David James Begbie is the director of the Global Village Life X-perience programme at charity organization Crossroads International, and a spokesman for both Crossroads International and Global Hand. Armed with a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Regent University in the US, David wanted to be a ‘voice for the voiceless’ – to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

David has been giving speeches in different nations, addressing business people, community groups, campus audiences, young children, senior citizens and others. His vision is well expressed through the Global Village Life X-perience programme, Crossroads International’s latest development. The experiential education programme directed by David, in which participants experience the lives of the less fortunate, was started as a result of the 10th anniversary of Crossroads International, when a small group of Hong Kong executives were invited to live in simulated slum conditions for 24 hours. More than 12,000 people from the corporate, educational and social sectors have participated since the programme’s inception in 2005.

David has been a full time volunteer for Crossroads International and Global Hand, two sister charities based in Hong Kong. The duty of Crossroads International is to redistribute surplus goods received from the Hong Kong community to over 500 charities both within Hong Kong and in more than 50 nations in the world for free; while Global Hand, a web-based platform, matches corporate surplus with people in dire need in order to facilitate public-private partnerships. It has built applications for the World Economic Forum and Rotary International and is currently developing applications for other NGOs and INGOs.