“It really is the best investment you can make in yourself and in the world.”

Looking for the best investment you can make in yourself and in the world?
When discussing investments, one might think of real estate, bonds or startups. But the kind of investments the Shamoon family have been making over the past 20 years are life changing! Together with World Vision, an international charity working in around 100 countries, the Shamoon’s have given hope to over one million children around the world.
In partnership with World Vision the Shamoon family has helped to save the lives of children suffering from malaria, tuberculosis and malnutrition through:
· Training health workers
· Accurate and quicker diagnosis
· Improving access to healthcare services
· Life-saving food and medication
All this means that more children will have a healthier, happier start in life!
The return on the Shamoon’s investment in World Vision projects has been transformational and sustainable. Daniel Shamoon speaks about his journey with World Vision and his recent trip to Kenya where he had the opportunity to witness first-hand the impact of his generous support.

Please tell us a bit about yourself and your background.
After studying in London, Paris, Madrid and New York, I worked in London for two years trading equities before moving to continental Europe in 2000 to concentrate on hospitality and property development. We took over Bursha Holdings my sister Jennica and I in 2006 and have grown the company into a major retail, commercial and residential business. We also own the SLH brand in London which has a network of hotels in hundreds of destinations.

What are some of your interests?
Architecture, interior design, skiing, vintage cars, travel.

What was it that first inspired you to donate to World Vision?
I saw World Vision on the news and I wanted to get involved in whatever way I could to start making a difference to people’s lives. The child sponsorship programme was an easy and impactful way to get involved, so I started sponsoring a child. As my life changed – I got married and started a family – I wanted to get more involved. I felt very fortunate for what I had in life and I realised a lot of people were not as fortunate, especially through the regular updates on the life of the child I was sponsoring and the world around them.
I contacted World Vision, asked how I could get more involved and started to raise funds for individual projects through my personal donations and fundraising events. Every time we’ve become involved in a project, we’ve really seen the growth, the fruition and the development into self-sustainability. Seeing the impact on the ground over a period of years, how your money is being spent and how it is impacting lives directly makes all the difference. So, every time we got involved in a project I felt connected to it.

Tell us about your recent trip to Kenya.
If you’ve never been to a place where World Vision works and seen directly the impact that it has, going on a trip really makes everything come together. Without visiting I would never really have seen how much we’ve done and how much World Vision has achieved for people’s lives. I will always be grateful to World Vision for making it possible for me to really experience something that’s given me more back than any other thing apart from having a family of my own.

Did anything surprise you during your trip?
I was shocked when a young woman who I met in the slums of Nairobi told me she was only nine years old when she had her first baby! Let me share…