When Ed Sheeran filmed a documentary for the Comic Relief movement, he took a trip to Liberia. But for him, it was more than just his duty as a celebrity – he knew he wanted to help those in need. What he learned while he was there broke his heart.
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One boy he met was named JD. JD and a group of his friends had nowhere to go. They slept in canoes on the shore of the beach in one of Liberia’s worst slums. JD’s mother and grandfather passed away from the Ebola virus, and his father abandoned him. Since then, he has not had anyone to look after him.
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JD has big dreams. He wants to be the president one day and work to ensure that all children can go to school and that all families have food. He misses going to school and life has been rough for him. He and his five friends live on a single cup of water and a small piece of bread daily, and every day is dangerous for them. They have been beaten, raped, and stolen from, although they already have nothing.
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But after filming wrapped, Ed Sheeran couldn’t leave JD and his friends alone there. He knew he had to do something. So he brought them to Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia, and set up JD and his five friends in a house with his own money, where a woman named Ma oversees them and looks after them.
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JD can’t wait to start going to school again, and he loves having someone who cares for him again. He’s thankful to Ed and those filming the documentary for helping him, and we have to give kudos to Ed for truly doing all that he could.
