New York, N.Y. I recently attended Ticket2Bollywood (T2B) sponsored by Molecule Communications. I had the opportunity to interview its director Ajay Shrivastav and his sister and business partner Kiren.
Brother and sister Ajay and Kiren Shrivastav are opposites. He is the creative one and Kiren more the businesswoman operating Molecule Communications in Mumbai and Ajay is opening their first overseas branch in New York, where he has lived for twelve years involved with food and fashion – and now film. The siblings share the same passion but view different approaches.
Left to right: Anuraadha Tewari, and Kanika Chadda (Zee TV). Photo: Kabir Chopra.
“I am the opposite of Ajay,” Kiren told me. “Ajay wants to save the world first, but I believe I must first help myself and build our business. I want to build this company so strong we are in a position to help others,” she confided.
Ajay shared with me his own passion for bringing Indian entertainment to an international audience. I shared with him my passion about writing for an American audience so that they can better understand international phenomenon such as Bollywood. A match!
The audience during Q&A, asking the speakers about Bollywood. Photo: Kabir Chopra.
“It is no longer Bollywood vs. Hollywood,” Ajay explained to me at the two-day conference Ticket2Bollywood (T2B) his company sponsored in Manhattan’s Chelsea’s Dream Downtown Hotel. “Today, we have global entertainment,” he said. He plans to expand his T2B conference to London, Sydney, and Singapore.
Zoya Akhtar, Imtiaz Ali, and Anuraadha Tewari. Photo: Kabir Chopra.
“In the West, Bollywood is perceived as song, dance and weird colors,” Ajay said. “Trust me, Bollywood has travelled far beyond ‘song and dance.’” One factor he cited for this is India’s own growing middle class. “They are more in tune with global cinema,” he said.
However, Bollywood also resonates with audiences throughout the Developing World – especially in Asia and Africa. “A large part of the world is Third World, where there is a rooting for the underdog – the essence of Bollywood film,” Ajay elaborated.
Zoya Akhtar and Aarti Virani. Photo: Kabir Chopra.
Ajay has been excited about cinema for a long time, but only recently understood how best to build a bridge between Los Angeles and Mumbai, with a stopover in New York. His dream is to create a cross-cultural pollination between filmmakers around the globe.
Indian film producers and actors whom I have written about include Shah Rukh Khan, Mani Ratnam, Mira Nair – as well as covering the New York Indian Film Festival for years. Ratnam is not well known globally but represents the status quo of Indian cinema. I attempted to the American audience several years ago on video. “Generation X will make the next generation of global cinema from India,” Ajay told me.
Ajay practices what he preaches. He is a vegetarian, which I wish I was but can’t, and volunteers at both NYU and Columbia helping others reach their goals and obtain their dreams.
Jim Luce Writes on Haiti chronicles over two decades of firsthand experience in one of the Western Hemisphere’s most challenging yet resilient nations. From his arrival in Port-au-Prince on New Year’s Eve 1999 through the devastating 2010 earthquake that claimed 250,000 lives and into Haiti’s ongoing struggles with gang violence and political instability, Luce documents his work with Orphans International Worldwide across multiple Haitian communities, including Gonaïves, Jacmel and Léogâne. These writings offer an intimate, ground-level perspective on Haiti’s complex realities—from the hope of the early Aristide years to post-earthquake recovery efforts, capturing both the profound challenges and enduring spirit of the Haitian people through the eyes of a humanitarian who chose to stay and serve rather than observe from afar.
Jim Luce brings a unique perspective to writing about Tibet and Tibetan-Americans through his deep personal involvement in humanitarian work and direct access to key figures in the Tibetan community. As founder of Orphans International and collaborator with Dr. Kazuko Hillyer Tatsumura in supporting the Manjushree Orphanage for Tibetan orphans in India’s sensitive border region with Chinese Tibet, Luce writes from firsthand experience rather than distant observation. His work spans cultural commentary, political analysis, and intimate portraits of Tibetan Buddhist life, offering readers insights gained through years of on-the-ground engagement and multiple audiences with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. From exploring the iconic Potala Palace’s place in popular culture to covering contemporary political developments affecting Tibetan succession and autonomy, Luce’s writing bridges the gap between Tibet’s ancient spiritual traditions and the modern challenges facing Tibetan communities worldwide.
Bangkok, Thailand. Having traveled extensively through Japan and India, visiting countless Buddhist shrines and temples, I thought I was well-prepared for any religious site. Yet, nothing could have prepared me for the grandeur and spiritual energy of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok.
As I approached Wat Phra Kaew, nestled within the grounds of the Grand Palace, the first thing that struck me was the temple’s intricate architecture. The dazzling gold spires, vibrant murals, and ornate statues seemed almost otherworldly. The entire complex radiated a sense of majesty that felt both timeless and deeply spiritual.
Entering the temple grounds, I was immediately enveloped in an atmosphere of reverence and tranquility. Monks in saffron robes moved silently through the crowds, their presence a gentle reminder of the temple’s sacred purpose. The air was thick with the scent of incense, blending with the fragrant blossoms that adorned the altars.
The Temple of the Emerald Buddha itself is a masterpiece of Thai art and architecture. As I stepped inside, I was greeted by an awe-inspiring sight: the Emerald Buddha, perched high on a gilded altar, resplendent in its seasonal attire. Carved from a single block of jade, the statue, though small in size, exudes an aura of immense spiritual significance.
Visitors moved slowly and respectfully around the statue, some kneeling in prayer, others merely absorbing the serene atmosphere. The walls of the temple are adorned with elaborate murals depicting scenes from Buddhist mythology, each stroke of the brush telling a story of devotion and faith.
Despite the bustling crowd, a profound silence enveloped the temple. It was as if the very air inside was charged with centuries of prayers and rituals, creating a palpable sense of peace. I found myself a quiet corner to sit and reflect, overwhelmed by the beauty and tranquility of the place.
The Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok
The Temple of the Emerald Buddha, known locally as Wat Phra Kaew, is one of the most venerated sites in Thailand, located within the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok. This exquisite temple complex is a stunning example of traditional Thai architecture and craftsmanship, encapsulating centuries of religious and cultural heritage.
Architectural Splendor
The temple’s architecture is a feast for the eyes, featuring soaring golden spires, intricately decorated roofs, and richly adorned facades. The structures are embellished with colorful mosaics, gold leaf, and vibrant murals that depict scenes from Buddhist mythology and Thai history. The meticulous detail and artistry in every element of the temple’s design reflect the deep devotion and reverence held for this sacred place.
The Emerald Buddha
The centerpiece of Wat Phra Kaew is the Emerald Buddha, a revered statue carved from a single block of jade. Despite its modest size, standing about 26 inches tall, the statue holds immense spiritual significance. It is placed high on a grand, multi-tiered pedestal, surrounded by opulent decorations. The Emerald Buddha is adorned with seasonal robes, which are changed three times a year by the King of Thailand in a solemn ceremony, marking the changing seasons and ensuring the kingdom’s prosperity.
The Grand Palace Grounds
The temple is part of the larger Grand Palace complex, which served as the royal residence for generations of Thai kings. The grounds are a labyrinth of courtyards, halls, and pavilions, each showcasing the grandeur of Thai royal architecture. The contrast between the vibrant, bustling city of Bangkok and the serene, sacred ambiance of Wat Phra Kaew is striking.
Cultural and Spiritual Significance
Wat Phra Kaew is not only a major tourist attraction but also an active religious site. It plays a central role in Thai Buddhism, hosting numerous rituals and ceremonies throughout the year. The temple is a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists from around the world, who come to pay homage and seek blessings.
Visitor Experience
Visitors to Wat Phra Kaew are often struck by the profound sense of peace and spirituality that pervades the temple. The air is filled with the scent of incense, and the soft murmurs of prayers and chants create a serene atmosphere. Despite the influx of tourists, the temple maintains a sacred and respectful environment, inviting all who enter to reflect and find inner peace.
The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is a magnificent embodiment of Thai culture, religion, and artistry. Its awe-inspiring beauty and deep spiritual resonance make it a must-visit destination in Bangkok, offering a unique glimpse into the heart of Thailand’s Buddhist heritage.
