by Isaac Goff (originally posted in Subud Around the World, Jan 2019; updated Nov 2019)
In the interest of encouraging enterprise by Subud members, I’d like to share with you an outline of a Social Enterprise startup I am supporting.
Here in the USA, neurological and orthopedic surgeries using titanium cages, rods and screws are commonly done every day to correct spinal, neurological, and bone damage due to trauma or deterioration. These titanium bits are manufactured in the USA and Europe and are crazy costly. In Bolivia, the cost of these imported titanium bits & pieces is beyond the reach of the poor and they do without.
At the same time, in India, several factories manufacture these items to the same standards, using the same equipment and the same quality titanium, at a fraction of the cost. Juan Lorenzo Hinojosa, a non-practicing Subud member with whom I partner on Dharma’s Children’s Heart Repair Project, has formed a for-profit company in Bolivia and negotiated a sole distributorship for all of Bolivia with one of these Indian manufacturers.
The business plan is to make these available in Bolivia to the upper and middle classes at significantly reduced pricing and then, with the profits generated, make them available to the poor at no or reduced cost.
An overwhelming number of permits & licenses have now been acquired from the Bolivian equivalents of the FDA, Customs, State & Federal agencies, etc., with much time, effort and expense. With these permissions in hand, our first order has been placed and is en route to Bolivia. We are now in the process of hiring 2 medical technicians who will undergo training by a representative sent by the Indian manufacturer.
Sadly, Bolivia is suddenly in chaos due to a contested presidential election. Everything is in lockdown, rioting in the streets, and nothing is passing through customs. None the less, this will pass and we can get on with helping those in need and without means.
This enterprise is not unlike the Free Cataract Surgery Program I started in 2004 which you can read about here: <http://www.dharmasocialprojects.com/cataract.html>. Opportunities like this abound throughout the world. We need only to look around us and act.