YouTube philanthropist MrBeast has been in Africa, delivering access to clean water in villages across the continent.
Known for elaborate stunts that often involve huge sums of money, James Stephen Donaldson has become perhaps the most successful content creator on the video platform, sharing his work with over 200 million subscribers.
In addition to wild games and challenges, MrBeast also does a lot of work to improve the lives of some of the most disadvantaged people on the planet, as well as delivering random acts of kindness to unsuspecting people.
I built 100 wells in Africa to provide clean drinking water for up to 500,000 people! This is one of my favorite videos I've ever made 🥰 (all ad rev will go towards getting people in need water) pic.twitter.com/2UL5jGghR5
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) April 6, 2024
In early April, MrBeast shared with his 29.3 million Twitter followers a video of his team installing 100 wells across Africa, which is expected to benefit around 500,000 people.
In many cases, school children had little option but to drink dirty, polluted water because they had no other option, often making them sick and putting young lives in danger. They even have to carry that water from pumps located great distances away along treacherous terrain, posing even more safety concerns.
There were similar stories regarding hospitals and entire villages with little access to clean water. MrBeast's work used a drill to access clean water deep below the Earth's surface, making it much easier and safer for local residents to drink, clean, and cook.
"You would think that having an effect of this magnitude would require the resources and funding of a large government," MrBeast says in his video. "But that's not true. Solving this problem is possible and it's something humanity should all be putting in effort to fix."
On his journey, MrBeast also brought solar-assisted water pumps to help farmers with agricultural activity, built a bridge to connect a village with health services located across a dangerous river, and provided supplies for local schools.
While he has faced criticism in the past for wasteful practices — a video of him destroying items in a huge shredder was one particular lightning rod for perceived waste of materials, and he also blew things up with military-grade explosives in the same video, drawing condemnation for creating air pollution — there's no denying the positive impact he's had for humanitarian and environmental causes overall.
For the latter, his Team Trees initiative has helped to plant over 24 million trees through fan donations, while his Team Seas scheme has removed 33 million pounds of trash from the world's oceans.
They are remarkable achievements, and it doesn't look like he's going to stop anytime soon.
While MrBeast has used his success to pour millions of dollars into his activities, taking local action to help the climate without such funding can still make a big difference in creating a healthier and safer planet.
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