Pinterest can be used as an endless source of inspiration for people all over the world. For many, like myself, it is a board of my wants. The shoes that I want, the wedding cake that I want, the recipe that I want to try, and look that I want, etc. It’s a place where we share what we deem to be beautiful, worth remembering and important. But UNICEF had something different in mind when they curated this board.
UNICEF created a fictional Pinterest page for Ami Musa, a young girl from Sierra Leone, to showcase her “interests.” While many of us pin hairstyles that we like, tips for making our smaller bathroom look larger and ways to make a recipe better, Ami Musa’s board, titled “Really want these.” reminds people of what the world’s poorest children dream of: food, clean water, basic clothing and the opportunity to learn.
I’m not going to lie, when I found this board and clicked back to my homepage, which mainly consists of designer wear that I admire and graphic design work, I cried. Most of us truly do not realize how lucky we are.
If you’d like to donate to UNICEF or you’d like to help, click on each pin and it will take you to their page where you are able to donate. I’m only able to locate the UK version of the donation page, so the donation is in pounds. 1 British pound sterling = roughly $1.61.
What do you think of Ami Musa’s Pinterest board? Would you notice these pins if they were in your Pinterest feed?
guest
I still dont get what pinterest is.. lol.
guest
Wow, great idea – what a stark contrast to most of the stuff on Pinterest! Thanks for sharing.
daisy / 603 posts
Oh my goodness, this is really really sad. And makes me feel terrible.
For those of you confused, pinterest is a social networking site that you can “pin” things that you like and/or want. A lot of them are recipes, do it yourself projects, wedding dresses, wedding rings, clothes, shoes, etc.
This post just made me feel really guilty – I just preordered the iphone 5 this morning, meanwhile there are people wishing for basic things. (Of course it isn’t new information that people don’t have basic needs, but still sad.) Unfortunately though, there are so many other factors in a lot of people who live in third world countries’ lives, that I sometimes doubt that my donations (I do try to donate money to a few good causes every year) actually help.
guest
@lttlegel - You have to look for non-profit organizations that are truly transparent, as in there’s no shady business with their financial records, and that have a strong history of using most of the funds raised towards actual projects on the ground (or in the laboratory, if they’re research institutions) instead of administrative costs like overhead, salaries, equipment, etc. She’s the First and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital are great examples of non-profits that started in the U.S.
sunflower / 480 posts
Thanks for posting this on Lovelyish! There damn well should be more education, awareness, compassion, and appreciation in this world!