A Bit of History

Joseph was born in colonial Hong Kong, China, in 1958 and immigrated to the United States in 1966 with his mother. He played at her feet as she washed dishes in Chinese restaurants, struggling to survive in the United States. Much of Joseph’s passion for helping needy children came from the suffering and sacrifice he experienced in these early days.

 

As he grew older, Joseph traveled abroad and faced the worldwide horrors of poverty and suffering. He began a personal search to find a way to make a difference.

 

Then, in 1982, Joseph had a life-changing encounter with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India. Her selfless devotion to the sick and dying opened Joseph’s eyes to a new world of compassionate outreach. He saw first-hand the impact of compassionate care through humanitarian service.

 

He knew then that he had to do something to stop the atrocities he saw in the streets of Calcutta and other third-world countries, and this passion developed into his lifelong goal of helping others—especially needy children.

 

In the mid-90s, Joseph started his first children’s project and opened the World Children’s Fund in the United States. He later founded Medical Mission International. Almost from the start, he traveled the world helping compassionate people set up indigenous WCF/MMI-style organizations in their own countries.

 

Joseph has now helped groups in 12 countries organize separate, local WCF/MMI-patterned organizations that make a difference in children’s lives worldwide.

 

In 1998, before reaching 40, Dr. Jerry Falwell Sr. awarded Joseph Lam an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Liberty University (Virginia, USA) for “his distinguished humanitarian efforts to save the lives of needy children.”

 

As long as children are in need, Joseph will continue to push forward and innovate new and creative ways to reach out and change lives with compassionate aid.

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