Venice Kids Stand with Afghan Kids!

Venice Kids: Jasper Bangs, Luca Messina, Degife Keller and Viggo Bergström painted a mural on the Venice Art Walls in support of impoverished Afghan kids on Feb. 27, 2022.

Jasper Bangs. Photo by Kristen Messina.

We asked Jasper Bangs why he and his peers created the mural? View his response below!

A message from Jasper Bangs: I was assigned a school project to help the community, and when I thought of helping the community, I remembered a person my dad talked about, a surgeon named Meena, who saved his life. She was one of the founders of this organization, Wellness Worldwide (wellnessworldwideprojects.org) that donates food and medical care to the poorest parts of Afghanistan. I thought it was a cool organization, so I wanted to make people aware of it so they could donate to it.

So what better thing to do than promote it in the neighborhood where I live? So I had the idea to create a mural or piece of art work so people could see it and donate to it, and that’s exactly what I did today. I invited three of my friends to help, and it was a fun project to work on together. We painted the base white, then used spray paint for the message and design. It was our first time using spray paint, so we learned a lot. I hope people donate because even though there’s a lot of crazy stuff going on in the world, Afghanistan is still suffering and we shouldn’t forget about that.

Luca Messina. Photo by Kristen Messina.

About Dr. Meena Said:

Dr. Meena Said is a local doctor from Afghanistan who is organizing this project in her spare time. Everyone involved is a volunteer so 100% of donations go directly to feeding vulnerable Afghans.

Here’s an article my dad wrote about the organization for some background.

thriveglobal.com/stories/a-bit-of-fragrance-clings-to-the-hand-that-gives-roses/

About Wellness Projects Worldwide:

Today, Meena and her team at Wellness Worldwide deliver complex medical care to critically-ill children in Afghanistan, have opened a free medical clinic in a refugee camp and are managing food distribution programs in times of crisis.

Wellness Worldwide is focused on feeding the thousands of displaced families across Afghanistan and they urgently need your help.

They are a purely volunteer-based organization with $0 overhead costs, which means 100% of your donations will go to help those who are in desperate need. Wellness Worldwide is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Gifts and donations are deductible to the full extent allowable under IRS regulations. They are not affiliated with any political organization, corporate or non-governmental organizations.

Photo courtesy of Wellness Projects Worldwide

While the world’s eyes are on Ukraine, millions of people are in danger of starving this winter in Afghanistan. For more info or to donate, go to wellnessworldwideprojects.org

–

All Venice photos courtesy of Jasper’s mom. Go team Venice Beach!