As I sat there, memories of my visits to other Buddhist sites in Japan and India flooded my mind. I recalled the serene gardens of Kyoto’s temples, the colossal statues of Nara, the ancient stupas of Bodh Gaya, and the vibrant monasteries of Ladakh. Each place had its own unique charm and spiritual energy, but the Temple of the Emerald Buddha felt different—more intense, more immediate.
I realized that what set this temple apart was not just its physical beauty but the deep, living tradition it represented. Wat Phra Kaew is not merely a historical site; it is a living, breathing center of Thai Buddhism, where ancient rituals continue to be practiced and revered.
After spending several hours within the temple grounds, I emerged back into the bustling city, feeling a profound sense of gratitude and peace. My visit to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha had been a deeply moving experience, one that would stay with me long after I left Bangkok.
This visit reminded me that no matter how many temples or shrines one visits, each has the power to touch the soul in a unique way. The Temple of the Emerald Buddha, with its unparalleled beauty and profound spiritual significance, had done just that. It was a place where history, art, and spirituality converged, offering a glimpse into the heart of Thai culture and Buddhist devotion.
Social causes were more important to her than social standing
Boston, MA — My mother’s words still ring out in my head, year after year. It was Thanksgiving 1998, Boston.
I was continuing to complain about how traumatized I felt having experienced the Dicksonian conditions of the orphanage where I found my infant son Mathew in Indonesia. The warehouse institution was crib-to-worn-out-crib of children dressed in rags, clean but threadbare. Impoverished would be an understatement. ‘Dirt poor,’ as my mother would say.
Mom, post-divorce, with her beloved dog and Women’s Empowerment Groups in the 1970s.
I had hoped my mom, a child psychologist, would commiserate with me. Allow me to suffer quietly for what I had seen.
I was wrong. She wanted action. “If you identify something wrong in this world, it is up to you to fix it. Stop complaining and do something!”
To humor my mom, I agreed to write a feasibility study on how orphan care could be improved in the developing world and settled onto the SOS Children’s Villages model, writing a 350-page thesis on how to raise children in small homes connected to one caregiver rather than in large, cold institutions with revolving staff.
As a child, my mother was chosen to open the Bath Bridge in Portland Maine, 1927.
I worked in finance, which back then we called Wall Street, and knew little about children or NGOs. Over two years, mom edited my thoughts leaving us with the blueprint for orphan care still in use today.
Several weeks after the thesis was completed my mother, Frances Dudley Alleman-Luce, unexpectedly passed away.
Unbeknownst to me, she had left my portion of her estate to begin what we called Orphans International Worldwide (OIW), an organization that played a significant role in orphan care following the 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, and in Haiti after Hurricane Jeanne and later the earthquake of 2010.
Today, OIW continues to support orphans in Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Mom and Dad’s marriage was essentially arranged by their two families and did not last.
Social causes were more important to her than social standing — or academics.
Despite her multiple degrees, she allowed me to miss significant amounts of high school to march in civil rights marches and to serve as the Episcopal Diocesan Youth Representative at the state capital.
Her own causes, embraced in the 1960’s and ’70’s, were civil rights and women’s liberation. She was rebelling against the slave owners on her maternal grandfather’s side, and from the man her family had expected her to marry — my father.
As a child, my mom would always take me to see the Dudley Gates at Harvard Yard.
My kindergarten year — just before mom embraced Martin Luther King and Gloria Steinem — my family lived in Paris and mom spoke French with the best of them.
She would occasionally slip and declare herself at the table to be ‘pregnant’ when she was simply full.
She knew how bored I was of touring the endless chateaus my father wanted to see, so she convinced me that each and every one was the home of Thierry la Fronde, the Robin Hood of France whom I idolized.
I have volumes of Thierry la Fronde comics on my bookshelves today.
My mother (middle child) in their back yard in Portland, Maine in 1928, was active in civil rights. Her mother, standing, came from Maryland where her father had owned slaves.
Moving to public school in junior high school following her divorce in 1972, I was often bullied.
It was then that I changed my name from “James” to “Jim,” seeking to mitigate my roots.
Not until the last year had I ever embraced my real name when we used it to name our foundation.
In high school, when not editing the school paper, I sought solace alone in my room reading Gandhi, MLK, Khalil Gibran, and Elie Wiesel.
Mom gave me a beautifully framed Desiderata for Christmas during that era. I found comfort in its “Go placidly amid the noise and the haste…”
Mom would take me out of school repeatedly to join in civil rights marches in the 1960’s.
Perhaps the happiest times with my mom were summers on Martha’s Vineyard, where she would relax as I explored ancient cemeteries, collecting grave rubbings of the Luce family.
Mom was always accepting of my sexuality — I’m gay — and embraced my adopted Chinese-Indonesian son as if her were her own blood.
In fact, given the Anglican nature of my family, marrying outside the Church of Englandwas a bigger transgression for her than same sex marriage.
As she told me once, “When you decided to break with tradition, you really went for it!”
My mom’s grandfather Warfield Simpson owned slaves, here recorded in the census of 1850.
Two other favorite oft-repeated remarks about me were that still make me chuckle:
“When my son came to the fork in the road, he decided to go cross-county,” and “My son walks through life as if it he is on a trapeze without a net.”
Mom’s 2001 memorial service in New York, in a church belonging to the American Baptist denomination of Martin Luther King, included Buddhist, Muslim and Jewish prayers, Japanese modern ballet, Dominican drums, and majestic trumpeters to blast that stirring hymn Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee.
Then-mayor Giuliani wrote a letter in her honor. In Washington, The Congressional Record sadly noted her passing and the president sent his condolences.
Vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard, American origin of the Luce family, with my mom in 1990.
Ms. Alleman-Luce was an extraordinary woman far ahead of her time. She played an active role in the Civil Rights Movementduring the 1960’s, training the Freedom Ridersas they gathered in Oxford, Ohio before driving down to Mississippi. Ms. Alleman-Luce was an exceptional individual and a caring mother. A proud lifelong Democrat, a friend of the disenfranchised, and a caring educator, Ms. Alleman-Luce will be sorely missed.
Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani who was then in office noted:
Frances D. Alleman-Luce was a towering personality who gave of her time and efforts towards the betterment of humanity. It is indeed fitting that we honor her by creating this orphanage fund which will help overseas orphans in Indonesia, Haiti and elsewhere. This is truly a noble pursuit that I wish tremendous success.
My mother attended LGBTQ+ galas with me, here at our table in 1994.
At her memorial I spoke about what my mother had taught me and how she was the impetus to form Orphans International Worldwide:
My mother taught me — by words and deeds — to stand up for the oppressed, fight against injustice, and believe in both myself, and the inherent goodness of humanity. I remember walking the picket line with my mom at the age of ten, protesting on behalf of the United Farm Workers. I remember being taken out of school for civil rights marches.
My most vivid childhood memory of my mother was hearing her anguished cry when she learned that Dr. Martin Luther King had been shot. Because of my mother, I have developed an interest in helping children around the world — children who are the “underdogs” — victims of poverty, disease, and conflict.
This is a time for remembering the dead. Letting their death provide the impetus to serve the living. This is what my mother wanted, and this is what the Frances Dudley Alleman-Luce Memorial Orphans Fund will do.
Frances Dudley Alleman-Luce in 1944.
My mother was special in that all mothers are special. Reach out to your mom today if you are lucky enough to still have her around and tell her how much you love her. Many of my friends have lost their parents because they could not accept them for being gay or lesbian, but remember all mothers are special, even if they have turned their back of you for whatever reason. Not everyone is perfect. But they are still your mother. They might not realize it, but they need you.
Many people think that I rebelled against my Republican family, but both of my parents were very liberal. ProgressiveEugene McCarthy/George McGovern Democrats through and through. It is they that broke the family’s conservative traditions, not me. My parent’s bitter divorce when I was twelve makes it hard for me to think of them together, and I loved my dad deeply, but for sure I miss my mom very much – and thank her for who I am today.
Betty Millard of Chicago, a long-time social activist had danced with Zhou Enlai after the Chinese Revolution and then was called to testify as a hostile witness during the McCarthy witch-hunt of the 1950’s, was memorialized last week in her home in Greenwich Village, New York City.
