Horizon Group’s owner, Roshan Wijerama, discusses arts, crafts and philanthropy

Hi, Roshan. I understand you don’t do interviews very often, so thank you for speaking with Mojo Nation. I’m very pleased to meet with you… You’re now the owner of Horizon Group but it’s quite an old company, is it not?
Yes. The company dates back to 1912. It was originally called Hirschberg Schutz and was one of the founding craft companies in America. Working out of Jersey City, they made adult crafts: beads, ribbon and trim – the cut-and-sew days. I came into the company in 2003 with a vision of using the adult craft business as a launch pad to create activity kits for kids: wholesome, safety-tested, lead-free kits that are on trend.

And how did you share that plan back in 2003?
I went to the owner of Hirschberg and told him about my vision. I came in with the idea of setting up a separate division called Horizon Group USA to sell kids’ activity kits and arts and crafts. At the same time, we launched another company called Devrian Global Industries. That was named after my two kids, Devin and Rianna.

What was the plan for Devrian Global Industries?
The plan for DGI was to create impulse products, which were trendy; fashion forward… Things with a trendy flair that we can design in America and import directly into the retail marketplace. We launched that at Target in an area called One Spot, which was the dollar section in the front of the stores.

And how did that background help inform the activity kits you now make at Horizon?
Well, when it comes to being in the marketplace, the idea is to be able to sell something for $10 or $15 in the mass market. So it has to be on trend so that when the child makes it and wears it, they feel proud… Whether that’s because of the colours we use or because it’s a seasonal fashion.

So it’s not some bit of tat that they’re going to throw in the bin two minutes later…
Exactly. And what we put in a box is truly a product that will continue to be shown, shared and appreciated. So that’s how the company took off. Beautiful packaging and amazing content. And then mothers, who are generally the main buyers, will come back and buy more. Because unlike general toys, activity kits aren’t something you buy just once – at Christmas, say.

And if they trust the product after they buy it, they’ll come back…
Right. And as a strategy, we didn’t brand our product lines as Horizon. Instead, we created multiple brands. That lets us sell product lines to different retail channels without it being the same exact thing. We also didn’t want to be known as a licensing company so we launched with our own brands – the licenses came later. We’re growing it further now because we’re now not only in the mass market and specialty stores in every retailer in America, but we’re also a global company.

Perfect, thank you. Now, one of the reasons I wanted to catch up with you, Roshan, is because of your extraordinary commitment to philanthropy. If you’re happy to talk about it, I’d sincerely like to know what motivates that…
Well… It’s about creating a better place for children of the world. It’s about love and care for our fellow human beings. I came to America from Sri Lanka as an immigrant when I was 17. I had $100 of traveller’s cheques when I landed in New York. From that moment, I started with odd jobs and looking at ways to support my family back home and other people…

Support in what way?
I made a personal commitment to send back whatever money I could to help people – whether it was $10 or $50 a month. So it was a personal vision and a mission I had, which I’ve chosen not to talk about publicly before because I didn’t want the company to be tied into what we do philanthropically. My thinking was that the product should sell itself because of what it looks like and the value. Lately, though, it makes sense for our amazing employees and to the marketplace to know the mission behind the two things.

And you say “two things” because there’s Horizon and there’s a foundation…
The Wijerama Family Foundation, yes. We’ve done it as two different entities, but both are creating what the children of the world need. Because arts and crafts are universal; they’re not tied into just the US or a certain demographic. Every child in the world could use a bead kit or make a friendship bracelet or create jewellery and play with putty or compounds. They’re universal things.

Tell me then, Roshan, what was the next step? After sending money home, how did things grow?
My first really philanthropic effort was simply sending a few computers to Sri Lanka – then starting a small school to teach children computer skills. Because my thinking at the time was that if you can make kids literate in English and computer skills, then they can get ahead. So we set up English and computer classes, starting with 12 Dell computers we bought and sent over. We set them up in a family member’s room, hired a teacher and had kids from that town come and learn. Soon after, we expanded into another location and had 50 computers.

50? Five-zero?
Yes. We created a proper school – based on need, not religion or ethnic background… Anyone could attend these free classes and learn as long as they were poor. They also had to make certain grades – they had to learn, not just sit there! So that was the launch of it. Since then, we’ve opened numerous schools and places in the rural towns of Sri Lanka where some kids don’t go to school just because they don’t have a pair of slippers, or they don’t have a school uniform. But we can provide those for the equivalent of about $10. To date, the foundation has covered over 20 schools; over 1,500 school children year over year for the last eight years.

