Balloon Hats For Charity?

Addi Somekh and Charlie Eckert have devised the most ridiculous humanitarian effort known to man.  They have been traveling around the world for the last three years, making balloon hats for people.  You read that correctly.  Balloon hats.  They have made nine trips, visiting a total of 34 countries since 2008.  Their mission?

"Addi Somekh and Charlie Eckert travel to different places in the world in order to make balloon hats for people and take photos of them.

The goal is to show people all over the world laughing and having fun, and to emphasize the fact that all human beings are born with the ability to experience joy."

Here are a couple of photos of folks "experiencing joy":

"For fuck's sake, get this thing off of my head.  Couldn't you have just brought us some food?"

These children appear to be so much happier bathing in their own feces, now that they're wearing balloon hats:

"Who needs clean drinking water, when you have balloon hats?  We're experiencing joy!"

This is how rich douchebags help the world - by spending thousands upon thousands of dollars making balloon animals for starving people, with no access to medicine or safe drinking water, and taking pictures of them.  Think of what they could have done with that money.  If they would have simply sat on their asses, played video games, and made a donation to Doctors Without Borders or the International Red Cross, they would have accomplished so much more than what they actually have with their lives.

And to make matters worse?  They're accepting donations to continue their "work".  Not only that, but Addi has turned this project into a motivational speaking business.  His client list has included Oprah, Disney and Wired magazine.  Are you fucking kidding me?  This guy mocks people in need, and he becomes a motivational speaker?

I'm not linking to their website, because I'm disgusted by what they do.  I am going to post one of their videos, though.  It shows their broken (in my opinion) philosophy, as well as a number of the photos they have taken over the last couple of years.  At the end of the video, it shows a link to their page if you're interested.

"Stop Pitying Children In Africa"

That is the message that is coming from Mama Hope, a charity that is focused on "building self-sufficient communities in Sub-Saharan Africa".  When you think of an African child, what do you picture?  A baby with a bloated belly?  Ribs sticking out from starvation?  Flies crawling unnoticed on a baby boy or a baby girl?  That was the image that charitable organizations burned into our heads during the 80s and 90s.  Times have changed. I'll let Mama Hope explain:

"Too many non-profits ask for your pity by depicting poor, helpless Africans.  But like any stereotype, this portrayal has more exceptions than truth. 

Mama Hope feels it is time to re-humanize Africa and look to the positive change that is happening. We’ve had enough of the tragic impressions and abundance of sad, oppressive images that flood media outlets and non-profit campaigns. We want to make the statement that it is time to stop they pity and unlock the potential! 

Through a series of videos Mama Hope wants to show the light of the people we serve in Africa. We aspire to introduce our partner communities to you with the integrity and brilliance that we witness everyday. We want you to see the humor, courage, and potential of a wonderful people and continent. 

In these video’s we plan to feature the shared traits that make us all human—the dancing, the singing, the laughter and bring the compelling truth of their lives to your living room. We believe realistic, positive imagery can be very powerful and that it is time to move past the traditional images of weak and helpless people. 

This is a campaign to break the negative perception of Africa and build awareness of the simple fact that we are more similar than different." 

Their first video is of a charming and energetic 9 year old boy named Alex.  He lives in the town of Mvuleni, in Tanzania.  He loves Arnold Schwarzenegger, especially the movie 'Commando'.  When he was asked to tell the cameraman what happened in the movie, he went on for more than 15 minutes.  What you're about to see is about 3:20 of the main aspects of the plot:



I love this kid!  He doesn't need our pity.  Alex and his community need funds for food and water infrastructures, schools and educational materials, and health and medical services.  With that, Mvuleni would become a self-sustained community.

As you can see, Alex and his friends aren't starving.  Their bellies aren't bloated.  There aren't any flies on their face crawling around.  Alex doesn't want a handout.  He just wants to be a healthy, normal kid.  If you would like more information on donating to the Mama Hope Organization, click this link.  Thank you.

Doing The Most Good

There is nothing that I hate more than religious commercials at Christmas time. It seems like there is always a religious organization or a political action committee out there that takes advantage of the backdrop of the holiday. I saw a commercial a couple of days ago that, at first, I thought was no different. But something struck me as odd. It was displaying what seemed to be Bible verses. The first one was Peter 10:17. I knew immediately that it didn't exist. There is no such thing as the book of Peter. There is either First Peter or Second Peter. Residual memories of my brainwashing. I continued to watch:

Chapter & Verse from Eastern Michigan Division on Vimeo.

I was speechless. Finally, a religious organization that was preaching salvation, and not by a heavenly means. This is a group that is "saving" thousands of people a day. People of all faiths, creeds, and colors.

Speaking of which, something struck me in that commercial. One lady said, "When I was stoned". Obviously, this is conduct that the church and the Bible looks down upon. They helped her anyway. This could not be any more Christ like in my opinion.

As a Jehovah's Witness, we never donated to any organization that had ties to another religious organization. We never accepted donations from such organizations, either. We also did not donate or receive donations from the Red Cross, because of their work with blood transfusions. When the tsunami hit Indonesia a few years ago, I donated to the Red Cross and made a blood donation as well. My mother made a donation to her favorite charity: the Watchtower organization. She sent money to have help her "brothers and sisters" in need. She did the same a couple of years earlier when a massive earthquake hit Kobe, Japan.

I was always taught not to treat people differently because they were a different skin color. It was acceptable, though, to treat them differently, or to deny them assistance because of the god they chose to worship, or worse, NOT to worship. That's really a sad way to live your life. I promised myself that I would never be that way once I left that mess. I also promised myself that I would raise my child to give to everyone that needed help, regardless of whether you agreed with them or not. That's what I liked about this commercial.

My little girl is only 19 months old and she looks forward to going to Walmart so she can put a dollar into the little red kettle. Once the holidays are over, we will find another way to encourage her to get excited about giving.

The holiday season is almost over. People will still be hungry in February, in July, and in October. The bell ringers may not be in front of Walmart after next week, but don't forget the Salvation Army. They do a great job at saving people. They do it without requirements. They do it because they want to help. Please do the same. Merry Christmas.