How Bono and Second Life could lift millions out of poverty

Over 80% of the world lives on less than $10 a day, and almost half the world lives on $2.50 a day[1]. We’re constantly told to do something about this but perhaps the solution is already around us. Games, laptops, celebrities and creativity could save millions from poverty…really?

The computer game community is an international phenomenon. Games such as ‘Second life’ have attracted a vast number of players. ‘Second Life’ itself has around two million gamers while others have topped that, such as the colossal ‘World of Warcraft’ (WoW) community which consists of nine million loyal players. These types of role play games are notorious for their ability to completely absorb their users into a virtual world where the players’ imagination is the limit, each user spending an average of twenty hours a week immersed in their ‘world’. These numbers make an opportunity to get a piece of the pie irresistible for many. The variety of methods to make money from playing these games is freely available on the internet, for instance ‘levelling’ or selling ‘gold’. From your level 80 Gnome you can make $1000! So how exactly does everything else link in? [2]

                Occupants of slums regularly ‘borrow’ electricity. The most popular ways of doing so are primarily by connecting cables from main power-cables directly to their homes, whilst the other is to connect their appliances to public facilities. Their ingenious methods have allowed them to improve their standard of living, but there is a clear distinction which needs to be diminished between lighting a light bulb and being able to surf the web or playing games. [3]

                ‘One Laptop Per Child’ is a non profit organisation which has the aim of providing a laptop for each child in poverty in the hope that it would enable them to explore and essentially learn. The inception of $100 laptops has allowed such charities to blossom. The trend of technology prices would dictate that the price of laptops will continue to decrease and already there is talk of a $7 laptop. That’s under £4.50/ €5.00! That’s less than the average price of a pizza! [4]

                This is where Bono comes in. His musical talent and particularly his on-stage antics may overshadow his two nominations for the Nobel peace prize, EDUN fair-trade clothing line, ‘RED’ campaign and many others activities. However his charitable work and popularity entwine to form a highly influential man who has the ability to provide those less fortunate with the prospect of a bright future. Not only does he captivate the general public but also his fellow A-listers, such as George Clooney who recently hosted an event raising $10 million for charity. It seems that adoption, in Madonna’s case, and public displays of charitable performances are ever increasing.[5]

                Putting this all together and sending it a few years into the future would cough up a hopeful prospect for those living in deprived countries. Cheaper laptops would allow charities to provide them to a greater number of children, given they continue to receive funding from the ‘Bono and Co.’ and of course us, the public. Children in slums with their imaginative means would have access to electricity and the internet creating a gateway to countless opportunities to make money. Games such as WoW would potentially provide the children with a means to lift themselves out of poverty. A bag of rice which would feed a family of seven for two weeks costs $34. The ‘Gnome’ which we can sell for $1000 dollars could feed a child and six of his family members for over 29 weeks, that’s over half a year! So, computer games, laptops, slums and Bono coalesce to form a potential answer to transforming millions of people’s scarce and harsh lifestyle into one in which they can not only eat but learn and flourish.

This blog was written by Kareem Hassan, an intern at Naked Generations in 2009.