This video captures a social experiment: a hidden camera records how people respond to the sight of a shivering child (don’t worry, he’s an actor) with no coat at a bus stop is Oslo, Norway. The goal is to raise awareness and funds for a campaign to provide coats to Syrian children. The idea is that in the winter time, displaced children in Syria need coats just as much as this young boy, even if you don’t see them shivering.
By the end of the video I had tears streaming down my face, which was no surprise since I have come to terms with how motherhood has changed me.
I think this is a really effective way to spread the word that children in Syria need coats. It is easy to ignore the situation when it is just something you hear on the news, and it’s taking place on the other side of the world, but the little boy in this video puts a face on the situation. It is heartbreaking to think how many children (and adults for that matter) are cold or hungry or sick, and they could be helped if only we could all share the little extra that we have.
Obviously it’s a little more complicated than that because there are logistics involved in transporting and distributing donations, there is corruption and lack of infrastructure to overcome, and there are deeply entrenched cycles of violence and injustice that must be broken in order for hope to shine through. This video is a great reminder though that when people are faced with a need they can meet, they are very often happy to do so.
Is there a need you can meet? I’m going to write a letter to our sponsor child to remind her we love and pray for her.
If you own more coats than you wear, would you consider finding a local agency that could connect those coats that hang in your closet year round with a person in your area who is cold this Winter? My first year at Tyndale I was given a winter coat and mittens by a girl on residence who saw that my coat wasn’t really warm enough for the bitter Toronto cold. I think I will always remember how great it was to have a simple need met with no strings attached.