In the realm of philanthropy and humanitarian work, Mr. Beast is an outstanding and influential figure. One of the 25-year-old’s most notable projects is constructing 100 wells in Africa. 52 of the wells are in Kenya. And others are in Zimbabwe, Uganda, Somalia and Cameroon. His aim was to provide over 500,000 people with unlimited access to clean drinking water.
“Combined, these 100 wells are going to give around half a million people fresh water to drink.”
Mr. Beast said
The project took him well over eight months. Each well has a 30-year lifespan. And, it can produces over 13,000 liters a day. Mr. Beast aka Jimmy Donaldson also updated a school with new computers, classroom furniture, and books. He also donated soccer balls and installed modern whiteboards and projectors in the classrooms.
Collective Effort
Mr. Beast recognized that providing clean water was a collective effort. And it does not necessarily require the resources of a large government.
“You would think that having an effect of this magnitude would require the resources and funding of a large government. But that’s not true. Solving this problem is possible and it’s something humanity should all be putting effort in to fix”.
Said Mr Beast.
Reactions
While he was afraid of cancellation, he expressed his unwavering commitment to using his YouTube channel to help and inspire people.
“I already know I’m gonna get canceled because I uploaded a video helping people, and to be 100% clear, I don’t care. I’m always going to use my channel to help people and try to inspire my audience to do the same”.
Stated the Youtuber on X.
His efforts also caused activists to criticize the government. Social-Political Activist Boniface Mwangi voiced his frustration with the government’s allocation of funds for luxury items. He highlighted the unaddressed critical need for clean water access.
“We are a shameful, horrible country. Every five years we give newly elected members of parliament, and senators a Sh5 million car grant, to fuel those cars every month. But we have no money to drill boreholes for our people? We are a begging nation governed by multimillionaires,”
Boniface Mwangi said.
More reactions
KRG The Don appeared critical of Mr. Beast’s philanthropy in Kenya. The singer suggested that Mr. Beast’s efforts were more of creating content than genuinely helping the community. He emphasized that Kenya is not a poor country and questions the sincerity of the assistance provided by Mr. Beast.
“The person you are saying is giving back to the community came to shoot his content. You, Mr Beast, make your own content. But don’t say you came to help Kenyans, We don’t need such kind of help… We may be having our own challenges but we are not in a poor country.”
Said KRG The Don.
Additionally, Mr Beast’s well-uilding activity did not sit well with political analyst Francis Gaitho. First, Gaitho was not impressed by the youtuber’s pronunciation of Nairobi as “Nairiri.” He expressed concern that Mr. Beast’s efforts in Kenya may perpetuate stereotypes of Africa as dependent on handouts, rather than promoting a more self-reliant image for the country.
“We are trying to project Kenya dependent or we are trying to validate the stereotype that Kenya or Africa is a dark continent dependent on handouts and philanthropic interventions“.
Francis Gaitho said.
By BNN