Betty Millard danced with Zhou Enlai in China after the revolution in 1949.
Friends and family from as far away as Manila flew in to pay homage to her life. She was remembered as a cultured, generous woman with a wicked sense of humor.
Betty introduced younger friends around her to her world: The New Massesfor which she had written and edited for, the short-lived but influential Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War that she had promoted while at Barnard beginning in 1932, and the Northstar Fundthat she had supported from the 1980’s. Betty was a bridge for her younger friends to Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Suffragette Movement.
Betty lived, breathed, and funded social action. Wealthy, she lived a modest life with a single exception: world tours on the QE II. She was addicted to old sweaters and the New York Times. She had a lateral relationship to U.S. president Millard Fillmore.
Betty was known for her regular habits, such as dining with individual friends once a week often down the block from her brownstone at Seville. She liked to spend weekends at her farm up the Hudson River in Duchess County where she would clear brush and hand-feed wild chickadees. Those that knew here there have vivid memories of using the farm’s outdoor shower, the outhouse, and her cast-iron wood stove.
Betty had met global liberation leaders such as Ho Chi Minh, Salvador Allende, and Fidel Castro. She wrote Women Against Myth in 1948.
The trails at her farm were lovingly named for the leaders of liberation movements around the world she admired so much: Ho Chi Minh, Salvador Allende, and Fidel Castro. These were not academic interests – she had met them all in her long and fascinating life.
Friends and family know how much Betty had given up to help “repair the world” – tikkun olam, as she liked to say. Betty was not so much interested in the love of humanity (philanthropy), as she was social justice (Tzedakah).
Betty taught those around her both The Internationale and how to say Long Live Chairman Mao! – in Mandarin. And far more – she showed by example how to grow old with grace and how to balance saving the world with not losing one’s life.
Betty used to regale her friends with stories of her “industrialist” father and affluent mother, growing up in Highland Park, Illinois outside Chicago. One favorite tale was one of her mother being driven around Chicago, where she would lower her window and give unsolicited advice to those on the sidewalk. She would critique the masses. At the memorial we watched early footage of her family – there she was, a child growing up literally in a log cabin mansion
Betty wrote for the prominent American Marxist publication The New Masses.
Betty taught her friends how to say Long Live Chairman Mao! – in Mandarin.
At the University of Chicago, Betty was friends with Janet Rosenberg. Janet soon married a handsome young dentist named Cheddi Jagan and both Cheddi and then Janet would become presidents of Guyana. World-renown leaders like the Jagans often dined with her. Folk-singer Earl Robinson who wrote Joe Hill and French Resistance fighter Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturiervisited her whenever they passed through town.
Many have wondered about her support of Communism. Betty was an ardent supporter of women’s rights which had turned her on to Communism in the 1930’s, but by the end of the 1950’s she had grown disillusioned. But the ideal that the Party espoused – equality across race and gender – stayed with her. The Party’s lack of acceptance of gays and lesbians confused her greatly, delaying her own admission of being gay until her 80s.
Betty was lifelong friends with two presidents of Guyana, Cheddi and Janet Jagan.
Betty could cook exactly three dishes including square hamburgers. As a child they had had a cook, and as an adult, she did not wish to be trapped by women’s work. Her favorite foods were cucumber salad and chocolate cake form the bakery. Betty enjoyed her evening glass of sherry.
She loved to write. In addition to The New Masses, Betty edited long hours for Latin America Today. She was an avid reader. She was artistic, taking exquisite photographs and writing modern poetry.
Betty was remembered for her idiosyncrasies. Whenever she left home she would never lock her door – unless she was “going above 14th Street.” Then, she always felt compelled to lock it carefully.
Eventually, Betty gave her brownstone to charity and retired to a small garden apartment in the then-gritty Meat Packing District. It was in that garden apartment that we gathered for her memorial. The leadership of Betty‘s favorite charity, the Northstar Fund, showed up in great strength. One long-term friend spoke of Betty‘s life as one in sync with the twists, turns, and turmoil of the American Left.
Betty befriended French Resistance fighter Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier in Paris.
Betty had shown us how to age with grace and dignity. “I used to see old people as ugly, but now I see that they are very beautiful.” She had told her family and friends she wanted to live forever, and she set the stage for extreme measures to be taken to prolong her life over the last seven years. She always planned her 100th birthday party in Alaska. We had sworn to her I would attend. She almost made it, letting go at 98.
Betty’s memorial was particularly poignant. Most could not speak of her life influence without their voices cracking. She was born in 1911 when William Howard Taft was in the White House, dedicated her life to making America a more embracing nation, and died with Barack Obama as our president.
Betty was life-long friends with Janet Rosenberg Jagan who became Guyana’s president.
As we left Betty‘s home for the last time following the memorial, we realized that we were saying goodbye to the last of her generation. Betty was truly a Thought Leader and Global Citizen. She taught us how to connect goodness. Betty taught us in word and deed how powerful connecting good people can be.
Edited by Ethel Grodzins Romm. Originally published in The Huffington Post, May 13, 2010.
9/11 brings back haunting memories. Having buried by brother and mother almost back-to-back just before 9/11, losing all three of my life-long mentors over the passing years, and recently burying my father and step-mother, death to me is no longer a stranger.
My grasp of our human fragility stems from watching the Twin Towers fall. It has been heightened by my first-person experiences in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Haiti after the Tsunami and earthquake – where half a million perished. I know all too well that we are but temporary beings.
I preserve the legacy of my loved ones, brother Rick and Mom, Dad and his wife Luan, those who died on 9/11, and those who taught me the world, Cheddi Jagan, Paul Moore and Betty Millard, by writing about them. Subconsciously, I also preserve my own thoughts and feelings the same way. My Earth Creed from high school and the organization I co-founded in the 1980’s to fight religious extremism have as much relevance today as then. Although I made it to Bellevue Hospital to volunteer on 9/11, the fact that not one survivor came up the FDR shocked me beyond the ability to write.
My adopted son Mathew inspired me to have a passion for orphans.
9/11 is a thoughtful day. Having recently turned 51, I have reached the halfway mark in life. As fast as the first half has vanished, I am convinced the second half will disappear in the twinkling of an eye. I am torn between wanting to spend quality time with my son Mathew and partner John Lee, my nieces and nephews, my good friends, and our dog. My grandmother lived to be 102. With human life being extended daily, but with the female longevity advantage, I use this fine age as my own age goal.
I have overcome two life-threatening ailments in the first half of my life and defied death on four occasions – all in Haiti. The experience of thinking New York City is under attack or being chased up a mountain by an angry mob puts life in perspective.
One thing 9/11 and other brushed with death have taught me is that coming from a family – any family – is important. Our roots connect us to the planet, not so much genealogy as connecting goodness. If your family were abominable or you did not know them, then create your own family. One new friendship of mine is with Peter Yarrow, who I admire greatly. My own family has notable respectability, but it also included ship captains of slave ships. My post-9/11 family includes two whose genetics trace back to China, not England. I never would have guessed that ten years ago.
My mother’s father, Dudley Alleman, is the boy sitting in the middle.
Is the bottle half full or half empty? What do any of us wish to accomplish with our lives? Am I trying to accomplish too much or too little with my own life? I would argue too little, and it secretly annoys me. No matter how hard I excel, I cannot achieve in a day, a week, or a month my goals and objectives. Like many others, with literally thousands of friends and acquaintances around the world, addressing my e-mail alone is a challenge. If I have fewer than 2,000 unread “important” e-mails in my In-Box, it is an accomplishment.
Two years ago, approaching my fiftieth birthday, I expressed feeling incomplete. I wrote, “Part of me – my soul? – is still missing. In secular terms, I think I am not yet in touch with the best way to serve humanity. In theological terms, I have yet to find God’s full plan for my life.”
Writing in Haiti, after the earthquake, in front of typical Haitian sign.
I no longer feel that way and have filled my cup to the brim and beyond. With the estate of my mother in 2001, I expanded Orphans International Worldwide (OIW) which we began in 1999. With the estate of my father, I am endowing the James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation (Foundation) to fund the lifework of “Luce Leaders,” active in advancing humanity anywhere in the world. 9/11 helped me to settle into a simpler and more serene world view: Doing Good and Feeling Good™.
