Drummond David - Forty chances: finding hope in a hungry world

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This book is dedicated to the two most important women in my life: my wife, Devon, and my mother, Susie

My late wife, Susie, and I had our first child soon after we were marriedthough not, she would want me to add, so soon as to raise questions in that more judgmental era. We named her Susie as well, and she proved to be such an easy baby to handle that we quickly planned for another child. The difficulties of parenthood, my wife and I concluded, had been vastly overhyped.

And then Howard Graham Buffett arrived seventeen months later in December 1954. After a few months of coping with him, Susie Sr. and I decided an extended pause was essential before our having a third (and last) child, Peter. For Howie was a force of nature, a tiny perpetual-motion machine. Susie had plenty of days when she felt life would have been easier if she had instead given birth to some boring triplets.

Howie was named after two of my heroes, men who remain heroes to me as I write this almost six decades later. First, and forever foremost, was my dad, Howard, who in his every word and act shaped my life. Ben Graham was an obvious choice as well, a wonderful teacher whose ideas enabled me to accumulate a large fortune. Howie began life in big shoes.

Through Howies early years, I had no idea as to what direction his life would take. My own dad had given me a terrific gift: he told me, both verbally and by his behavior, that he cared only about the values I had, not the particular path I chose. He simply said that he had unlimited confidence in me and that I should follow my dreams.

I was thereby freed of all expectations except to do my best. This was such a blessing for me that it was natural for me to behave similarly with my own children. In this aspect of child raisingas well as virtually all othersSusie Sr. and I were totally in sync.

Our Its your life message produced one particularly interesting outcome: none of our three children completed college, though each certainly had the intellect to do so. Neither Susie Sr. nor I were at all bothered by this. Besides, as I often joke, if the three combine their college credits, they would be entitled to one degree that they could rotate among themselves.

I dont believe that leaving college early has hindered the three in any way. They, like every Omaha Buffett from my grandfather to my great-grandchildren, attended public grammar and high schools. In fact, almost all of these family members, including our three children, went to the same inner-city, long-integrated high school, where they mixed daily with classmates from every economic and social background. In those years, they may have learned more about the world they live in than have many individuals with postgrad educations.

Howie started by zigzagging through life, looking for what would productively harness his boundless energy. In this book, he tells of how he found his path and the incredible journeys that resulted from his discovery. Its a remarkable tale, told exactly as it happened. As Howie describes his activitiessome successful, others notthey supply a guidebook for intelligent philanthropy.

Howies love of farming makes his work particularly helpful to the millions of abject poor whose only hope is the soil. His fearlessness has meanwhile exposed him to an array of experiences more common to adventurers than philanthropists. Call him the Indiana Jones of his field.

Its Howies story to tell. I want, however, to add my own tribute to the two women who made him what he is today: a man working with passion, energy, and intelligence to better the lives of those less fortunate. It began with his remarkable mother. Fortunately, the genes from her side were dominant in shaping Howie.

Anyone who knew Susie Sr. would understand why I say this. Simply put, she had more genuine concern for others than anyone Ive ever known. Every person she metrich or poor, black or white, old or youngimmediately sensed that she saw him or her simply as a human being, equal in value to any other on the planet.

Without in any way being a Pollyanna, or giving up enjoyment in her own life, Susie connected with a multitude of diverse people in ways that changed their lives. No one can match the touch she had, but Howie comes close. And he is on a par with her in terms of heart.

Howie nevertheless needed Devon, his wife of thirty-one years, to center him. And that need continues. Much as Susie provided the love that enabled me to find myself, Devon nurtures Howie. Both he and I were not the easiest humans to deal with daily and up close; each of us can pursue our interests with an intensity that leaves us oblivious to what is going on around us. But both of us were also incredibly lucky in finding extraordinary women who loved us enough to eventually soften our rough edges.

His mothers genes and teachingsusually nonverbal but delivered powerfully by her actionsgave Howie his ever-present desire to help others. In that pursuit, his only speed is fast-forward. My money has helped him carry out his plans in recent years on a larger scale than is available to most teachers and philanthropists. I couldnt be happier about the result.

Most of the worlds seven billion people found their destinies largely determined at the moment of birth. There are, of course, plenty of Horatio Alger stories in this world. Indeed, America abounds with them. But for literally billions of people, where they are born and who gives them birth, along with their gender and native intellect, largely determine the life they will experience.

In this ovarian lottery, my children received some lucky tickets. Many people who experience such good fortune react by simply enjoying their position in life and trying to ensure that their children enjoy similar benefits. This approach is understandable, though it can become distasteful when it is accompanied by a smug If I can do it, why cant everyone else? attitude.

Still, I would hope that many of the worlds fortunateparticularly Americans who have benefited so dramatically from the deeds of our forefatherswould aspire to more. We do sit in the shade of trees planted by others. While enjoying the benefits dealt us, we should do a little planting ourselves.

I feel very good about the fact that my children realize how lucky they have been. I feel even better because they have decided to spend their lives sharing much of the product of that luck with others. They do not feel at all guilty because of their good fortunebut they do feel grateful. And this they express through the expenditure of their time and my money, with their part of this equation without question the more important.

In this book, you will read about some of Howies extraordinary projects. Forgive a parent when I say I couldnt be more proud of him, as would his mother be if she were alive to watch him. As you read his words, you will understand why.

Warren E. Buffett

The camp commander had just told me that two of the soldiers on our side were eaten by crocodiles the previous week. That got my attention. But as I stood in a clearing of scrub trees in the hot, dry desert of South Sudan, I realized that the thin man walking toward me, leaning on a cane, was much more dangerous than any croc. Crocodiles attack when they are hungry or their turf or young are threatened. I was about to meet General Caesar Acellam, an African warlord who had helped lead a campaign of murder, rape, torture, and enslavement across at least four countries. He was a top lieutenant in the psychopath Joseph Konys Lords Resistance Army. As such, Acellam had hunted the most vulnerable people on the planetpoor, starving childrento turn thousands of boys into sadistic soldiers and girls into sex slaves.