So let me just see if I heard that right… Some children are so poor that they can’t go to school for want of a pair of slippers or a $10-dollar uniform?
Exactly. The provision of the uniform gets them to school. We’d also provide them with a pencil, say, because these kids need and truly appreciate them. They’ll take a pencil and make sure the eraser doesn’t get used too much; they don’t want to waste it… So yes, my focus is on education and providing people with the means to learn and sustain and get themselves up. We also started a scholarship program – starting in my primary-grade school…

Your old school?!
My old school, yes – I attended Prince of Wales College and my mother taught there. Anyway, we took the best five kids at grade five who didn’t have the means to further their education. But we will fund all those individual kids right through their O-level and A-level classes – which is the British system – so that they can get into universities and beyond. Some of these kids have come in with no means to get anywhere.

And do you manage to keep track of their progress, Roshan? Are you able to follow up and see how their lives have changed?
Yes. I met a couple of them recently – they’re now in medical school. A couple of others have got degrees. So we know that we’ve been able to change these kids’ lives; we see it directly. And because we’re not fundraising, we’ve been able to make sure that every penny goes right to the end user. There’s no management fees; it’s not like just 80 cents on the dollar goes to the cause. I’m putting my own funds into the foundation as necessary.

Wow… If it doesn’t make you too self-conscious, please would you tell me about a couple of the things you’ve done?
Well… Okay. For instance, we opened the Ayati Centre in Sri Lanka. It’s a hospital; the first in Sri Lanka to help kids with disabilities… Anything from autism to walking disabilities. The doctors are funded by the Sri Lankan government but the building and the management needed a donation from us. That helped get the place open. That’s a beautiful centre.

We also have a palliative care centre – Suwa Arana – that we helped open for kids with paediatric cancer. In Sri Lanka, these kids have no means to get better or get treatment because the families come from rural areas. There’s nowhere for them to stay near the hospitals. We partnered with an amazing foundation that already existed to help build some housing. That way the families of the children can be there as they’re getting treatment in one room – even during the last moments of their life. We continue to support that.

That’s amazing… And that’s Suwa Arana?
Yes. We’re also working on a centre there for sexually exploited kids. So it’s not only about education but also making sure kids are safe. One of the reasons this means so much is that was that there was a child there, Shanil, that we were helping. He had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. This is a cancer that can be maintainable at age 4. But Shanil’s family didn’t have the means to get housing and come in. So when we found out about this child, we put him in a private hospital and immediately rented the family a home nearby. I told his parents, “We’ll get your child cured. Whatever it takes.”

In a way, I was thinking about my mother… Prior to this, I lost her to cancer – multiple myeloma. So I made it a personal mission to look after Shanil. And in my mother’s name, I said, “This child will not suffer.” I told the parents, “It’s going to be fine. If I had to spend every penny I have, I will fly him anywhere in the world: Singapore, USA, India – whatever it takes,. And he will get treatment because it’s in the early stages.” So we followed this amazing kid – may I digress a moment?

My friend, you may say and do whatever you like.
Thank you, Deej. Even at his sickest, Shanil had an amazing spirit. We brought him something to play with one time, and the first thing he said was, “Thank you…” But then, “Did you bring something for my brother?” You know? He was thinking of his brother first: “Please can you bring my brother a car next time?” By then he was six and he was just looking out for his little brother. In any case, we made sure he saw the best oncologists around the world; they were all guiding his treatment. He kept improving – but then it got worse. And unfortunately I lost him.

This… Excuse me; one moment… This is heartbreaking.
It was one of the biggest, most painful things… Being a Buddhist and understanding karma and thinking about afterlife and everything else. And no matter what, there’s nothing you can tell a parent. How could I say, “I’m sorry, I failed you”? So I couldn’t face the mother and father; couldn’t do it. But I called and I said sorry. And the mother said to me, “Roshan, without you, my son would have suffered and we would have lost him so long ago.” So we dedicated the entire floor in this centre, it’s called Shanil in his memory…

Oh, gosh…
…and his family now go there. His picture is there and the parents go in and guide and comfort others. So that was the inspiration behind the childhood paediatric cancer, and we’ll continue to do that.

