Christopher Lewis believes it takes a village to raise a child. But for him, the community isn’t just around the corner, it’s global. “If I can save even one life, I will have made a difference,” he says.
And there are a lot of lives that need saving, especially in the three poverty-stricken villages in northern Tanzania that he’s adopted as his home away from home. A family physician in Cincinnati, Lewis, 32, started the nonprofit Village Life Outreach Project in 2004, exemplifying his commitment to Declaration of Financial Empowerment principle No. 10: I will use a portion of my wealth to strengthen my community.
Lewis has long had an international sense of community. But it was his experience working in a Tanzanian hospital in May 2003 that forever changed his life. “I saw, up close, children and mothers dying from poverty and disease,” says Lewis. “My eyes were opened; it was hard to walk away.” In the end, he decided that to really help the situation, he needed to do more than just make a return trip. Instead, he vowed to recruit others to join his efforts.
In three years Lewis has gathered an army of 100 volunteers, nearly 70 of whom have made an annual sojourn to the villages. The group brings medical, nursing, engineering, and other much-needed expertise. Village Life has focused on cleaning up the water in the villages, which are home to about 10,000 people, many of whom live without electricity in mud huts. Lewis’ venture has grown to have an operational budget of about $100,000 a year, which is funded through donations.
In Tanzania, Lewis says malaria, which is spread by mosquitoes, is an even bigger problem than HIV or AIDS. Sleeping under a chemically treated mosquito net can prevent someone from being bitten. To help out, Village Life launched its Mosquito Net Project and self-published Room to Love, a coffee-table book on the group’s effort to improve education, living, and health conditions. Within 10 months, the project has raised $13,000, enabling Village Life to purchase nets for 4,200 families.
Coordinating such an effort requires a substantial time commitment. Lewis dedicates four days a week to his medical practice and devotes one day a week to Village Life. In addition to those commitments, he manages to find time to coach wrestling at his former high school and give talks to students about sexual health and responsibility. “My parents instilled this in me,” he says. “I remember as a kid, the first thing my mom and I did on Thanksgiving was drop off a turkey at a homeless center.”
Lewis, who studied biology at Harvard and attended the University of Cincinnati medical school, admits that starting Village Life has been challenging. Plus, the commitment has had an impact on his finances. He estimates that he has spent $10,000 of his own money for immunizations, medical supplies, and travel to Africa for himself, as well as pitching in to help volunteers pay their fares. He earns $166,000 as a doctor and figures by donating one day a week, he’s giving up $40,000 a year in potential income.
“I accept making less money,” says Lewis. “I sacrifice personal things … I’ve been driving the same truck for 10 years.” Lewis does own a home but doesn’t live beyond his means. He’s also savvy enough to take full advantage of tax strategies that come from being philanthropic. He says he’s become fastidious about saving receipts, as it can be easy to forget small expenses, but they add up come tax time. Lewis is no stranger to DOFE principle No. 2: I will be proactive in managing my budget, credit, debt, and tax obligations.
Although in the short term, Lewis’ take-home pay is less, he’s thinking long term. “[Village Life has] raised my profile and increased my credibility, all of which will contribute significantly to my wealth-building opportunities,” he says.
What’s more, the management skills he’s learning could possibly give him an edge should he desire to pursue a for-profit venture in the future. In the mean time, he believes the positive word-of-mouth has attracted new patients.
But all of Village Life’s efforts aren’t focused abroad. Lewis has established a pen pal program with some 150 students from Cincinnati public schools. The mostly high-school age kids receive letters from Tanzanian students, who write about their lives, families, schools, and customs. There is also a culture club that provides lessons on world affairs.
“What we’re trying to do locally is raise awareness about the global struggle against poverty, teaching folks lessons of service and social responsibility,” says Lewis. “Kids think not having an iPod or PlayStation means they’re poor. But they read the letters and see the pictures we show them, and we think they’re learning the difference.”
Christopher Lewis’ Advice:
Enhance your managerial skills. Taking a leadership role in a nonprofit organization, professional association, or other group can enhance your managerial skills, knowledge of accounting, product development and marketing, and more, says Lewis. Get involved in organizations that match your interests. And be willing to commit the time it takes to be more than a nominal member who shows up at the annual dinner.
Make your money matter. Even if you don’t have a great deal of time to volunteer, you can still make a difference by tithing at your church or contributing to any number of organizations. But you’ll need to set priorities and manage your money wisely so that you’ll be in a position to contribute. Plus, you’ll want to be a smart giver. There are several places where you can check up on a charity–the American Institute of Philanthropy’s site, www.charitywatch.org, the Better Business Bureau’s www.give.org, and Charity Navigator’s www.charitynavigator.org. “If everyone sacrificed just a small portion of their wealth to lessen the suffering of others, we would eradicate much of society’s problems,” says Lewis.
Find out how to get involved. If you want to support or start a nonprofit, there are several Web resources that provide guidance. To get started, check the resources on the IRS Website at www.irs.gov/charities; the Nonprofit Virtual Library, a compilation of resources on running a nonprofit, www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/znonprof.htm; and the Get Started page of the Foundation Center’s Website, http://foundation center.org/getstarted.