My new vehicle, The Stewardship Report, allows me to publish anything, drawing on the theme of Connecting Goodness. We have already covered 1,000 stories on thought leaders and global citizens. I want the SR to be the ultimate depository on all ways to develop humanity positively. I am particularly pleased with the Luce Index™ rating thought leaders, organizations, books – and soon multi-national corporations. Our 2011 editorial calendar is immense. After 9/11, we must focus on our common goodness, not our differences. Yet we must work collectively to eradicate the fundamentalist mindset of extremism.
The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation will focus on funding Luce Leaders, working on issues related to the Arts, G.L.B.T. (Estate of Betty Millard), HIV & AIDS, Housing (estate of Stanford L. Luce), Orphans (estate of Frances D. Alleman-Luce), and Women.
To remain solvent and to continue an interesting journey, I am launching a consulting practice this fall, “Jim Luce & Associates,” focused on “Global Challenges. Global Solutions.“ My colleagues and I will deal with consultation related to international development, post-disaster housing, communications, public relations, non-governmental organizations, philanthropy, international affairs, and human rights. We have a dozen pro bono institutional clients already lined up, and our client roster will be confidential.
At the mid-point of my life, I kook back at those who have helped me. Hank Luce was not so much my mentor as an enormous benefactor, the largest in my life, in fact. I learned from Hank many lessons that I apply to living, including the need to operate from a strong position. Not keeping that principle close to heart has hurt me more than once. From former Episcopal Bishop Paul Moore I learned how best to help the most unfortunate among us, from social activist Betty Millardhow to live and operate humbly with resources, and from Cheddi Jagan, former president of Guyana, how to network for social change.
This fall I will make my 24th pilgrimage to Haiti since 1999. As 24 is my favorite number, I find it auspicious that on this trip I plan to stay. I will reverse my seven weeks here and one week there cycle, and remain there seven of eight weeks through 2012. Our projects have grown in Haiti so large I need to oversee them personally. With full Internet connectivity, I will be quite okay Connecting Goodness. 9/11 reaffirmed my need to get involved and give back, and the earthquake of January 12 in Haiti continued my resolve.
I will see my son Matt and partner John every two months, and I dream of Matt spending next summer with me in Haiti where he can learn Creole and fall in love with the culture, as I did at his age in Germany. John will join me there in 2012. I believe our home in Leogane will become the meeting place for the international and Haitian communities to connect, breaking bread and sharing a glass. Building global bridges is the best way for me to spend the beginning of the second half of my life.
I left my job in the World Financial Center days before 9/11. I could have been in the midst of it. I was spared. When my life does end — in another twinkling of an eye — I will not blink because I will have done exactly what I have chosen to do with my life: Doing Good and Feeling Good. Let us celebrate 9/11 as the time when our world came together to combat ignorance and extremism and focus on connecting goodness. In memory of those who perished.
Originally published in The Huffington Post, Sept. 7, 2010.
New York, N.Y. — I met Christopher Rim, the founder and president of an anti-bullying awareness organization called It Ends Today about a year before Lady Gaga did. His group’s message is startlingly simple: Students listen more to their peers than adults.
Enormously impressed that a high school student could be so savvy about organizing and branding — components necessary to create change no matter how well-intentioned you are — I knew Chris would make a large impact. His group’s message is startlingly simple: Students listen more to their peers than adults.
Through my friend and adviser Vlada von Shats, who advocates on behalf of the oppressed from Jews in her native Russia to students on the playground who get beat up for being different.
Founder Christopher Rim talking to a group of middle school students about the purpose and mission behind his anti-bullying network, It Ends Today. Photo credit: Sergio Orlov.
I sat with Chris two years ago as he sketched out his vision of organizing students in public and private high schools across New Jersey to stand up to bullying.
His approach reminded me of the union poster of many smaller fish forming into the outline of an enormous fish to eat the big fish stalking them. Brilliant.
Of course, anti-bullying efforts are not new: My friend and mentor Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary launched Operation Respect over a decade ago to use folk and rap music to combat bullying and is now operational in over 20 schools in six countries.
Peter Yarrow’s Operation Respect uses folk and rap music to combat bullying. Photo credit: Operation Respect.
Chris is closer to the playground. After successfully organizing over a dozen high school chapters in his home state, he has set his sights on Harvard, where he hopes to both matriculate and organize.
I spent as much time organizing in college as studying — from gay rights to Japanese culture and Jewish awareness — so I know what it takes and he’s got it in spades.
It Ends Todayis unlike many other anti-bullying and motivational non-profit organizations.
It is their belief that the most effective way to end bullying in our schools and community is for students to watch their own peers talking about problems and personal experiences related to bullying.
The organization believes that this kind of “peer-to-peer” action is more effective than having an adult dictate to children how they must behave.
Jessica Stanzione, Natali Taglic, Alice Cloe Cordero , and Carrie Chung of the Academy of Holy Angels High School It Ends Today Chapter in Demarest, N.J. Photo credit:It Ends Today)
So far the organization has reached over 65,000 students in total in countries including the U.S., Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Guam, Australia and Croatia.
No two schools will ever see the exact presentation, because since each school has their own atmosphere, Christopher believes that each presentation should be custom to fit into the school’s environment so the message of anti-bullying can better connect to the students.
When Christopher Rim was just 15 years old at the Academies @Englewood High School, in Englewood, N.J., he got tired of feeling powerless witnessing students being bullied, so It Ends Today was born.
Christopher had also served as vice president of his school’s Student Council. Apart from his school community, he has served as the Community Director for the AIDS Walk New York 2012.
Volunteers selling t-shirts and spreading awareness about bullying at Vlada Lounge in New York City. Photo credit: It Ends Today.
Christopher is being noticed. He was honored with the President’s Lifetime Call to Service Volunteer Award from Barack Obama, was appointed a Luce Leader by The James Jay Dudley Foundation, and received the Best Buy Scholarship Award and the Dr. John Grieco Scholarship, as well as countless other awards from national, state and local government levels.
When news articles about his anti-bullying organization appeared throughout the Tri-state area, Christopher was contacted by the Berkman Center at Harvard University to attend the launch of the Born This Way Foundation with Oprah Winfrey and Lady Gaga.
This Foundation is supported in part by The MacArthur Foundation. He says it was one of the high points of his life.
The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation supports young global leadership and our Luce Leaders embody that virtue. Only two talented and passionate teens were appointed Luce Leaders in 2012 and Christopher Rim, founder and president of It Ends Today, was one of them.
One of my ancestors, Gov. Thomas Dudley, was a co-founder of Harvard almost 400 years ago, and my fatherStanford L. Luce was a guest lecturer there. It would tickle me enormously to see Christopher apply his talents and insights to assist in tolerance-building in that astute Cambridge community.
Post Script: Harvard never asked Chris Rim to enroll, so he accepted a full scholarship at Yale University instead, where he graduated with honors.
Tags: anti-bullying, Christopher Rim, It Ends Today, Harvard, youth leadership, bullying prevention, peer-to-peer, Operation Respect, Born This Way Foundation, school programs, Korean American
The college application process is taxing for students and families alike, particularly if an applicant has compiled their materials and put in the effort in the fall to apply for Early Decision (ED) or Early Action (EA). Typically, students who choose this route are applying to their dream school or a school at the top of their list that they ardently hope to attend. After submitting their applications and anxiously awaiting a response, many students reach the December decision date to receive an unwanted response — a deferral.
The combination of the work an applicant has put into their application and the dire hopes of attending the particular school they applied to, ED or EA, can magnify the sting of a deferral. However, it is necessary to remember that a deferral does not mean that a student’s educational journey is over, nor does it mean that their hopes of attending the school are dashed.
Each year, a record-breaking number of students apply to top schools like Harvard, NYU, and Duke, and the ED or EA applicant pool tends to be even more competitive for students applying to competitive schools like these. A deferral indicates that an applicant was strong enough to progress into the next consideration phase but was not accepted in the early round of applications.
