SHOPPING WITH DANNY SOLETA

   I met Danny last year in conjunction with a wheelchair training in the area of Cavite. This province is Southwest of Manila. Little did I know of the connections of this man. He owns a business in downtown Manila and sells items to the church to augment things in our distribution center. He supplies such things as picture frames for use with pictures shipped in for use in our chapels. He also is helpful in ordering specialty items such as big stickers that have the LDS Charities logo to place on items we donate or use.
  Well, I was trying to find used or rebuilt generators to supply to the devastated areas of Davao Oriental. We were working with "Save the Children Foundation" and needed four generators to supply power for areas that would not have power for 8 or more months. Danny overheard me in the office making phone calls and said "I can get those". He made some calls and we have an appointment to see some generators near his business the next day. He escorted me to the area we needed to look. This is not an area that we would normally go unless we had a reason and a personal escort.

 

We are in the heart of downtown Manila where the old financial district was located prior to WWII.

You can go for blocks and find almost anything you could want. At this point even Danny looks lost.

 

 

This area is one of just RTW (ready to wear) clothing. Another block would be just cameras and lenses. Other large sections were shoes, electronics and bags.

 

 

These guys just wanted their pictures taken as they were calling me to buy something.

 

 

Two full blocks where just optical shops that will supply most of the Philippines with frames and lenses.

 

 

We finally find the location and see the generators. The price seems right. Now it is time to negotiate.

Danny again shows his worth when it comes to items we may need. He has become a personal friend and a great family man. He is a former Bishop and has 2 daughters attending BYU. We have a lot of common interests and enjoy working together. Again, we find that one of  the best things we do is  develop relationships that are mutually beneficial. As we would say, Win/Win.