8 Minute Movie

This 8 minute documentary was about Robert Thompson, who bought a water buffalo and gave it to a poor Chinese family. Water buffaloes are really valuble over there, because they are used for both farming and as a food source for up to half a year. The family consisted of four generations in four people: the great-grandmother, the grandmother, the father, and his daughter.

I really liked this video, and it got the message of helping people across in so many ways that The Singer Solution to World Poverty didn't. The message of The Singer Solution's message felt a lot like HEY, SELFISH PEOPLE, GIVE YOUR MONEY TO CHARITY. This movie also convinced and motivated the watcher/reader to help others, but it wasn't an accusation at all. When we donate money to charity, we don't really know where it goes. For some reason, I just can't picture the Chinese or Indian or African governments going door to door of the houses of poor families in their country and handing them wads of cash donated by Americans. Even though what they did with the water buffalo only helped one family, it really helped them. Also, helping people in the way they did with the water buffalo video has a lot more personal benefit than just calling some phone number and giving them your credit card number. Reading The Singer Solution didn't really make me want to go help people, but the video definately did. Seriously. Now I want to go water buffalo-shopping.

This video is a great example of what we humans are capable of if we want to be. Something as simple as buying a water buffalo for a family changed their lives forever. Juxtaposed with The Singer Solution to World Poverty showed the contrast between the two, though both were intended to inspire helping others. I know that I personally would rather change one family's life forever than to give the government of some country some of my money, maybe helping more peope but definately not as much.