the “wáng lù zǎi xiān”(the owner of the street stands) to cure the disease. The shortage of medical resources leaves no choices for people in the rural area.

Known-You is famous for the vegetable and fruit seeds such as seedless watermelon and cherry tomato. Before Burmese government lifted the ban of investment, the staff from Known-You Thai branch office went to Burma to set up the office in 1994. Different from most foreign companies who only cares about the cheap labor cost in Burma, Known-You manages the Burmese market based on the principle of social enterprise.

At that time, Burma was still under military totalitarian reign and very isolated owing to international sanction. Everything was in shortage and it was difficult to set up a comprehensive public medical system in the rural area.

Rich people can always seek for better medical treatment in Bangkok, Thailand. Some might go to Yangon city for the medical treatment. The poor peasants can only take medicine without any professional guidance or simply put up with all the physical pains. If they leave the home town for Yangon, they need to take the long trip and worry that nobody takes care of the daily agricultural works. Do not even mention the fact that they might not be able to afford the medical treatment costs.

Kun-Shi Guo, General Manager of Known-You Burmese office has been shocked at the low living standard in Burma at that time. He still remembers that when you arrived in Burma, they still used the magneto telephone set left from the era of World War II. The mobile phone did not even exist. The agricultural technology had been lagged far behind other countries. The peasants did not develop any good plant variety and cultivation skills. Mr. Guo must import good plant variety from aboard, demonstrate the cultivation steps and teach all the knowledge to the local people.

Impoverished Peasants Fainted. Wen-Yu Chen Decided to Build the Hospital

Many years before Known-You set up the farm in Burma, Ren-Jie Liu, Consultant of Known-You Burmese office, found that the full-time and the part-time employees often worked at illness. Some even fainted while working in the farm. After checking with the local employees, he realizes that the employees could not afford the medical treatment cost and they needed the money to support the family. That is why they still worked even at illness

Ren-Jie Liu and the technical engineer of Burmese office reported the local situation to Shi-Kun Cheng, General Manager of Thai branch office and Mr. Cheng mentioned Burmese peasants’ difficult status to the Founder Wen-Yu Chen. When Mr. Chen heard that many women died from dystocia, he remembered his boss and teacher Dr. Tsuneo Eguchi’s suggestion before Dr. Eguchi died, “The peasants’ life in South-East Asia is very difficult. If you have the chance, please do something for them.” At that time, Mr. Chen worked with Dr. Eguchi at FengShan Tropical Horticultural Experiment Branch.

The eldest son of Wen-Yu Chen and Known-You’s Chairman of Board Long-Mu Chen recalled that 70-year-old Wen-Yu Chen frowned and express a great empathy about Burmese peasants’ difficult life. He still remembered Dr. Tsuneo Eguchi’s suggestion. Owing to his health status, Wen-Yu Chen could not take the flight. He asked Long-Mu Chen, Consultant Jin-Chi Wang and General Manager of Thai branch office Shi-Kun Cheng to evaluate the possibility of allocating some of the profit from Thai branch office and set up the hospital in Burma to provide the free medical treatment for the local peasants.
It is not difficult to construct the hospital building, but it is complicated to handle the political issue with the Burmese government. After Ren-Jie Liu, consultant of overseas Chinese in Burma, received Wen-Yu Chen’s instruction, he reported Known-You’s plan to the Burmese government officials such as Minister of Agriculture Major General Ding Niu（牛釘少將）and Minister of Public Health Major General Sheng Gu（格生少將） and expected to get the government’s authorization.

Burmese government needs to be careful about the diplomatic relations with China and they do not have any diplomatic relationships with Taiwan. A Taiwanese company would like to donate the money to build up a hospital? The Burmese government challenged the motivation behind this plan. They doubted that this company would like to do some human subject research and asked Known-You to donate the fortune to Burmese government. The government would like to dominate the process to set up the hospital.