If deferred, the application moves into the pool of Regular Decision applications and students who applied early are no longer bound to attend that school if admitted. On the one hand, this allows students to put additional consideration into what they want in a school. When deferred, students should ask themselves, “do I still want to pursue the school I applied to ED or EA, or have I learned something new about another school on my list that increased my interest?”
On the other hand, if a student is still determined to attend their ED or EA school, here are three steps they can take to boost their chances of acceptance:
Write a Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI)
Letters of continued interest share any updates to a student’s application with the admissions office and reiterate the value they would add to the campus community. These letters are short and succinct (typically no more than one page) but should still meaningfully and compellingly convey the student’s new achievements and interest in the school.
Like college essays, these letters should capture the student’s voice and personality, so students should embrace their quirkiness and uniqueness when writing. The goal is to stand out and give the admissions office a lasting impression.
Finally, keep in mind that yield rate is an essential metric that colleges consider. It will reflect well on a student’s application to communicate that if accepted, they will attend.
Students should send letters of continued interest to the admissions offices of their top schools sooner rather than later. Students who do not send these letters promptly indicate that they are not committed to the school or are not interested in continuing the application process with them.
Maintain an excellent GPA
Many students assume that when they press “submit” on their ED and EA applications, they absolve themselves from worrying about grades. However, nothing could be further from the truth.
By improving their GPA and producing high-quality academic work, students can demonstrate to colleges that they are motivated and can excel academically at the university level. Students can also consider re-taking the ACT or SAT if they are unsatisfied with the score they submitted to the school. Students who successfully raise their test scores or GPA after submitting their ED or EA application should include this information in their letter of continued interest.
Continue writing and revising essays
The strongest supplemental essays show the applicant has researched the school and programs of their choice. As students finish up and review their applications, they should evaluate what they can do differently in their activities list or essays — using this as a time to quantify their accomplishments and show, rather than tell, their achievements. Continuous editing and revision will also highlight spelling or grammatical errors they missed the first time.
With the exception of writing a letter of continued interest, students who were rejected from a top school during the early round should also follow the above steps. Rejected applicants have the benefit of hindsight; they should read through their Common Application and supplemental essays from the ED and EA round and evaluate how they can revise the rest of their applications to highlight their strengths better.
In addition to Regular Decision deadlines, students should also keep track of Early Decision II dates. The most important dates to note are typically Jan. 1, 5, and 15. Before students finalize their Regular Decision or Early Decision II applications, they should check out Command Education’s tips for finalizing their applications.
Taking these steps will set students up for success on their journey to college acceptance. Command Education’s expert college admissions consultants are available to guide students through the process and give them the best shot at acceptance to their dream schools.
The on-line newspaper Stewardship Report launched in 2010 to cover Faces, Issues (Business, Children, Conflict Resolution, Connectivity, Education, Environment, Eyewitness, Health, Opinion, Politics, United Nations), World Affairs, Lifestyle, and the Arts (artists, culture, dance, film, fine arts, literature, music, museums, theater).
The Stewardship Report grew out of the writings of Jim Luce for the Huffington Post, Daily Kos, and New York Times on Thought Leaders and Global Citizens.
Many individuals have written for the Stewardship Report, including U.S. Ambassador Merten when he was posted to the American Embassy in Port-au-Prince:
“It has been just over one hundred days since a massive earthquake struck Haiti. In just 35 seconds, more than two hundred thousand lives were lost, tens of thousands of people were left homeless, and many government ministries were destroyed. Here at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, we lost seven members of our team, both Haitian and American, and all of our employees lost family members and friends.”
“We sat down on our veranda to have a Coke when the earth began to shake violently. My wife and daughter were upstairs. I ran outside and began screaming to my wife, but she could not hear me. I learned later that she had been screaming desperately for me as well.
Somehow the house stood, and my family was spared. The water pipes burst and the house was flooded, but most people lost their homes – and many their families. What we lost was nothing by comparison.”
Speaking with actor/director and activist Michael Douglas about nuclear disarmament.
A highlight of The Stewardship Report is The Luce Index. The Index ranks thought leaders and global citizens on ten confidential criteria which collectively indicate the individual’s ability to create positive social change. The theme of the Stewardship Report is Connecting Goodness and the Index ranks leaders in their ability to do so.
Chatting with the legendary Yoko Ono Lennon about racist anti-immigrant policies in Arizona.
Discussing contemporary art and the African Diaspora with hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons.
Learning about Islam and cross-cultural connectivity from Queen Noor of Jordan.
Celebrating Wynton Marsalis’ Legionnaire’s Award at the French Cultural Institute.
A bright new face has been added to the crowded Web, drawing a large readership and uploading more than 900 stories in its first twelve weeks. Still in soft-launch, The Jim Luce Stewardship Report (JLSR) is focused on “Connecting Goodness.”
Covering Faces, Issues, World Affairs, Life Style, the Arts, and Video, JLSR offers articles by a global mix of over 50 writers since its spring inception, including the American Ambassador to Haiti, the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the U.N., and the new JLSR Health Editor, Dr. Steven Becker. The Facebook group page for contributors and friends already has more than 600 members.
The portal’s mission is to engage the world to improve it. It is about bettering ourselves so that we can do more to better humanity. It is accepting the responsibility we have as human beings — Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Humanist, or None of the Above — to actively help better the world.
The Stewardship Report focuses on what my Jewish friends call tikum olem. Christians, the Social Gospel. Muslims, helping the unfortunate – a key tenet of Islam. Buddhists, mindfulness with a purpose.
For me, this has meant helping orphaned children in the developing world though Orphans International Worldwide (OIWW). My passion. Your focus might be the arts, the environment, women’s issues, gay rights, housing. JLSR is for all of us who care, and who are frustrated that we do not know how best to make a difference. We can collectively heal the world. This site will feature information about and ways to do that.
The Stewardship Report includes profiles, social diary, business, children, conflict resolution, connectivity, education, environment, eyewitness, health, viewpoint, politics, United Nations, news and views from Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Mid-East, South Asia, Developing World, as well as Artists, Cultural, Dance, Film, Fine Arts, Literature, Music, Museums, Theater, Photography, and the Performing Arts. The most-read section is The Luce Index.™
New York, N.Y. Eradicating extreme poverty for all people everywhere by 2030 is a pivotal goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Extreme poverty, defined as surviving on less than $2.15 per person per day at 2017 purchasing power parity, has witnessed remarkable declines over recent decades.
However, the emergence of COVID-19 marked a turning point, reversing these gains as the number of individuals living in extreme poverty increased for the first time in a generation by almost 90 million over previous predictions.
Even prior to the pandemic, the momentum of poverty reduction was slowing down. By the end of 2022, nowcasting suggested that 8.4 per cent of the world’s population, or as many as 670 million people, could still be living in extreme poverty. This setback effectively erased approximately three years of progress in poverty alleviation.
If current patterns persist, an estimated 7% of the global population – around 575 million people – could still find themselves trapped in extreme poverty by 2030, with a significant concentration in sub-Saharan Africa.
A shocking revelation is the resurgence of hunger levels to those last observed in 2005. Equally concerning is the persistent increase in food prices across a larger number of countries compared to the period from 2015 to 2019. This dual challenge of poverty and food security poses a critical global concern.
Why is there so much poverty
Poverty has many dimensions, but its causes include unemployment, social exclusion, and high vulnerability of certain populations to disasters, diseases and other phenomena which prevent them from being productive.
Why should I care about other people’s economic situation?
There are many reasons, but in short, because as human beings, our well- being is linked to each other. Growing inequality is detrimental to economic growth and undermines social cohesion, increasing political and social tensions and, in some circumstances, driving instability and conflicts.
Why is social protection so important?
Strong social protection systems are essential for mitigating the effects and preventing many people from falling into poverty. The COVID-19 pandemic had both immediate and long-term economic consequences for people across the globe – and despite the expansion of social protection during the COVID-19 crisis, 55 per cent of the world’s population – about 4 billion people – are entirely unprotected.
In response to the cost-of-living crisis, 105 countries and territories announced almost 350 social protection measures between February 2022 and February 2023. Yet 80 per cent of these were short-term in nature, and to achieve the Goals, countries will need to implement nationally appropriate universal and sustainble social protection systems for all.
What can I do about it?
