Every day its mens day Scott Neeson left Hollywood to save children rooting in Cambodias garbage dumps. He sold his mansion, Porsche, and yacht and set off for Cambodia to provide food, shelter, and education to destitute children. Scott Neesons final epiphany came one day in June 2004. The high-powered Hollywood executive stood, ankle deep in trash, at the sprawling landfill of Stung Meanchey, a poor shantytown in Cambodias capital. Scott Neeson, a former head of 20th Century Fox International, cares for more than 1,000 Cambodian children and their families. In a haze of toxic fumes and burning waste, swarms of Phnom Penhs most destitute were rooting through refuse, jostling for scraps of recyclables in newly dumped loads of rubbish. They earned 4,000 riel ($1) a day – if they were lucky. Many of the garbage sorters were young children. Covered in filthy rags, they were scruffy, sickly, and sad. Clasped to Mr. Neesons ear was his cellphone. Calling the movie mogul from a US airport, a Hollywood superstars agent was complaining bitterly about inadequate in-flight entertainment on a private jet that Sony Pictures Entertainment, where Neeson was head of overseas theatrical releases, had provided for his client. Neeson overheard the actor griping in the background. My life wasnt meant to be this difficult. Those were his exact words, Neeson says. I was standing there in that humid, stinking garbage dump with children sick with typhoid, and this guy was refusing to get on a Gulfstream IV because he couldnt find a specific item onboard, he recalls. If I ever wanted validation I was doing the right thing, this was it. Doing the right thing meant turning his back on a successful career in the movie business, with his $1 million salary. Instead, he would dedicate himself full time to a new mission: to save hundreds of the poorest children in one of the worlds poorest countries. Much to everyones surprise, within months the Australian native, who as president of 20th Century Fox International had overseen the global success of block-busters like Titanic, Braveheart, and Die Another Day, quit Hollywood. He sold his mansion in Los Angeles and held a garage sale for all the useless stuff I owned. He sold off his Porsche and yacht, too. His sole focus would now be his charity, the Cambodian Childrens Fund, which he had set up the previous year after coming face to face, while on vacation in Cambodia, with children living at the garbage dump. The perks in Hollywood were good – limos, private jets, gorgeous girlfriends, going to the Academy Awards, says Neeson, an affable man with careworn features and a toothy smile. But its not about what lifestyle Id enjoy more when I can make life better for hundreds of children. He sits at his desk barefoot, Cambodian-style, in white canvas pants and a T-shirt. At times he even sounds like a Buddhist monk. Youve got to take the ego out of it, he says. One persons self-indulgence versus the needs of hundreds of children, thats the moral equation. Read more ► dailygood.org/more.php?n=5219 DailyGood
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 00:23:40 +0000
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