During my Pursuit of Happiness, I particularly remember a trip I took out to Kenya, it was something that I wanted to do for years and years, however back then the opportunities which I had found all required me to pay thousands and thousands of pounds to go. Back then that kind of money seemed like an unreachable amount for a school kid like me. It was a volunteering trip, so I didn’t understand the concept of paying so much money to the organization to go and volunteer, and it’s still something I strongly disagree with.

 

Finally when I was 17 I got my chance to go volunteering in Kenya when a friend of mine invited me to go with her and some friends, I went to see some shanty towns where the houses were not so much houses but huts that were built from grass, sticks and manure. There the people didn't have shoes; many of them did not even have any clothes. During this particular visit I noticed something strange, something that has heavily contributed and influenced the person I am today.

When I walked through these villages being greeted by the people who lived there, and there is one particular moment that struck me. There was a lady standing in the distance, she was leaning against the house of the hut she lived in and she had the biggest and most beautiful smile that I had ever seen.

Her smile attracted me to see what she was looking at, nearby I noticed 3 kids playing in the mud, they were kicking this old rag doll around, laughing and screaming with joy. The kids had no clothes, and were so thin you could count every rib, yet they were able to play with so much joy and laughter.

 

During my experience out there, something inside of me was ignited and I found my passion for contribution and philanthropy.  I decided that my life long goal would be to add value to other peoples lives, to contribute beyond myself.

This volunteer trip became a major turning point in my life, I took my trip to Kenya during the lowest point in my life and this experience allowed me to think about life in a different perspective. I questioned why these people who have absolutely nothing, no clothes, no food, no sanitation, how can these people be so positive and vibrant and enjoy life and be so immensely happy and thankful for being alive. In comparison we have so much, yet we can feel sad, angry, depressed and feel that God or the Universe is being unfair when we don't get the things that we want. We get upset and argue with close ones or loved ones over the smallest and most insignificant things.

 

This trip made me realize how comfortable my life had been, I had all I needed, food, water, clean sanitation, a roof over my head and enough money to spend when I wanted to spend it. Yet I was unhappy and I felt that something was missing in my life.

 

One lesson that my trip to Kenya taught me was to feel gratitude for all that is around you, and all that you have been blessed with. Only then will you have the positive energy that is needed to overcome challenges and hurdles in life, and achieve those ultimate goals on your pursuit of happiness. Appreciate everything that you have and be thankful for even being fortunate enough to have a chance at life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Live with Gratitude, live happy."

 

With my passion ignited I returned to the UK with a desire that I had never felt before, I wanted to help these people, and so in 2010 I acquired 4 acres of land in Bungoma Kenya and built an orphanage. I brought in 63 kids from the wild providing them with a loving home, with the correct sanitation and health and hygiene facilities.

 

YoYo Orphanage, started off with 63 children, because at that point I could only afford to fund 63 kids, their living and eating, their education, sanitation, clothing. Slowly overtime, I became known as the Chinese man who built the orphanage and was helping kids, and soon after the word spred, i was finding that more and more children in need were coming towards us for help.

 

When your standing there and you see a 5 year old kid coming towards you  dying of  Malaria, something that is so easily prevented with the use of a mosquito net, or anti malaria tablets, reaching towards you for help, what do you do? You think to yourself, whats one more mouth to feed, and you reach out to help.

 

But then the 5^th one comes along, the 10^th one comes along and the 100^th one comes along, what do you do?

 

Where is the point where you say no I cant take anymore. This is the exact thing that I witnessed myself that gave me the biggest emotional drive ever to work harder to make more money, to be able to contribute beyond imaginable and help those kids in need.

 

And today we have 243 beautiful kids in our YoYo Orphanage, and aside from that, our businesses have never been better.

 

That’s why I’m not a strong believer in signing a cheque for some amount and just giving it to some charity, because there is no emotional drive involved. I believe in going out there and reaching out physically and mentally, and being present to understand why you do what you do.

 

This became my driving force in life. I would wake up everyday and think of my 63 beautiful kids, which would drive me to work harder and make more money. As I got connected deeper and more invested in the charity I started to understand how charities work, I realized that a lot of NGO’s and Charities will raise money, will donate food and clothes and even sanitation to these people, however, nothing was being done to teach these people about a better future.

 

We used to participate in such activities in school, with Christmas Hampers and charity bake sales and charity drives, at the same time as all of this being a nice gesture, none of this provides these people with a better future. All it does it contribute to a short amount of happiness.

 

I belief that charity should be done in a whole new way, our focus shouldn’t be on giving these people things, it should be about providing them with the means for a better future. Our focus should be on education so that they can build themselves a brighter future, to give these kids the tools and the knowledge to be able to not just survive out there, but also to be able to grow, to be able to pass these tools and knowledge onto their next generations so that they will be able to build a community and build their own future.

 

This is when Mission Sustainability was born, I acquired a further 2 acre piece of land, and YoYo’s Centre of Learning was formed,  I hired some farmers to come in and plant vegetation and teach the kids in the school how to plant their own vegetation and food, to teach them to be able to take the crops out and sell them in markets to be able to sustain their own living.

 

My centre now has 8 classes teaching kids from ages 4-16 the tools and knowledge that they can use throughout their life.

 

 

"Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day, teach a man to fish you will feed him for a lifetime."

 

How many of you would like to be able to wake up in the morning thinking about some greater initiative that you are a part of? A Bigger purpose which you contribute to? With such purpose that drives you to wake up in the mornings, charging you to get out of bed, because you know the more successful you get the more you can contribute to those that are less fortunate in this world.  

 

Mission Initiative is my gift to you all, to give you all a chance to learn about these experiences and to be able to contribute beyond yourselves. This signature program is for all those loving and caring people out there who want to make a difference to other peoples lives and help those who are less fortunate.

 

Its not only about volunteering and experiencing the life over there, its about giving you a chance to be a part of an initiative that is so meaningful, that is going to change the future of these peoples lives.