Your active engagement in policy-making can make a difference in addressing poverty. It ensures that your rights are promoted and that your voice is heard, that inter-generational knowledge is shared, and that innovation and critical thinking are encouraged at all ages to support transformational change in people’s lives and communities.
Governments can help create an enabling environment to generate pro- productive employment and job opportunities for the poor and the marginalized.
The private sector has a major role to play in determining whether the growth it creates is inclusive and contributes to poverty reduction. It can promote economic opportunities for the poor.
The contribution of science to end poverty has been significant. For example, it has enabled access to safe drinking water, reduced deaths caused by water-borne diseases, and improved hygiene to reduce health risks related to unsafe drinking water and lack of sanitation.
If current trends continue, 575 million people will still be living in extreme poverty and only one-third of countries will have halved their national poverty levels by 2030.
Despite the expansion of social protection during the COVID-19 crisis, over 4 billion people remain entirely unprotected. Many of the world’s vulnerable population groups, including the young and the elderly, remain uncovered by statutory social protection programmes.
The share of government spending on essential services, such as education, health and social protection, is significantly higher in advanced economies than in emerging and developing economies.
A surge in action and investment to enhance economic opportunities, improve education and extend social protection to all, particularly the most excluded, is crucial to delivering on the central commitment to end poverty and leave no one behind.
The global poverty headcount ratio at $2.15 is revised slightly up by 0.1 percentage points to 8.5 percent, resulting in a revision in the number of poor people from 648 to 659 million. (World Bank)
Jim Luce introduces the Mayor of YonkersMike Spano at the Lions District 20-R2 Foundation Luncheon and spoke on membership recruitment at the Lions Club District Quarterly Business Meeting.
Past District Governors were in attendance including Peter Pergolis of the New York Global Leaders Lions Club and AKM Mike Bhuiyan of the New York Cosmopolitan Lions Club.
Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered outside Chicago. As of January 2020, it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo) in more than 200 countries and geographic areas around the world.
New York, N.Y. The J. Luce Foundation proudly announces its partnership with Complete Playground, celebrating a collaborative promotional, cultivating and groundbreaking event for the recently unveiled indoor Complete Playground—a revolutionary, fully inclusive space designed for both typical and special-needs children.
Honoring Real Estate Developer, Complete Gym chain owner, and founder of Complete Playground, Alex Resnik, the J. Luce Foundation recognizes his visionary contribution to the creation of a one-of-a-kind 40,000 sq. ft. indoor playground.
This innovative facility ensures a safe and enjoyable play environment for all children, inspired by Alex’s commitment to meeting the unique needs of his own children and the broader community.
Alex Resnik was presented with the prestigious Luce Foundation Humanitarian Entrepreneur 2023 Award, acknowledging his extraordinary vision and unwavering dedication to this transformative project.
Additionally, the event recognized philanthropic leaders, including John “SohoJohnny” Pasquale, awarded the 2023 “Nonprofit Leadership” honor for his benevolent efforts through the “Let Me Help, Inc.” foundation, supporting those in need through the power of music. “SohoJohnny” is a regular Renaissance man. He is not only a philanthropist, a major real estate figure with his company Pep Real Estate, an actor, a producer, and a kind-hearted entertainer.
The Clare Boothe Luce Award and the R.Adm. Stephen Bleecker Luce Award for Maritime Leadership were bestowed upon Lorraine Silvetz, MSW, and Robert Silvetz, M.D., founders of Global Stress Initiative, in recognition of their outstanding contributions in providing non-invasive treatment to veterans, service members, and survivors of trauma with PTSD since 2010.
Renowned artist Tatyana Horoshko Gegera and engineer/philanthropist Alexander “Sasha” Gegera were honored for their generous donation of exceptional portraits immortalizing founders of various non-profit organizations, including Let Me Help, Inc., The J. Luce Foundation, Global Stress Initiative, The Henderson Foundation, and Operation Warrior Shield. Tatyana and Sasha recently launched their foundation “Portrait of Freedom” whose mission is to support all children’s, especially the underprivileged, development and training in art.
DeCosta Headley of Brooklyn received an award for his outstanding contributions to the community, highlighting his dedication to enhancing the quality of life through initiatives such as college scholarships, employment opportunities, and social services. DeCosta has always been a leader in East New York, and Brownsville, including his post as District Leader for the 40th Assembly district in East New York. He founded the D.R E.A.M. Foundation which serves East New York in a myriad of ways.
The event, attended by a diverse audience, featured performances by world-renowned classical pianist Dr. Chen Wang, musical savant Jewels Harrison, and Quinn Lemley, star of “Rita Hayworth: The Heat is On!”
Jim Luce, founder of the Luce Foundation, emphasized the organization’s impactful work over the past 24 years, spanning Orphans International Worldwide, the Young Global Leadership Foundation, and education centers worldwide.
Several of the Luce Young Global Leaders were recognized for their advocacy and community service during the program. The future is bright with this beautiful team, from a diverse age group, dedicating themselves to making a difference, for the less fortunate, in our world.
For more information about the organizations involved, please visit:
CSUN educational leadership and policy studies students have been recognized for their work to support an Indonesian shelter for teen mothers. From left to right, students Sergio Lopez, Jocelyn Lagunas, Melissa Baghoumian, Gabriela Mahgerefteh.
California State University, Northridge graduate students Melissa Baghoumian and Gaby Mahgerefteh admit that when they enrolled in CSUN’s “Leadership for Managing Reform in Higher Education” class this fall, they thought that, at most, they would be taking part in mock exercises tackling persistent challenges in higher education.
Instead, they, along with fellow education graduate students Jocelyn Lagunas and Sergio Lopez, developed a real-world campaign to support a shelter that provides assistance—including a place to live and learn—to teen mothers and their children in Indonesia. Their efforts have been honored by the James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation, which singled out the CSUN students as part of its “Luce 24 Under 24” 2023 cohort.
“These men and women have shown great potential for uplifting humanity through their projects and leadership,” said Jim Luce, founder and C.E.O. of the foundation, in a letter announcing the honor. “Our foundation is proud to recognize their work and enable the winners to reach greater heights through their work.”
Mirroring the Forbes 30 Under 30, the Luce 24/24 recognizes young game-changers who are making “innovative contributions to humanity.” They were chosen, Luce said, for demonstrating their potential to positively alter the trajectory of the world.
Baghoumian and Mahbgerefteh said they and their teammates were honored to be included in the cohort.
“But what is even more wonderful is that we know that our project will truly make a difference in people’s lives,” said Baghoumian, 46, a single mother of two from Northridge. “It’s humbling just knowing that what we do can really have an impact. I’m so glad it wasn’t a mock exercise.”
Their project includes the renovation of a family home in a mountain village in Minahasa, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
“Our goal is to create a unique safe haven for teen mothers in need, offering them an opportunity to build a brighter future,” Baghoumian said. “In this region, teen mothers face immense challenges. Often abandoned by their families and partners, they’re forced to drop out of school and sometimes even pushed into prostitution. Many of them have no choice but to give up their precious children for adoption.
“We hope to provide these young mothers with a place to live while continuing their education,” she continued. “We’ll also provide vocational training to ensure that they have the skills to secure a better future for themselves and their children.”
Mahbgerefteh, 25, of Agoura Hills, said that what she likes about their project “is that we’re truly making an impact on not one life, but on the lives of families.”
She said that she and her teammates designed the project with a GoFundMe page, in part, because they wanted to make sure the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life was within reach of everyone—from those with deep pockets to classmates who often struggle to make ends meet. Their page’s fundraising goal is $1,500.
“The amount, $1,500, may not seem like much here in Los Angeles, but it can be transformative for eight families in Indonesia,” Mahbgerefteh said. “And the impact is not limited to eight families. As the women transition from the shelter, there are always others waiting to take their places. This project will have lasting impact for years to come.”
Joshua Einhorn, who teaches the “Leadership for Managing Reform in Higher Education” class in CSUN’s Michael D. Eisner College of Education, said he incorporated community service learning and engagement in his class to teach his students about the power they have to affect change.
Baghoumian said it’s a lesson she has taken to heart.
