Between when Stephen was twenty-one and twenty-eight years old, he lived in India and Nepal, studying Tibetan. In India and Nepal, Stephen was deeply troubled by the plight of the very poor, underprivileged, and vulnerable populations he encountered in those countries. He was especially shaken when he witnessed a five year-old boy, named Sajen, die of malnutrition related complications in the village of Salbari, West Bengal. Stephen promised himself he would not forget Sajen and that he would work to make sure that other poor children like Sajen would not have to die from easily preventable complications.