How James Thomson-Sakhrani’s family legacy fuels his passion for charity work

“My parents are big into helping people and providing service; it’s a big part of our family structure,”  says Thomson-Sakhrani, a Gen.T Leader of Tomorrow 2024. Despite growing up with limited resources, his parents have always embodied a spirit of service. His Canadian mother is from a Christian family known for their goodwill, while his father was raised in a working-class household in Hong Kong, which adheres to the Hindu value of sevā, meaning selfless service, a virtue he and his wife instilled in their children.

Thomson-Sakhrani’s parents suggested that he work at a school called Christel House India during his gap year before university. The institution aims to empower children from extremely low-income families through education. He was assigned to be a teacher’s assistant, and focused on supporting a specific student with severe neurodevelopmental and behavioural disorders. But he admits he was not ready for that challenge: “I actually was very unsure about going and doing frontline work; I wanted to go work for a charity in their office or something like that instead,” he says. 

But an uncle encouraged him to step out of his comfort zone and embrace the opportunity; Thomson-Sakhrani’s experience would ultimately transform his perspectives on charity work, justice and equality. “[The students] weren’t some terribly sad group of people who were living in greyscale. They were normal people, just as happy and engaged with the world as anyone else, doing their best to make good lives for themselves and their communities. It sounds silly saying something like that, given how obvious that seems, but it was something I don’t think I fully understood at the time,” he recalls.

“It also helped underscore the terrible need and poverty in the world, though. In my time at Christel House India, a student was killed in a tragic accident at home. He was heating food for his family on a stove that exploded. As much as I remember the positive aspects of the work the school was doing, it was also a strong lesson that there were serious issues that we need to come together to address in the world.”

Read more: This Singapore fashion startup is fighting fashion waste on multiple fronts

When 36-year-old Thomson-Sakhrani first took charge of The Amber Foundation this year after assisting his parents in running it after college graduation, he felt like “the dog that finally caught the car”. His reaction was: “OK, I’m finally in charge. But now what? What do I do?” he says, adding, “Oh, man, I’m not going to lie; it was a lot of work and stress.” His first mission was to find a low-cost space to accommodate the charity’s vast inventory of toiletries and an office, while navigating the many “little bricks” that comprised the organisation such as the methods for counting the supplies.

Like many second-generation business owners, Thomson-Sakhrani is worried that he won’t be able to sustain what his family has built and create even more for future generations. “When you’re running a charity and trying to help people, if you’re the one that fails, I think that would feel worse,” he says.

But he’s not giving into fear of failure. Thomson-Sakhrani’s goal is to bring his charity to new heights, leaning into his diverse experience from his past roles as the founder of a menswear brand Style Standard, a DJ and a host for a number of shows on Billboard Radio China. “[I aim to] get to a point where no one knows who I am but they believe in our work and want to keep supporting it. I think that’s a big goal,” he says.

Meet more Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow 2024 from the Philanthropy & Charity sector. 

NOW READ

Happy birthday, Kim Kardashian: Here’s how the influencer built her business empire

“The worst thing is to be stagnant” and more crazy smart quotes on success, failure and going viral

Rafael Nadal retires: What the tennis legend says about mental resilience and sacrifice