The "Tower Heist" actor, Ben Stiller, is not only noted for hilarious comic timing but also for his philanthropy.
Architectural Digest, one the most sophisticated publications in the sea of architecture and décor journals, appreciated Stiller's 'inspiring' work in rebuilding and rejuvenating schools in the slowly-recovering republic of Haiti.
Apparently, Stiller first visited Haiti nine months before the earthquake shook the region. The conditions in Haiti were pitiable even before the disaster occurred.
After the tour, Stiller launched an online campaign, StillerStrong, to fund a community school, the Cévérine Community School, started by international aid organization, Save the Children. Stiller collaborated with Causecast, a community service management firm, to produce viral comic videos featuring Owen Wilson, Robert DeNiro, Lance Armstrong, Ryan Seacrest and even former U.S. President Bill Clinton. The campaign raised around $300,000 and also received a generous donation of $100,000 by Bulgari. The school was revived and inaugurated in 2011.
Following the success of Cévérine Community School and the shattering earthquake in 2010, Stiller declared that he would work towards building eight more schools in Haiti. In late 2011, the actor visited Haiti and announced that his foundation, The Stiller Foundation, would be partnering with Digicel, a major mobile operator in the Caribbean. It is currently working toward rebuilding the damaged schools.
In his welcome note on the Stiller Foundation home page, Stiller says poverty is a major problem and one of the ways to solve it is education.
"Unfortunately, for many children around the world, access to education is a formidable challenge, and in many areas, non-existent. That is why our foundation has made the challenges of poverty and education its focus. And right now we are focusing our efforts on helping Haiti." Stiller writes.
Stiller explains that schools in Haiti have become the access point of basic needs like food and water.
Stiller's constant efforts were also recognized by TIME magazine. He appeared in the TIME 100 list for his charity work.
However, Stiller is not the only celebrity trying to make recuperation easier and faster for the Haitians. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Brad and Angelina Jolie, George Clooney and some other prominent names of tinseltown have extended help towards the ailing region.
Of late, The Archbishop of Port-au-Prince announced the winning rebuilding design for The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, which was destroyed in the earthquake.
More recently, Sean Penn, who is the ambassador for Haiti's President and also the CEO of aid group, J/P Haitian Relief Organization, called the progress in the region "extraordinary". He asserted that the streets that smelled of dead bodies three years ago now have music playing in those same places, reports Dawn.
Indeed, the resilient people of Haiti have survived the worst. As the world comes together to support the broken region, the place is recuperating amazingly.