She had originally intended to get a master’s degree in business administration at CSUN, but switched to educational leadership and policy studies because of the opportunities it presented to impact the lives of parenting students and their families.
“I already have ideas for what my next projects are going to look like, and I know that I have the skills to see them through,” she said.
A Crime of Aggression or Crime Against Peace is the planning, initiation, or execution of a large-scale and serious act of aggression using state military force. It is illegal. Think Nuremberg or the Tokyo Trial.Hamas is a terrorist organization whose actions are heinous and illegal, but this is not a government.
Israel, however, is now guilty of Crimes Against Peace. Anyone who supports either Hamas or Israeli under Netanyahu has blood on their hands. 1200 deaths is unacceptable. 34000 deaths are even more unacceptable. I urge our friends to speak out against this violence, this Genocide. Those who remain silent are complicit.
New York, N.Y. As I approach my fiftieth birthday, I am feeling incomplete. Part of me – my soul? – is still missing. In secular terms, I think I am not yet in touch with the best way to serve humanity. In theological terms, I would say I have yet to stumble upon God’s full plan for my life.
Ten years ago, I envisioned building a network of orphanages in the developing world with a standard far higher than existed. I had witnessed how impoverished these child-warehouses could be when I adopted my own son, then ten months of age. His orphanage was so destitute I was asked to leave his tattered t-shirt behind for the next child.
My mother (Frances Dudley Alleman-Luce), a child psychologist, encouraged me to bring this vision to life. Later, beginning with my portion of her estate, I created an organization to build small homes for children who had lost their parents to the Tsunami in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, and a hurricane in Haiti.
About a year ago Orphans Internationalexpanded our model to include family care, placing children far too numerous for my organization to handle inside their own extended families, providing health care and education to both children and caregivers. Tanzanian children orphaned by AIDS are next.
After the Tsunami, I left Wall Street to devote myself full-time, pretty much “18/7,” to raising funds to pay for it all, and to coordinating the actual work – a challenge considering the enormous cultural, religious, linguistic, and even time zone differences.
I have given everything away – my inheritance, my savings, my pension – and devoted my home, my career, even my immediate family to this effort. Nevertheless, I have this nagging feeling that I have missed something. That none of this is quite enough. Moreover, I am rather tired and in need of spiritual sustenance.
I tire of colleagues assuming that I can work for room, board, and an allowance because I have a trust fund or other hidden assets. I tire of being asked to take a vacation when I have no funds to pay for it. I tire of not being able to afford going out to dinner with my friends.
Am I unsuccessful at the age of 49 to have nothing left? Or am I marching to the beat of a different drummer?
I have traveled this path, perhaps, since witnessing my parents protest the Vietnam War and march for civil rights and social justice. It is a path I have traveled since seeing the horror of street children in Bogota, Colombia thirty years ago. Abject poverty first repelled me in my youth, but eventually engaged me. How could I use what I have to help?
Although others are called to create wealth to assist the needy, after years of contemplation I am convinced that my own calling is to use my meager gifts to build a bridge between those who have and those who have not, plus the villages needed at the feet of these bridges. Wealth is needed to build these bridges, but the simple bridge-builder himself has no need of affluence.
Is this path genetic? My father (Dr. Stanford L. Luce) rejected his Andover-Dartmouth-Yale past as part of the East Coast Establishment that he felt was intrinsically evil. He dedicated his life to academia and, on the side, built homes for Habitat for Humanity. I was lucky to have more than my father’s influence.
I have had three mentors in my life, now dead or comatose: Paul Moore, Cheddi Jagan, and Betty Millard. Paul was the Episcopal Bishop of New York. He was a Moore (Benjamin Moore Paints) and grew up in great luxury. He gave it all away to focus on the city’s poor. Paul was an early role model to me and asked me to be his driver/assistant.
Cheddi was president of Guyana – twice. His commitment to non-alignment sent him to jail for years, yet he persevered. I dined with Cheddi many times, and although I never built the volunteer corps he wanted me to, recruiting young, technically savvy Americans to give a year to his people, his imprint on my life was enormous.
Betty Millard saw me on Donahue twenty-five years ago and invited me into her life, eventually serving as the super of her Greenwich Village apartment building, and spending weekends with her at her farm in Duchess County where I could discuss a life dedicated to social change, stroll the trails, and focus on my writing.
What would a vow of poverty do for me? In college I seriously considered – and then rejected – the notion of being a minister. I do not believe in a literal Trinity, and I am convinced that if you are paid to do good, society either ignores or sneers at your example. Is this vow the middle ground I have been seeking?
Like a marriage ceremony, a vow of poverty allows the community to offer support before God to the individual making the commitment, often providing the continuous motivation to persevere. How many marriages have hit the inevitable rocks in the road and then been helped by friends and family to continue onward? It is natural for one’s circle of life to offer encouragement. I already count on them more than they know.
Further, as I continue to build my organization, I am appalled by the number of humanitarian institutions run like businesses. Helping humanity cannot be a 9-5 job, and however much health insurance is needed, if you want to make a buck, work at a bank.
Voluntary poverty is often an essential element of faith from Buddhism to Christianity – from the simplicity of the Society of Friends (Quakers) to the monastic vows of Roman Catholic priests. Members of the Franciscan, Jesuit, and Maryknoll Orders have traditionally forgone all individual forms of ownership to better embrace the poor whom they serve so nobly.
In this context of sacred vows, personal poverty may be understood as a means of self-denial in order to better place oneself at the service of others.
I also wish to inculcate in my own staff, my volunteers, and my board the idea that service must come before self. Our mission of helping the least of those should mean we allocate as many of our resources to our children as possible. I cannot bear the idea of high rent, large salaries, or extravagant overhead. Simply put, I advocate a life, not a job.
Some would argue that foundations will never fund my organization if we cannot pay our executive staff “living wages.” I argue for a new paradigm: Staff that is willing to work for next to nothing evidences commitment that assures sustainability. An organization where the staff is under-committed can never be sustained.
I have concerns that a vow of poverty might be seen as too Christian, in spite of its tradition in Buddhism and Hinduism. As a thirteenth generation Anglican in North America, I cannot do much about my roots. I was baptized in the Episcopal Church in a dress that dates back almost 200 years. Two of my great grandfathers were Episcopal priests.
My Anglican upbringing emphasized social justice and responsibility, being a good steward of our finances and our Planet Earth, and belonging to the Family of Man. I was raised simultaneously Episcopalian and Interfaith – kind of Unitarian, but with a baptismal dress.
I once heard from the pulpit that no thinking Episcopalian had literally believed in the Trinity since the Reformation, and I do believe I can focus more doing God’s work outside of church than in. The tasks that I perform daily, however, are deeply rooted in my Anglican heritage.
I have heard all my life of building the Kingdom of God – right here, right now. As an active homeless shelter volunteer in New York City in the 1980’s I came to understand that Hell is not mythical: It exists anywhere people are forgotten.
Being Christian means helping others regardless of their faith. It is “The Good Samaritan,” the “Prodigal Son,” and our responsibility to “the least of these.”
Yet I can also study and appreciate the Talmud, Tzedakah, and Tikkun Olam. I embrace Islam‘s love of widows and orphans. The simplicity of Buddhism and the concept of doing no harm are striking. Hinduism’s pantheon of deities who guide us towards tolerance inspires me.
Mahatma Gandhi lived a simple life, as did Oscar Romero. The Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh represent some of the best traditions in Buddhism. Katharine Drexel and Dorothy Day are two American women whose lives have lit my pathway. These heroes have helped direct me down the road of life, in the same direction as my personal mentors.
Nevertheless, my roots reach back to England. No matter how I embrace interfaith ideals, at heart I am culturally Episcopalian. My own vow of poverty would be, if I proceed, The Act of Commitment taken from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. It is straightforward:
Celebrant: May the Lord guide and strengthen you, that in this, and in all things, you may do God’s will in the service of his kingdom here on earth.
Community: We commend you to this work, and pledge to you the prayers, encouragement, and support of this community of faith.
Celebrant: Almighty God, look with favor upon this person who has now reaffirmed his commitment to serve in your name. Give him courage, patience, and vision; and strengthen us all – Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Moslem, and Hindu – in our vocation of witness to the world, and of service to others.
