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THE PROJECT FOR AWESOME 2013 IS UPON US!

2013-12-17 · John · watch on YouTube · Global development · advocacy activism

John launches P4A 2013 and argues for Save the Children: the crises in the Central African Republic and among Syrian refugees are complex and no charity will fix them, but helping children there does matter, because distant people are still our neighbors.

What is said

00:00:00 — P4A 2013 begins: 48-hour livestream, fundraising page perks, 100% to community-chosen charities, finding videos, penny per comment, $125,000 matching

  • ★★★ John announces the 2013 Project for Awesome; its 48-hour livestream begins at noon Eastern today on youtube.com/vlogbrothers. — 00:00:00 · Project for Awesome, Vlogbrothers
  • ★★★ John points viewers to the P4A fundraising page, whose perks include the Men of YouTube and Women of YouTube calendars and a 20-page snippet of the story he has been working on for months. — 00:00:10
  • ★★★ John says 100% of the money raised goes to organizations the community chooses by voting at projectforawesome.com, so it is up to everyone to be good stewards of it. — 00:00:24 · Project for Awesome, Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ John says P4A videos can be found by searching YouTube for 'Project for Awesome 2013', and every comment on a P4A video or tweet with #projectforawesome is worth a penny. — 00:00:40 · Project for Awesome
  • ★★ John says anonymous donors match every dollar donated for the first $125,000, so each dollar is worth two. — 00:00:49 · Project for Awesome

00:00:58 — Two humanitarian disasters: the Central African Republic (displacement, Bangui airport, child soldiers) and Syrian refugee camps; Save the Children works in both; clip of Noor on feeding her son

  • ★★★ John says that in the Central African Republic a coup spiraled into sectarian violence, displacing hundreds of thousands and killing thousands; 40,000 people crowd the Bangui airport seeking food, medical supplies and safety. — 00:01:05
  • ★★ John says schools in the Central African Republic are closed and growing numbers of children are conscripted into militias, while Save the Children treats children injured by machetes and gunshots and offers basic health services. — 00:01:21
  • ★★★ John says Save the Children also works in the countries bordering Syria, where more than two million Syrians live in sprawling refugee camps, more than half of them children. — 00:01:34
  • ★★ John introduces a clip of Noor, a Syrian woman, talking about trying to feed her young son back in Syria. — 00:01:45
  • ★★ In the clip, Noor says her son's teeth have not come in as a child's should have by now (translation partly garbled; not in captions). — 00:01:54

00:02:05 — No aid group will fix it, but it does matter: Sammy, investing in children, distant people are our neighbors; vote for Save the Children; sign-off

  • ★★★ John says no aid organization will fix the disasters in Syria and the Central African Republic: malnutrition and disease come not only from lack of food and health care but from war, politics and decaying infrastructure. — 00:02:05
  • ★★★ John says the problem is so complex and overwhelming that it can feel as if nothing you do can matter, but it does matter. — 00:02:18
  • ★★ John introduces Sammy, whose siblings (in the clip) came to their mother saying they were hungry, and says Sammy no longer has to worry they won't eat; that is what Save the Children and others in the camps fight for. — 00:02:43
  • ★★★ John truly believes Sammy and more than a million children like him will be better off if Nerdfighteria partners with effective and efficient organizations like Save the Children. — 00:02:54 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ John says Noor is eight months pregnant and investing in her baby gives the child a better chance at school and a healthy life, two of the biggest predictors of adult success. — 00:03:05
  • ★★★ John says these people are worth investing in and, though they live far away, they are still our neighbors. — 00:03:15
  • ★★ John is convinced that helping these children now will eventually help everyone live in a more peaceful and just world. — 00:03:21
  • ★★★ John asks viewers to vote at projectforawesome.com for Save the Children and other organizations fighting poverty and disease in the developing world. — 00:03:28 · Project for Awesome, extreme poverty

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