Y. C. James Yen Quotes

#1. We work with the people not out of pity but out of respect for their potential for growth and development, both as individuals and as communities.

Y. C. James Yen

#2. Relief has its place. But what the people need is not relief, but release - release of their own potential for development.

Y. C. James Yen

#3. The people are the foundation of the nation. Our only chance for a lasting peace on earth: the release of the strength of the common man.

Y. C. James Yen

#4. Go to the people
Live among them
Learn from them
Love them
Serve them
Plan with them
Start with what they know
Build on what they have.

Y. C. James Yen

#5. Technical know-how of the experts must be transformed into practical do-how of the people.

Y. C. James Yen

#6. Commitment cannot be taught;
it can only be caught.
I refer to the crusading spirit.
Without the crusading spirit,
you may have the starting power
but not the staying power.

Y. C. James Yen

#7. When we talk about democracy, if the people's stomach is empty, democracy is also empty. Democracy can not be installed by fiat; it must be achieved by the people themselves.

Y. C. James Yen

#8. When we have a new heart, we become new people, and then we have a new society, then we have a new nation.

Y. C. James Yen

#9. True independence is not a gift to be received. It can't be a hand-out to people. It must be an achievement by the people.

Y. C. James Yen

#10. I must dedicate my life to teaching my people, for only education would make their lot less bitter, their latent power more strong.

Y. C. James Yen

#11. A worker in the rural reconstruction must have: The body of an athlete The attitude of a teacher The mind of a scientist The heart of a missionary The spirit of a crusader.

Y. C. James Yen

#12. Go to the people and live among them in order to know them and learn from them.

Y. C. James Yen