Philanthropy
Decades before my studies in sociology and linguistics, there was always an interest in the world around me. Growing up Korean American, I observed, not only the superficial cultural differences but also deep underlaying factors that shaped people’s worldviews. This was my point of reference when I began working and living among the Chinese in 2004, the Saudis in 2007, and in 2018 I studied Japanese in Hokkaido. In 2021, I studied Russian in Belarus and would go on to spend considerable time in various countries including Russia, the Czech Republic, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Rwanda, Burundi, India, Mongolia, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil. Even as the locations and landscapes changed, my mission remained the same: to understand people, to truly listen to what they were saying, to understand their perspectives, to approach with an open mind and see where they drew happiness, what caused pain, and what I could do to help.
My first visit to Freetown, Sierra Leone was unlike anything I had previously experienced. I was struck by the stunning location – a rugged coastline, endless beautiful beaches, and lush green mountains in the background. As I walked along the beach, I noticed a group of young men and women playing football, a common sight everywhere in Africa, but upon closer inspection, I realized they were all amputees. I watched them play together, sliding, scoring, and celebrating. Against the backdrop of the setting sun and crashing waves, I listened, wanting to hear their stories. I listened for hours. Brutal stories. The long war that tore their lives apart, and the amputations that had shaped their futures. Many had buried it so deeply that even recalling significant events brought tears to their eyes, but there was no shame or embarrassment, no judgement. No one cared. They had hit rock bottom. Most lost parents, siblings and friends. Some had taken their own lives, Everyone told a truly heartbreaking story, recounting this period of their lives and an attempt at a lifelong healing process that never quite felt complete.
I would return many times to this place, and to Liberia, which was also affected by the same war, constantly asking myself if there was a solution. When I asked about the NGOs that had flooded the country during the 1990s, when the violence was at its peak, there was hostility and pain in their faces. Lofty promises were made, that resulted in emptiness and a field of broken dreams. They told me that more than anything, they wanted to be able to earn a living for themselves. Some asked for help to finish their education, others wanted prosthetic limbs so they could work, and still others pleaded for a chance to start their own businesses so that their children could see them as something other than beggars, even if only once in their lives. I knew then I had to do something.
When hope is absent, sometimes, within the rare intimacy of shared brokenness, understanding, acceptance, and utter despair, even the smallest spark can ignite a fire. I have heard stories so cruel they make one lose faith in humanity. The devastation wrought by Charles Taylor’s war in West Africa caused immense human suffering. The genocide in Rwanda. The sprawling slum districts surrounding Nairobi. The horrific debt bondage system in India and the brick kilns that keep entire generations of families enslaved. The extreme poverty that traps countless indigenous people in Bolivia in the underclass. The continuing suffering of thousands of people in Vietnam still afflicted by the horrors caused by Agent Orange.
In January 2022, LEE embarked on realizing its vision. This includes, but is not limited to, providing microloans to support entrepreneurship, educational assistance, and critical medical interventions. Initially operating in Sierra Leone, then Liberia, working in places like the slums of Nairobi, the favelas of Brazil, and the remote rural areas of India where bonded labor and child labor persist. LEE knows no borders,
Operating in some of the most challenging places on Earth, approaching with complete and total humility, humanity, compassion, empathy, understanding, fearlessness, and a desire for genuine change, LEE is working towards solutions and committed to transforming the lives of the most vulnerable, suffering, forgotten, and voiceless. LEE is their voice.
Reflections
In the face of horrifying conditions, embers of happiness still glow. A tranquil walk along the beach as the crashing waves bring a calming peace and the warm sand glides through the toes. A game of football with friends on the beach as the sun brilliantly sets. A walk through the woods to pick berries mother and daughter. A meal received by one street kid and his immediate reaction is to share it among 4 others. A young boy with nothing left on this earth except his wooden sailboat glides the crystal blue waters fearlessly. A little girl working with bricks telling of her dreams to one day go to school. A close bond with a pet that always supports even in the face of constant hunger. A young boy dreaming to become a great chef in Mumbai’s largest slum. A boy burned from head to torso expressing tears of joy when realizing that at 17 his life is not over, it has just begun as a business owner. A man completely disfigured, but immune from the world’s judging eye as he plays his flute and the sound silences the crowd. The brutal job of sifting through mounds of garbage interrupted by a joke that causes even a hardened face to crack a smile. A swim in the vast ocean with no one around as the night sky illuminates millions of stars. A special bond that can only be forged in the most inhumane conditions that survives the test of time.
I am humbled by the breathtaking natural beauty, the shared humanity, compassion, and the moments that burn so bright that I feel grateful to have even experienced the embers. True wealth is often hidden, like a pearl in the ocean, in the deep truism of life. I have learned so much from the wonderful people I so long to help, a depth of color, emotion, perspective, resilience, courage and heart I did not even know existed, and for that I am eternally grateful.
The Beautiful Journey
