SEATTLE — British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran visited West Point in Monrovia, Liberia for Red Nose Day 2017. West Point is a large and dangerous slum in Liberia’s capital city. Sheeran’s Liberia visit was made possible by Red Nose Day, a fundraising campaign operated by the nonprofit organization Comic Relief. Ed Sheeran visited Liberia to work with the charity Street Child and help children living in poverty.
Sheeran Meets with Liberian Children to Learn About Their Lives
Sheeran visited an impoverished village in Liberia to meet with children who were affected by the West African Ebola outbreak in 2014. Sheeran spent the first part of his time at the slum attending an education project that Comic Relief is funding to help impoverished children. Sheeran observed these poor children being active and happy, despite the situation they were living in. Sheeran even joined a few of the boys in a soccer game after their school day ended.
Peaches, a young Liberian girl, talked and sang with Sheeran. Peaches revealed to Sheeran that her father died from Ebola and that his death had left her family in poverty. She was no longer able to attend school because her mother could not afford to pay for her education. Sheeran got emotional as Peaches sang a song her father taught her.
Street Child and Ed Sheeran Make a Difference Through Red Nose Day
Street Child Liberia has used money raised from Red Nose Day to return homeless children to their parents. Street Child also offers loans to help families who need it, and so far have helped 200 impoverished children return to school. Peaches and other children like her will be able to go back to school thanks to Street Child and Ed Sheeran.
While in Liberia, Sheeran also met JD, a homeless 14-year-old boy. After Sheeran saw an older man hitting JD in public, he knew he had to do something to help. Sheeran was with a Comic Relief camera crew at the time, and said to the crew, “My natural instinct is to put them somewhere in the city in a hotel until we can get them sorted. Can we do that?” JD and four of his friends are off the streets and are living with a guardian in Monrovia. He later expressed his gratitude to Street Child and Ed Sheeran for their help placing him in a safe living environment; otherwise, he would still be homeless.
Ed Sheeran Visited Liberia to Highlight the Need to Fight Global Poverty
Ed Sheeran visited Liberia and saw how crucial it is to get impoverished children off the streets and back into school. Red Nose Day strives to motivate people to donate so that Street Child and celebrities like Ed Sheeran can help children living in poverty.
Well-known charities and celebrities can use their power to lift people out of poverty. One way they can do this is by bringing attention to the conditions these people are living in, and how individuals can help end global poverty little by little. Red Nose Day brings charities and celebrities together to help get the world involved in alleviating global poverty.
– Kelly Kipfer
Photo: Flickr