The 22 Pushup Challenge has gone viral using social media to raise awareness to the epidemic of post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide among military veterans in the USA but one South African is using the concept to make a difference in his community.
The goal of the challenge is to utilize the power of social media to combat the stigma surrounding veteran suicide.
The challenge seems to have originated from 22Kill in the USA… an organisation that seeks to raise awareness and funds for veterans’ mental health initiatives.
The 22 represents the highly-cited stat for the number of veterans, on average, who die by suicide each day (although that statistic is lacking context and possibly based on outdated or incomplete numbers).
The trend has gone viral globally with many celebrities jumping on board but in South Africa… one man is adapting the challenge to make a difference in his community… again.
Brent Lindeque unwittingly started a social media revolution in 2014 through his positive spin on #neknominations.
Building on the foundation of a viral, spontaneous act of positivity, Lindeque, a young South African man turned the reckless drinking game #neknominaitons on it’s head, by using his nomination to instead, perform a random act of kindness.
By giving a homeless man a $2 meal, and using the power of social media to “pay-it-forward” his nomination went viral and helped share kindness to millions around the world.
And he’s doing it again.
Lindeque has decided that he would take the 22 day challenge and use it to feed 22 people while nominating others to do the same.
“It apparently originated from America and the whole concept is to do a bunch of pushups for 22 days for the veterans who suffer from PTSD.”
“I believe in it & it’s an amazing cause.”
“But in South Africa, the number 22 means something a little bit different. More than 22% of our population don’t eat everyday… thats our reality.”
The Cliffcentral radio host & founder of GoodThingsGuy.com is using his platform to feed South Africa… one person at a time.
“I am pledging everyday to feed someone less fortunate for 22 days and everytime I do, I will nominate someone to do the same.”
https://youtu.be/EDiDZOlvhwk
#22daysSA. Feed one person everyday for 22 days. Nominate someone to do the same. Change one thing. Change everything.
He was inspired to do something different when he noticed that baby formula products in South African supermarkets, have alarms systems on them to try curb theft.
“I was grocery shopping and noticed that the baby food had alarm sensors on them. I was so heartbroken… how could we be living in a country where people are in a place where they need to steal food for their babies. It’s been on my mind ever since… and then I got nominated & knew I had to do something different.”
For Lindeque’s first task… he went back to the store and bought the baby formula to share with moms who needed it.
He posted his #22daysSA pic on Instagram and nominated his friend Mark Sham to do good things too!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BK04uikjFbN
For day 2, Lindeque packed a lunch bag to give someone in need… he nominated Helen Desbois who gladly accepted the challenge!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BK2LGwoDeIh/
But something even more amazing was starting to happen… people all over social media are joining the #22daysSA challenge, without even being nominated!
Imagine if a million people jump on board to help each other by doing one small thing everyday… together, we would feed 22 million people in just over 3 weeks!
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