That must have been such a devastating loss, Roshan: for Shanil’s parents, for his brother – for you…
Sometimes the goal has to change, Deej. I know that I can’t fix childhood diseases or hunger all around the world… I don’t have the means and nor does the world. But for me, giving back to the place that I was born in and knowing that we can still make a small difference matters. I continue to do the best I can and will continue to do that as Horizon grows.

And you speak about the changing goals… What’s next for you?
And as we grow, my goal is to continue to fund and do bigger and better things for The Wijerama Family Foundation. Lately, we’ve also aligned ourselves with an amazing fellow called Dr. Clint Rogers. He’s the founder of Ancient Secrets Foundation… He’s been supporting orphans and orphanages in Kathmandu – Nepal. The last visit I made was about three months ago: we’ve started funding one entire orphanage of about 80 kids. And we’re continuing to do more.

Actually, I’m going to spend time in Kathmandu next week to look at doing more for the children in Nepal. It’s a poor country with a GDP smaller even than Sri Lanka’s. It has many, many orphanages. We’re supporting nine at the moment and we’ll continue to do more. So as Horizon Group starts making better profits, I will put 100% of what’s left towards what kids need – after taking care of our amazing team members.

Reluctantly, Roshan, I need to start wrapping this up. I do want to hear, though, how others might support your philanthropy…
We’ve really not done any fundraising yet – simply because I see this as my personal cause. For example, I was driving through Sri Lanka with some friends around two weeks ago. We saw a mud house with a barefooted lady outside selling coconuts… We stopped to buy some. The lady was very proud of her house and garden. One of our group asked to see the house. She lives there with her husband and two kids; there’s one little bed – but the roof, basically, has collapsed. When it rained, the whole place got wet. And I asked why she hadn’t fixed it…

That’s when this proud woman just broke down crying. It turns out that one of the children had a broken leg. It needed the equivalent of about $30 to fix it. Unfortunately, the husband was injured and he’d gone to work in a hotel for a week or two to make the $30. But that meant they didn’t have the means to fix the house. So we immediately took down her information and said, “We’ll have a house built for you in two weeks – and these two children will never suffer.”

Oh, my… I can’t stop weeping; forgive me. And that’s all because you stopped for a coconut?
Yes. And we will do it. We will make sure that those kids get an education and the means through to grade 12…

So this story could be seen as a lesson about the dangers of pulling over for a coconut? That’s a very expensive drupe…
Ha! Well… I see it differently. I think of the joy and the positive karmic effects. Because when you give, you receive. There’s no amount you can give where you don’t receive a thousand times more in happiness. That’s how I feel. I mean… If I give to somebody in need, I don’t expect something in return. But there is a reward: seeing their faces and feeling how it makes you feel. There’s no other gift like it. You receive more than you give So in a way, it’s selfish.

Yes, I was just thinking how selfish you sound! Ha! So you haven’t done any fundraising yet?
Right – because I see it as a personal cause. And I’ll continue to do that – but fundraising is something that could really help. Ours is a tax-deductible charitable organisation; The Wijerama Family Foundation registered in USA and re-registered it in Sri Lanka.

Well, I would urge people to give to that if they can. Because your work is incredible and I find you remarkable.
Oh… You’re too kind.

Well. In talking to you, Roshan, I fear that I’m not kind enough. My final question is this: what’s the one question I could’ve asked you today but didn’t?
Whether or not I’m happy…

And are you happy?
I’m very content. As human beings, there’s always room for improvement. I’ve spent a year working on improving my mind and trying to think better, attending men’s groups, because we can always improve. We’re probably as good as 10% of our best at any given time. And so that is my course in life. Give as long as I can give… Try to be happy and live close to impermanence as possible – even though that’s not possible for us. So yes… Be who I am, live in truth and be the best version of myself. That’s my goal in life.

Amazing answer. Let me compose myself, Roshan; I’ve been weeping continually but I do want to sign off properly… Alright! Let me thank you by saying that this wasn’t just an interview for me – it was a privilege.
Oh, thank you. Thank you. This is probably the first interview I’ve done ever, because it’s been very private. And I believe that I don’t have to talk about it because the joy I receive by giving in itself is the biggest gift. But thank you for the interview.

Not at all! It’s been a joy – and if it makes you feel more comfortable to share these stories, I can tell you that you’re going to make a lot of our readers feel joy too.
Thank you, Deej.

You’re welcome. And now I’m just going to have to hug you I’m afraid.

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