Do you remember, Wesseh Freeman, the "blind gas can guitar guy?" He was the viral sensation that was filmed singing on the streets in Liberia, Africa. Here's that original video:
That video chalked up over 800,000 hits on its original Youtube page. Several pirated versions of the video then hit Facebook and racked over a million hits.
All these web pages got traffic and ad revenue.
Wesseh is still homeless in Liberia.
But guess what? I've become friends with Wesseh through several kind folks over there who have put him on Skype with me. And...in a turn of events that can only be described as having "fingerprints of God" all over them, I have made contact with an American church who just happens to support a missionary pastor in Wesseh's neighborhood!
Let me repeat, I just made a secure financial connection between the "Master of the Gas Can" and the pastor in Liberia who's helping to take care of him.
Working together with missionary, George Monten Flomo (pictured, right), we have come up with a three part plan:
I'm starting with a basic fund drive to raise $600. Let's get him off the streets. You can donate via credit card through the secure EasyTithe website. You will even get a receipt for tax deductions.
NOTE: You must follow these steps for your donation to get to Wesseh and his provider, George:
1. Go to www.immersionoutfitters.com
2. Click the "Donate" tab
3. Again, hit "Click Here to Donate" in the new page
4. This will take you to the proper Easy Tithe page. Click "Quick Give (no login required).
5. Add your amount. IMPORTANT: Make sure to hit the drop down menu for "IO Liberia" fund.
Fill out the rest of the info.
George and I talk several times a week. Sometimes he even puts Wesseh on the phone so we can catch up. (I sometimes make them repeat things over and over as I get used to their deep Liberian accents!) I also communicate with George Ramirez, head of Immersion Outfitters located in Texas. They will let me know when the $600 mark has been met for this first goal. After that, we will set up the second and third objectives.
I am putting this charity together myself. This has been something I've wanted to do for a long time.
There is no Paypal donation yet. Maybe as I get this going, I can do that. However, I like the fact that your donations go directly to the ministry and are not funneled through my Paypal. You get an immediate email confirmation from them.
As far as updates, I will be creating a dedicated Facebook page for all of this, including photos and hopefully some new videos.
Someday, I want to start a band with Wesseh.
Shane Speal
July 2016
Comment
I know I've seen posts about 2 years rent paid somewhere on the nation megasphere somewhere some where else one social media
. Post a link here!! It's 2017 and we did the PayPal thing to support a cool dude!
Shane.
That's great. Thanks for all you normally do, but especially for what you're doing for Wasseh. Helping each other out across the world... If that's not the best use ever for the Internet, then I don't know what is.
PBlanton, I'm with ya. This current solution is the absolute best I can offer for right now. it took a long time to find a reputable source for sending funds to Liberia. When I heard about this American ministry, I had them set up the special IO Liberia account just for us.
I talk to the Liberian pastor a couple times a week. I'm waiting to hear the early results from the American ministry. I'm pretty sure we got enough to secure him a room so far.
My end goal is not to just throw money at Wesseh, but to work toward something sustainable in his town through this ministry.
I donated $20 to Wesseh, but I'm used to a better donation experience. I picked the IO Liberia fund, but I wanted to see a little graph that shows how much of the $600 has been reached. With all that missing, I at least wanted a text field where I could type in exactly what I wanted this donation to go to.
I held my breath and clicked [Submit] with the hope that 100% of the money will make it to Wesseh.
Need a video of him playing with the new guitar!
good on you Shane , real good ;-)
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