MrBeast is giving away free breakfast in African schools to discourage child labor on cocoa farms

Adding to his list of philanthropic ventures, YouTube megastar Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson is in the process of giving out free breakfast meals to school children in Africa. This venture aims to mitigate and reduce the risk of child labor, especially in cocoa farms which are predominant in West Africa. Donaldson's rationale is that these children are more likely to attend school if food is given out to them.

In the past, Jimmy has used his wealth and fame to support certain communities within the African continent. For example, In 2023, his organization, Beast Philanthropy, constructed 100 clean water wells across countries including Cameroon, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Now, considering that over one-fifth of children in sub-Saharan Africa aged approximately 6 to 11 are out of school, MrBeast is using a free-breakfast-giveaway approach in an attempt to improve the classroom turnout for school-going children. Here's what the YouTuber had to say on X:

"To help get kids out of child labor on cocoa farms in West Africa we started giving away free breakfast at schools (kids are more likely to go if they know they will be fed) and one school’s attendance is already up 10% in the first week."

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MrBeast claims he is "learning" about getting children in Africa away from child labor and into schools

MrBeast seems dedicated to this cause and stated that he aims to learn as much as possible in order to relocate as many children from cocoa farms to schools:

"I’m probably 2 to 3 thousand hours into learning how I can get as many of the 1,500,000 kids in child labor in West Africa off farms and into schools."

In addition to constructing wells, the YouTuber has provided shoes and offered medical aid to children in parts of the continent. Through his multiple charitable ventures in Africa, Donaldson claims he has gained significant knowledge about child labor and the problems affecting children's education in the region:

"I’ve surrounded myself with the greatest minds and I feel like I know more about child labor in Africa than I do YouTube now lol. Over these next 12 months, I hope to make a lot of progress and bring you all along for the journey. I fear if someone with my influence can’t fix this, no one can. I’m dedicated to this mission."

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In other news, MrBeast's company, Beast Industries, which has stakes in brands like Feastables and Lunchly, is expected to generate $900 million in revenue during 2025.