MrBeast Builds a City to End Child Labor

MrBeast announced a year-long, nearly $10 million project to build a city in Ghana, marking it as the largest video project in YouTube's history.

The construction began with pouring concrete for solid, long-lasting foundations for the first houses in the new neighborhood.

This extensive effort is aimed at permanently removing children from illegal labor, particularly in cocoa farms.

Students face challenges such as long travel distances, unhygienic classrooms, and oppressive heat, which hinder their ability to learn effectively.

Providing a proper educational environment is seen as a direct way to reduce child labor, as increased school attendance means fewer children working on cocoa farms.

Severe flooding frequently separated two communities, preventing children from reaching the newly constructed school due to a narrow drainage pipe.

The existing tunnel, only three feet wide, proved insufficient to manage the heavy rainwater.

To counter this, two new drainage pipes, each four feet wide, were installed.

After two weeks of work through adverse weather, the bridge area is now protected, ensuring reliable daily access to the school for all students.

To ensure community-led development, MrBeast and his team gathered future citizens of the city to create a priority list of necessary buildings, specifically identifying a market as a primary need to ensure consistent access to food.

A market was identified as a primary need to ensure consistent access to food and economic opportunities for the residents.

Connecting a well to solar panels and large storage tanks, each with a capacity equivalent to over 10,000 water bottles, provides the entire city with clean water to combat the previously high sickness rates caused by unsafe consumption.

Each water tank boasts a capacity exceeding 10,000 water bottles, ensuring ample supply for the community.

Previously, the community experienced high rates of sickness due to the consumption of unsafe water.

Solar-powered storage allows the system to provide running water even at night, when the solar panels are not actively generating power.

To support the community's future through physical health and nutrition, the team constructed a football field alongside a self-sustaining farm equipped with a protective fence and a chicken coop to ensure long-term food security.

The farm includes a protective fence to shield crops and livestock from wild animals, along with a chicken coop as part of the initiative to support the community's future through physical health and nutrition.

MrBeast identified the community's existing bathroom facilities as inadequate and slated them for immediate replacement to improve local sanitation.

MrBeast reviewed the substantial progress made on the village construction over the preceding five months, noting the rapid development.

The project has successfully established new homes, markets, a school, and integrated solar-powered infrastructure.

The team is now undertaking final tasks, including furnishing the school and library, to prepare for the villagers' arrival.

Significant work remains, but the village is nearing completion, ready to welcome its new residents.

MrBeast highlighted the unusual involvement of CEOs in manual labor for humanitarian projects, commending their direct contributions.

The team also promoted Neuro Gum, detailing its composition of 40mg of natural caffeine, L-theanine, and vitamins B6 and B12.

The product is sugar-free, aiming to offer a healthier alternative while supporting the philanthropic endeavor.

MrBeast consulted directly with the future students of the village to incorporate their ideas into the playground design.

The playground features a merry-go-round, a swing, and a seesaw, all chosen based on the children's specific requests.

New houses in the village are specifically designated for teachers who are being relocated to the community.

Isaac, a local teacher, currently shares two small rooms with his wife and three children.

These two rooms are part of a larger house that is shared by a dozen other families, highlighting the urgent need for improved living conditions.

The village project includes a fully functional farm designed with sustainable technology, producing crops such as corn, yams, cabbage, peas, beans, and peppers.

An innovative aquaponic system is integrated into the farm, utilizing fish waste from tanks to fertilize the plants, creating a symbiotic relationship.

The site also features a comprehensive irrigation pipeline to ensure efficient and optimal water distribution for all crops.

The village officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, held after a year of intensive planning and construction, involving thousands of hours contributed by hundreds of workers and volunteers.

The school facilities were unveiled, featuring ten new classrooms specifically built to accommodate hundreds of students.

Each classroom is equipped with essential amenities, including fans and electricity, to create a conducive learning environment.

This significant educational infrastructure aims to support the academic growth of the village's children.

A new marketplace was developed, providing immediate access to essential goods such as plantain chips, eggs, tomatoes, and palm oil.

This marketplace eliminates the need for families to travel for hours to acquire food, significantly improving convenience and reducing hardship.

The village also features a new community center, which includes a library, a medical clinic, and a communal farm to foster self-sufficiency.

A large-scale chicken coop was installed as part of the communal farm, providing a sustainable source of food for the local community.

Each individual unit is equipped with modern kitchen facilities, including a stove, a working sink, and a refrigerator.

Private sanitary facilities, such as indoor showers, were installed in each home to significantly improve living conditions and ensure hygiene for all residents.

The naming signifies the formal establishment and identity of the village.

He called on viewers to consciously choose ethically-sourced cacao to stimulate industry-wide changes and challenge exploitative practices.

He stressed that the continued success of brands like Feastables, which prioritize ethical sourcing, is crucial for demonstrating the viability of this model.

MrBeast emphasized that without collective consumer action, the persistent cycle of child exploitation in the cacao industry will remain unaddressed.