As the military government is notorious for the corruption, Known-You worried that the donation went to the official’s pocket and declined government’s request. On the other hand, when International Labour Organisation (ILO) was aware of this plan, ILO sent an official letter to Known-You and warned that they should not violate the embargo sanction and provide the “economic aids: to Burmese military government. Otherwise, ILO would take the boycott action against Known-You’s products.

Many obstacles made Wen-Yu Chen consider giving up the original plan and realizing it in India. However, thanks to Ren-Jie Liu’s coordination, the Burmese military government finally agreed under the condition that the Ministry of Public Health is the only authority to assign the doctor and nursing staff for this hospital.

There is some story behind the hospital location. After considering the medical staff’s willingness of dispatch and the purpose to take care of peasants, the military government asked that Known-You should set up the hospital in the province of SamaLauk, 60 kilometers from the west end of Yangon city. It is easier for the residents in the countryside and fishing villages to have better medical treatment.

Charity Takes Time. Inauguration of Peasant’s Hospital

As Bangkok is the nearest city with great medical resources, Known-You Thai office was in charge of the construction of Peasant’s Hospital. They invited the Thai design company to plan the architecture design and the hardware equipment purchase, imported the medical instruments from Thailand, and financed the Burmese medical team to Bangkok for the advanced training. The construction started in 1999. Though the military government’s attitude was always suspicious and negative, the construction has been completed on 18 Mar 2001. It takes two years and costs one-hundred millions Burmese Kyat (US$100,000) to build up Peasant’s Hospital whose surface is around four hectares.

With Wen-Yu Chen’s bless and expectation, Long-Mu Chen and Jin-Chi Wang flied from Taiwan to Burma for the inauguration ceremony. The Burmese government officials and the leaders and residents of nearby twenty villages joined the ceremony. It was a successful event.

Jin-Chi Wang is very proud to mention that even if the hospital is in the rural area, the instrument was very advanced at that time because many hospitals in Yangon city still used the equipment left since the World War II and the medical staff even sterilized the operation tool by fire. Besides the advanced equipment, Known-You continues financing the Burmese medical staff to study the advanced medical knowledge and the computerization of medicine management in Bangkok.

Thirteen years passed by. Known-You’s founder Wen-Yu Chen passed away in Dec 2012. His good willingness to take care of impoverished peasants in South-East Asia has been further developed in Burmese villages, even if he had never been to Burma to visit this hospital.

Following Long-Mu Chen and Jin-Chi Wang’s steps in the past, we visited Known-You Peasant’s Hospital. The life nowadays is far different from ten years ago. Burma started to have the economic reforms. Yangon city is like a big construction site. We can see lots of construction of the skyscrapers in the city center while the expansion of luxurious residence and industrial area has been taken very quickly in the suburb. However, once we are in the rural area, we can still see red flame flowers along the road on which there are many diesel tractors. Several bamboo cottages are scattered on the extensive plain. The scenery has never been changed in the countryside.

After one-hour travelling, we arrived at Peasant’s Hospital. There is a monument in Burmese language on the right-hand side of the wall in the lobby. We do not understand the Burmese description but understands one line in English “Known-You Seed Co. Ltd. & Mr. Wen-Yu Chen”.

The Director of Known-You Peasant’s Hospital Dr. Kyaw Zaw told us that there are the department of internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, dentistry, and emergency in the hospital. The department of internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics are located in the independent buildings and there are thirty beds in total. Besides operation room, labs, X-ray checking room, offices and anteroom, two ambulances have been served to transfer patients to other hospital or go around the rural area to provide the public health education and free medical treatment.

Dr. Kyaw Zaw said that generally speaking, since more than 10 years, the medical treatment level in the rural area has been lagged far behind the urban area. The main reason is that the peasants are in poverty and there are many orphans in the rural area. Peasant’s Hospital provides the medical treatment for 10,000 people living in this area. In average, over twenty people seek for medical treatment in the hospital every day.

