About HtW

John - President

John speaks fluent French, basic Spanish and Mandarin. He is married to the lovely Lira, and enjoys sports, bonsai and photography.

In John's words: In 2003, my life changed dramatically while I was living in Los Angeles. I spent a lot of time walking around the streets, getting a feel for the city, and slowly started to notice the many homeless people and their misery. At first I simply walked by, but eventually, I became curious to find ways I could help. I would spend time talking to them and would buy them fast-food. However, I quickly realized that this would not be sustainable. So, some friends and I started to feed a group of homeless people in weekly outings. Our efforts turned into a mobile soup kitchen, feeding between 40 and 80 people several nights each week. We prepared fresh, organic lentil soup enriched with vitamin and protein powder. We bought oranges, water, soap, toothbrushes, and reading material, loaded them onto a garden cart, and then distributed, fed, and counseled the individuals that we met. This was the first humanitarian effort of what would become Heal the World (HtW).

The most valuable lesson I obtained from this experience was a sense of purpose in my life: to eradicate poverty. When I moved away from Los Angeles County, and thus a large concentration of homeless people, I began planning how to help the greatest amount of people with the resources that were available. That is what HtW is doing everyday.