Matt Damon in South Africa

I am always happy to speak about the positive actions of entertainers and celebrities. So often the actions that many of these stars take are hollow and for the cameras. But there are a few that really stand out, and believe in the causes they bring attention to. Matt Damon is among those few, in my opinion.

Today, Damon was photographed as he went to a Musina in South Africa, near the border of Zimbabwe. The reason he was there was to bring attention to the plight of refugees escaping the dire situation in Zimbabwe. 3 million have fled the country since 2000, and Damon listened to some of their stories.

One story included a woman that had fled Zimbabwe. On her journey to South Africa she was raped, while she was pregnant. It was stories like this that I believe lead Damon to state he was

“shocked and saddened" by the plight of the people he had spoken to. He said conditions were "untenable" and called on international and regional leaders to take action.”

When he says this is untenable, he isn’t underestimating the need. There are some 2,000 children without family in the town that Matt Damon visited, not to mention adults. UNICEF is particularly worried about the children. Abuse is far too probable an outcome, so they are working with Save the Children to try to register and provide some help to these kids.

Were it not for the actions of Damon, I guarantee that people in the U.S. would never have heard of this city or the dangers to these children. Instead most would just hear the rumors of Michael Jackson going back on-tour. Obviously you can see which I think is more important.

Matt Damon is also the founder of H20 Africa Foundation. The cause is to raise awareness about clean water initiatives in Africa. As I said before, I enjoy mentioning when entertainers really step up to do something positive with their fame.

In My Name - Will.i.am, celebrites, dignitaries, and you around the world

I realize that over the last couple of weeks the main issue facing the nation has been the bailout of the financial markets, and the mortgage crisis that spurred it. But that is hardly the only thing that has been happening in the world, or this nation.

While the major news media has been forecasting bail out deal after bailout deal, which keeps getting denied by various Senators and Representatives, and predicting what might or might not happen if the deal does or does not get done they have forgotten to cover celebrities, entertainers, and dignitaries that are reminding the world of the promises made to end poverty and combat disease.

In 2000 world leaders came together in the United Nations to create the Millennium Development Goals. The promise was to end poverty in the world, reduce those afflicted by pr the potential of diseases like Malaria and AIDS, increase access to healthcare, and improve the opportunity and quality of education by 2015. We are now halfway to that date, and far too many nations have forgotten about the promise they made. But concerned people have not.

Will.i.am has been in the forefront of multiple celebrities, entertainers, and world dignitaries and Youtube in generating attention to the promise made by our leaders. For 2 days he and Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Scarlett Johansson, Annie Lennox, John Legend, Wyclef Jean, Fergie, Angelique Kidjo, Kristin Davis, Elle Macpherson and many others, not to mention organizations including GCAP, Oxfam International, Save the Children and Comic Relief, have joined together to create the new channel on Youtube called “in my name”.

On this channel you the public and citizenry of the world have the opportunity to introduce yourself, your nation, and your message to the leaders of the world and your country to live up to the promises they made in 2000. Youtube will be accepting your videos, or video pettion if you prefer, until November 1st. At that point Will.i.am will be taking the best videos and mashing-up to form a single video set to the new song In My Name (dedicated to this cause) that will be presented to the entire United Nations.

We can only hope that world leaders will be moved by this expression of international care and attention. We must demand that moved or not, world leaders act as they have promised us they will. I am reminded of a line from a great movie you may have seen (and if you didn’t go see it) called V for Vendetta

“People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.”

The fear in this case is that we, the people have not forgotten what was promised on our behalf, nor those that are in need. That we hold the true power our Governments use, and determine how that power should be used.

The major media may not care that so many across the world remember the promises made, but I like many others do. And I believe that me must be held to our words. Because the world is not a varying number of individual countries but in the end just a collection of people, and none deserve to live in poverty or with sickness or in hunger.