My new friend Peter Yarrow sings, “Tell me why you’re crying, my son? I know you’re frightened, like everyone. Will it help if I stay very near? I am here.” In the simplest sense, this sums up my commitment to the world’s children orphaned by the storms of life. Can my commitment be strengthened through voluntary poverty?
The road leading to my possible vow of poverty has not been smooth. The destination is not clearly in view. Yet I am convinced that this road, however windy, is not a dead end. Neither is it the road to glory, nor the road to salvation for the world’s orphaned children. After almost fifty years of travel, however, it promises to be the road towards my own personal salvation.
Those who do not know me are curious about my motivation. Those who know me well often ask, bluntly, “Are you nuts?” If thinking one man’s moral choices can change the course of the world, I would truly be nuts. I have come to poverty through faith and not stupidity.
The notion of a vow of poverty fills me with more peace of mind and soul than I have ever felt. A vow of poverty for me is the idea that I can do no more than I am doing. It lightens the enormous burdens of my life commitment.
As my 50th birthday looms, I yearn to feel complete. I need to find that part of me that is missing. A vow of poverty seems to me the best way to serve humanity. It is my fullest understanding of God’s plan for my life.
An investigation into alleged “stolen children” in an adoption house Guatemala has thrown a spotlight on adoption practices in the developing world, and on fears there of an illegal trade in children. Jim Luce, the founder of Orphans International Worldwide (OIW), an NGO associated with the United Nations, says fears of an illegal trade in children can change an atmosphere very quickly, as he found out on a trip to Haiti in July.
Port-au-Prince. The angry mob was screaming at us in Creole. Even though I didn’t know at the time what the words meant, I knew we were all in grave danger – three small children from our orphanage and us three adults.
This was my 16th trip to Haiti and I had never experienced anything like it. With a new government in place, Haiti was doing better than we had ever experienced. Local friends had assured us the political and economic violence was over. Jim Luce believes adoptions fuel fears of corrupt practices.
With me were OI Haiti director Jacques Africot, a child psychologist from New York, Dr. Doris Chernik, and the three youngest kids from our orphanage in the dusty city of Gonäives – four-year-old Patrick, plus Walter and Jean Kerby, both five.
We’d taken them wading in a local river in the cool green of the mountainous countryside. It had been a great day out up to then. But things turned for the worse when we stopped to fill the SUV up with fuel.
Jim Luce believes adoptions fuel fears of corrupt practices
It was hot in the back of the car, so we let the kids out. We sat on the curb, waiting for the jeep to be serviced.Some local villagers started to gather around us, curious to see these beautiful children who were smiling and happily clapping their hands together.T hen the villagers began to question our kids. The villagers’ mood shifted. Suddenly they seemed less friendly. Our kids stopped smiling and fidgeted nervously .A man stomped over to me and began to scream at me in Creole – a language I don’t understand.Face-off
The crowd didn’t believe Jacques when he tried to explain to the crowd in Creole that he was the project director of an orphanage helping Haiti’s children. They dismissed him as merely a driver for the rich whites. Suddenly little Jean Kerby was screaming, high pitched and frantic, as the crowd began to yank him from our car.
The growing crowd began to chant louder and louder in the local village dialect, ‘Ti melet!’. I learned the meaning later – ‘child-thieves.In seconds, the crowd had grown from 10 to 50. The villagers, now shouting louder, started banging on the car.We put the car in reverse, but couldn’t move it – our rear wheels had been blocked with boulders.
Jacques, calm and in control, shouted that he was going on foot for the police.Suddenly little Jean Kerby was screaming, high pitched and frantic, as the crowd began to yank him from our car. I held on to his feet and, as the adrenaline kicked in, pulled him back, winning this human tug of war.
The chase took place in the mountains near Gonäives.
To the Rescue
The back door opened again.It was Jacques, who – amazingly – had managed to find a policeman in the local restaurant.The gigantic policeman clambered into the front seat. A man was about to heave a cement block through our front window and another one raised a block to our left side.The policeman jumped out and screamed he was taking us to the local police station.
They backed off a bit.In haste, the officer drove a mile down the road and then stopped. He now seemed as frightened as we were, but he needed to get some facts.As soon as we stopped, new people began to gather around us. I was worried, but the big policeman in the driver’s seat ignored them. Doris and Jacques kept explaining who we were, and the policeman seemed satisfied.We now understood for the first time the angry crowd thought we were kidnapping their children for the international black market.
Suddenly, people in the crowd lifted up cinder blocks ready to throw them through our windows.The policeman pulled out his gun and aimed it squarely at the lead block-thrower’s chest and with his booming voice screamed something – perhaps “Back off or you die!”It worked.
Lying in Wait
The officer sped us to the village square with its sleepy police station. But dozens of people chased us.Tyres squealing, gravel flying, the policeman raced our jeep around the village square.He was shouting out of the window to friends on their porches to use their cell phones to call for reinforcements: ‘Now!’
He then made the critical decision to head up the mountain, on a narrow, zigzag road, to the next police station 14 miles (22km) away, up in the village of Marmalade. Our reinforcement was waiting at the foot of the mountain road, the police officer’s civilian brother riding the officer’s police motorcycle, and now serving as our escort.Up the hill we sped, bouncing off the huge pot-holes. All I could feel was the sense of impending death.
With our car, we can out-race mobs, but with cellular technology, the villagers could dial their friends and family all the way up the mountain.Many groups were lying in wait to attack us.At the first market, dozens of angry Haitians stood ready to block the road and burn our car.The policeman, like Bruce Willis in an action movie, hung out of the car window, pointing his weapon at the angry crowds who then backed away as we raced by.
Jacques sat in the back seat, little Jean Kerby balanced on his lap, calling on his cell phone, trying desperately to reach the Haitian national police, and the UN police, both in Gonäives – now an hour away – as well as the American ambassador and the UN peacekeepers in Port-au-Prince, six hours away. The policeman was also on his cell.Then, our hero cop received word that the police at the top of the mountain could not come to our assistance as their only car was broken.
We were on our own.Death by lynch mob?For more than an hour, all I could feel was the sense of impending death.But we kept trying to be cheerful with the kids, telling them how brave they were not to cry.Suddenly, the road was blocked as we had feared. We braked to a stop. Office tables lay across the street, with construction debris piled behind them.
Two enraged women pointed at me, accusing me of trying to kidnap one of their sons.
An angry official demanded to know why the policeman was assisting the kidnappers.I later learned that he was the village mayor, and the policeman had told him our lives were in severe danger and to move out of the way: ‘Now!’The tables were moved aside and our policeman angrily drove us over the piles of debris.Six blocks later we screeched to a stop in front of the mountain-top police station where eight policemen had gathered to protect us. But they also had to fill in some official paperwork on us. A new mob gathered outside the gates, including some familiar faces from the gas station far below. And soon the media arrived.Satisfied with our story, the police chief called the national police and the UN police in Gonäives for reinforcements.
Facing the Accusers
The ringleaders of the gas station riot were brought in to be questioned in front of us.Two enraged women pointed at me, accusing me of trying to kidnap one of their sons as he was swimming, the day before.So that is how it all started.Or had they just invented the story?
Haitian police made supreme efforts to protect the OI group.
The police quickly determined that one of the women had only heard that ‘two whites’, whom she had never seen, had tried to kidnap her child. Nor had she reported the alleged kidnapping to the police.Luckily, we had a receipt showing that we had hosted a party for our children at Doris’s hotel, 60 miles (96km) away.
The police scoffed at the women’s story and then scolded them in Creole, apparently ridiculing them for coming very close to getting international development workers killed.Some six hours later, another police car arrived and – with the police riding shotgun in case of ambush – we drove down the mountain.Police from Gonäives and the U.N. met us at the bottom, and they took us back to safety.Sitting at the breakfast table the next morning in Gonäives, I realized I’d saved other people’s lives before, but this was the first time my own life had been saved.
Post script: One week later, Jim found out that his “Bruce Willis” police officer hero, Florestal Olondieu, had been shot and killed in an unrelated incident.Undaunted, Jim has since visited Haiti 27 times, and had close brushed with death twice more in a collision and a house fire.
