Tag Archives: Viral

Boy Who Became Viral Meme Raises Thousands Of Dollars

Posted on by
Reply

A chubby-cheeked little boy whose serious expression turned him into a meme could end up educating an entire village.

Jake has become one of the most famous schoolchildren in South Africa since people began sharing a picture of him, joking he was everything from a grumpy driving instructor to an unimpressed security guard.

But Jake lives thousands of miles north, in a small village in eastern Ghana, unaware of his new-found fame.

In fact, up until Wednesday, not even the man who took the photograph knew it had proved such a hit.

Cameraman Carlos Cortes travelled to Ghana in 2015 to make a documentary about Solomon Adufah, an artist returning to his home country from the US.

 The picture of Jake, then four, was one of hundreds taken by Cortes while Adufah taught art and creative studies to the children.

“I just caught Jake in the moment of his teaching,” Cortes, of Chicago, told the BBC. “He definitely has a pensive look on his face.”

The two men then returned to the States, unaware they had captured a future star.

But the schoolboy’s picture began doing the rounds after Adufah shared it on his Instagram account.

When he first realised it had gone viral, he was unsure of how to react to the posts, worried they were making fun of Jake.

“I thought, I’m not going to respond,” the 27-year-old told the BBC. “But then I remember a moment when I thought, what if all these ‘likes’ turned into actual funds to help?”

Jake and his friends live in a rural village, and for some families sending their children to school is more than they can afford.

What is more, the primary school is also in need of supplies.

“I remember one day we spent 20 minutes just trying to make sure we had enough pencils for all the kids,” Mr Cortes said. “That’s what the campaign is really about.”

So Adufah, who has lived in the US since he was 16, set up a fundraising campaign, hoping Jake will really inspire people to turn their likes into cash to help pay for his education, and that of the other children in the village.

Within 24 hours, it had raised $2,000 (£1,642) – 10% of its target.

Adufah said: “This money could make a huge difference to the kids – this could be something really positive going forward.”

Credit: BBC

Another Hunting Image Of Wounded Syrian Girl Go Viral

Posted on by
Reply

It’s another haunting picture of a wounded child from Syria. This one has also gone viral on social media.

The video and images were posted online by a pro-opposition activist group, Talbiseh Media Center.
It shows an 8-year-old girl in a medical facility, her hair and body covered with dust. There’s blood tricking down her forehead, her nose. She looks confused and scared and keeps calling out for her father.
Off camera, a man talks to her, asking for her name.
“Aya” she replies, crying.
“Where were you when this happened?” the questioner asks.
“At home but the roof fell on us,” she replies, looking around for her father.
“Oh Daddy… Daddy, come,” she cries.
Hospital staff and volunteers try to clean her up and attend to her wounds, as she continues to sob.
Aya was pulled from under rubble along with her family members when an airstrike hit their home in Talbiseh on Monday. Talbiseh, a large town in northwestern Syria, is about 10 kilometers north of Homs. Activists there say at least two people were killed and 30 wounded in three airstrikes that targeted residential areas of their town.
Aya’s mother, father and three siblings were wounded in the strike.
Aya, the oldest among her siblings, has been reunited with her family and they are all doing OK, activists said.
The family is now looking for a place to stay because their house was destroyed by the airstrike, according to a spokesperson with the Talbiseh Media Center.
Credit: cnn

‘Zookeeper’ In The Viral Leopard Attack Video Says The Leopard Was Playing, Not Trying To Attack Him

Posted on by
770
Eduardo Serio, a ‘zookeeper’ at the Black Jaguar White Tiger Sanctuary in Mexico City was supposedly saved from a potential leopard attack by a tiger. A video of the dramatic incident shows Serio playing with a group of six lions around him oblivious to the danger behind as Dharma the leopard tries to sneak up on him. Aztlan the tiger sees the danger however and stops Dharma in its stride. But Eduardo, who rescues & trains the animals, says he was never in any danger
Here’s the thing. Eduardo doesn’t regard the sanctuary as a Zoo and says he’s more of a father to the wild animals. The sanctuary/foundation is a non profit organization whose aim is to rescue animals in need from circuses, breeding facilities, from private owners and providing the a safe home with good medical care. He shared a statement via his IG page and it read,

“There is an old video that is going viral all over the world where my boy Dharma is stalking me like he always does and Aztlan intercepted him. Again, we are all over the Planet. Great exposure. The only problem is that they called me a zoo keeper. I’m a father, but well. I rescued Dharma from a private owner that was feeding him Cow and condensed milk, so he was dying and had no hair when he arrived. I cured him. I taught him to respect his family members, including our Dog Chiquitin. I taught him to climb Trees since he was afraid of doing it. I Love my boy with the same intensity that he Loves me back. Super proud of him being a beautiful, healthy and Lovely 3 year old Leopard.”