Letter From The Founder

ALO Cultural Foundation

"Voices that plead for truth and justice are being heard worldwide.

Our response? To unify a diverse people and offer healing, comfort and aid whenever possible."

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A recent trip to Damascus was the perfect illustration as to why this Foundation was created. In the oldest part of the city, I spoke with four girls in their early twenties, all wearing traditional dress and head scarves. They were eager to talk to someone from the West, and were delighted to learn that I was Lebanese and had been raised in the region.

We spoke about the crucial need for women’s education, and how they can have more choices in their lives. "No one has ever spoken to us in this manner," said one 22-year-old girl in a pale blue head scarf. "It would be wonderful if you could speak to our entire school with such encouragement."

We only chatted for 45 minutes, but in that short time I saw their eyes light up. The possibility of being independent and assertive had never occurred to them. For one brief moment, they believed in themselves.

Forty-five minutes. That was all it took. Maybe we could have got there in ten. My point is that we can all do this. We can reach out to touch the hearts of others, sharing hope and encouragement with those who need it most.

Women have the ability to play a major role in improving the lives of their families and communities. The ALO Cultural Foundation is dedicated to touching and uplifting the hearts of less fortunate women and children, our planet’s most vulnerable populations.

Humanity has no nationality. We share social responsibilities that transcend politics and inherited cultural norms. But it's so easy to grow complacent, to fade back into our comfortable lives and our "good birth," as the Hindu faith refers to it. It’s easy to forget that the majority of people in this world are born into poverty and all manner of limiting circumstances. We must listen to the voices of these desperate people, and speak words of truth to erase prejudice and break down obstacles.

These are the primary aims of the ALO Cultural Foundation:

• We educate the underprivileged, focusing first on orphanages and the medically challenged.

• We empower the disadvantaged by evaluating what each community needs for sustainable solutions.

• We enlighten societies, allowing greater acceptance and understanding of diversity.

Educate, empower and enlighten. These qualities are at the core of everything we seek.

How can you resist the call to help? I know your heart beats as mine, with a unified vision to improve the future of others. These individuals may not have had a good birth, but we can ensure that they have a better life.

The ALO Cultural Foundation seeks not just to fill an empty bowl-or two bowls, or twenty bowls-with food. We are committed to influencing entire nations with a new vision of decency and dignity for the world's most vulnerable citizens. Our vision involves increased literacy, a commitment to education, and the destruction of social and gender barriers which keep people subservient.

As humans, we are more alike than we are different from one another. But the temptation to think the opposite is strong in our world.

I grew up in war-torn Beirut, a place where differences of opinion constituted daily issues of life and death. Mercy was scarce and hope could be lethal. Amid sniper bullets, bombings and gut wrenching fear, finding even the smallest patch of safety brought immense relief. But it was always temporary.

Today in Southern California I am surrounded by safety and comfort, and yet I feel unsafe and uncomfortable. The world gnaws at my heart, that's the best way I can describe it to you. Growing up in mortal fear taught me to feel the deepest appreciation for life, for opportunity, and for the precious, present moment.

What I do with each of those moments is sacred to me. I choose to spend them in service to others, and to open my heart wide to their plight. I must give others a chance to hope, to dream, to love, and to live because I remember how hard it was for me to do so.

Our world resembles an aching wound. Despite the efforts of so many, there's massive need for revitalization, sustainability and community development.

In order to enrich lives and spark this global transformation, our Foundation will invest in women’s and children's education and skill development. We will create jobs, sustainability programs and products that encourage the entrepreneurial spirit. Our Foundation understands the need to preserve unique cultural values while at the same time advancing the esteem and futures of women and children. Moreover, we understand balance-the sensitivity required to unravel countless layers of cultural conditioning so that freedom doesn’t have to mean upheaval.

Every life has a purpose and every action has a corresponding effect, just as my conversation with the four girls in Damascus did. Can we ever truly know the ripple effects of that single hour, of that seemingly simple conversation? That’s the beauty of this work. Even the smallest action can spread outwards to change entire lives and societies. It all begins with just a few committed individuals.

Please join us as we create opportunities for others to hope, to dream, and to conquer. In doing so, you yourself become a Rockin' Heart, opening doorways that others may step through into a more promising future.