Dr. Kyaw Zaw analyzed that the diarrhea is the most common disease owning to the lack of clean drinking water. The most common operation is related to the cellulitis. Many farmers only seek for the medical advice when they cannot put up with the pain anymore because they would like to save the money.

Dr. Kyaw Zaw shows us the ward of infant, male adult and female adult. The environment is very clean and quiet. The hospital takes care of many infants and elders suffering from malnutrition, monks, nuns, peasants cut by sharp tools during the agricultural works or those who get burned by explosion caused by lighter. Thanks to the family support and the medical treatment, all the patients can be recovered.

Peasant’s Hospital- Wen-Yu Chen’s Tear from the Happiness

The service of Peasant’s Hospital has been done in the rural area. They provide the delivery treatment for the pregnant women in poverty. If the status is far beyond what they can handle, Dr. Kyaw Zaw will write a letter to transfer the patients into other hospital in Yangon city. If the patients cannot afford the medical cost after operation in Yangon city, they can come back to Peasant’s Hospital for recovery and their family can also take care of them.

The General Manager of Known-You Burmese office Kun-Shi Guo still remembers the first infant that the doctor delivered birth at Peasant’s Hospital. The parents name him as “Known-You” to memorize this great moment.

Since the inauguration of Peasant’s Hospital, Known-You offers the training, takes care of the maintenance of medical equipment and provides the free medical service to poor peasants. The monthly fee is up to one billon Burmese Kyat (around forty to fifty thousand New Taiwan Dollars). For most Taiwanese companies, this amount is very small but helps countless Burmese families in poverty.

Though Peasant’s Hospital plays an important role in the rural area in Burma, they still face the medical staff shortage. Even if they offer the nice accommodation, Dr. Kyaw Zaw told us that most of medical professional would like to stay in Yangon city. Once they realize that they must stay in the rural area, they will simply decline the offer.

In 2011, Known-You Peasant’s Hospital had the celebration party for its 10th anniversary. Though 87-year-old Wen-Yu Chen could not attend the celebration, he showed his compliments by the below letter：
“As I am old and do not have good health status, I have never been to this hospital to show my appreciation for the medical staff and share my empathy with the patients. The fifth year after the inauguration of the hospital, I received the letter from several patients such as Mr. Ma Thin Maw recovered from the critical illness to appreciate the free medical service offered by the hospital. Reading these letters makes me cry from the happiness. At this moment, another five years passed by. I believe that our hospital can cure more poor peasants without any charge and they can get back the healthy life.”

Known-You Shows the Empathy for Burma

After our visit, we travel from Samalauk to Yangon city. Along the road, the fruit stands and the wholesale markets display the prodigious papaya and watermelon, we can only quench our thirst by looking at the fruit.

Known-You has been in Burma since 20 years. The market share of vegetable seed and melon seed is around forty percent and the market share of watermelon seed is up to ninety percent. Thanks to Known-You technical engineers’ help, many Burmese farmers can sell the watermelon to China during the winter time when the weather is not good for cultivation in northern China. According to the statistics of Chinese embassy, the trade amount of watermelon along Chinese-Burmese border is up to US$30 millions annually.

The General Manager of Known-You Burmese office Kun-Shi Guo said that many Burmese farmers’ income has been increased thanks to the watermelon. They can afford to move into the concrete building instead of living in the bamboo stilt cottage.

The CEO of Known-You Long-Mu Chen recalled that when the founder Wen-Yu Chen talked about the management philosophy and the research and development efforts to develop the new variety, he always stressed that “a good variety will make the farmers get more profits.” While walking around the Burmese traditional markets nowadays, we might see many owners of the street stand promoting enthusiastically the prodigious yellow-green papayas variety “Red Lady”, Known-You’s most popular papaya variety in South-East Asia and India, which has a great agricultural output and the fruit is sweet and well-developed. In sum, Known-You makes the local peasants satisfied from both material and spiritual level.

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