Vendor Spotlight

Big Issue Taiwan’s Hsiu-e Ho: “Positive thinking isn’t keeping me going, gratitude is”

BY TZU-HUA CHEN / VERYMULAN

The Big Issue Taiwan met Hsiu-e Ho towards the end of June at her pitch at Zhongxiao Xinsheng Station. Afternoon thunderstorms had hit Taipei several days in a row as summer arrived. Luckily, despite the clouds, it wasn't raining when Hsiu-e Ho arrived to sit under a tree by the street and talk about her life as a vendor and losing the ability to walk.

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Hsiu-e Ho served as a beautician a few years ago. Living with Thalassemia [a congenital blood disorder], she fell into a coma at work one day and had to stay at the hospital for two months for check-ups and surgeries. All her savings went to inpatient expenses. Another thing she lost for good was the ability to walk — she’s spent her life in a wheelchair since. She’s still unsure about how exactly that happened, how her life turned upside down overnight.

It was a dramatic change for her to be rendered unable to work in a beauty salon anymore. Nevertheless, she picked herself up and sought support from associations and churches. She met Ms. Lin from Taiwan Adventist Foundation [a social welfare charity] through a priest. Lin suggested that she sell street papers, which was a glimmer of blue sky in the clouds. Ho said to herself: “Yes, I can sell magazines. I will have a goal in life.” Being a vendor doesn’t just mean a job or a pay check to her — it’s a complete turnaround.

A vendor for five or six years, she’s seen both the good and the bad in people: hostile vendors, passers-by who give her unfriendly looks as if they despise her. "My feelings were hurt,” she recalls serenely. She’s probably so used to that kind of treatment that she’s become used to it, nothing but poised.

On the bright side, in a big city like Taipei, pleasant encounters happen too. Ho tells me about her loyal customers: an office worker from Yonghe [a district in New Taipei City], and people that appear aggressive at first but become nicer as they get to know her. The teachers from the neighbouring primary school also have a chat with her before they go home. She still exhibits imperturbable calm as she speaks, but a smile has crawled up her face.

Good things aside, she baulks at the pandemic that’s affected business. “It’s almost the end of June and I haven’t got 30 issues sold. How do I make a living doing this?” She suffers financially despite the income from selling magazines and government subsidies. Giving up is not an option though. Whether it’s to find a new pitch or to try something else, she’s got to do something to improve her life.

I’m not able to see her eyes behind the sunglasses; neither can I imagine how she’s come such a long way after all those big life changes. I ask if it takes a lot of positivity to get through them, but she has no answer. “I can’t keep moving forward If I have to get everything figured out,” she shakes her head, and starts naming those who have given her a hand: her church, The Big Issue, foundations, and friends who offer her constant assistance in different aspects of life. “I feel enormously lucky to receive help from all over.” There it is — positive thinking isn’t the key to keeping her going; gratitude is. She’s able to stay the course thanks to the people who’ve been there for her, backing her up.

This article was written in collaboration with Verymulan. Founded by CEO Shu-mei Chang in 2012, Verymulan is a content site which advocates women’s participation in social innovation and shows the power of women through a variety of stories. The staff provides support to entrepreneurs looking to solve social problems, and gathers resources to encourage collaborations between women and businesses. They “Stand for Small”, aiming to improve society with their support for social entrepreneurship and small businesses. https://www.verymulan.com/

Translated from Mandarin by Sunny Tseng (Taiwan) Courtesy of The Big Issue Taiwan / International Network of Street Papers