What does $150,000 buy?

If you're a professional musician, it can buy a music video -- the staff, the union workers, the catering, the make-up and lights and travel.

It can also buy clinics and medicine in Afghanistan, classrooms and books in Africa, shelter and movies for refugee camps, ambulances and irrigation and scholarships. And more, much more.

Musician Sarah McLachlan chose to spend the $150,000 allocated for the video for her song "World on Fire" on services for the world's needy. The full list of what the money bought is here. And she went ahead and made a video, for $15, showing what was done with the rest of the money, putting faces on the faceless.

It's kind of staggering what such a small amount of money can buy to make the world a bit more humane.

Wow. Watch the video -- it totally rocks, and I'm not much of a Sarah McLachlan fan.

She is, though, w/o a doubt, worldchanging as a mofo.

Posted by: Alex Steffen on October 18, 2004 6:45 PM

Beautiful video...
I just watched The Motor Cycle Diaries today, seems fitting to know more about the plight of the world's "poor" through a music video and a feature film, wonderful to see some one in the biz making powerful statements.

Thanks Sarah and worldchanging!

Posted by: Tawn Kennedy on October 18, 2004 11:23 PM

i think that was the saddest yet the most enlightening music video i have ever seen. thanks Sarah for making me realize that my life is not to be taken for granted. you have inspired me to try to make bigger difference for the better of those people.
i watched your music video b/c my Environmental science class was given this website to watch for extra credit and to write a one-page response. our whole class did this assignment, and let me say that the whole class was talking about it the next morning. you are seriously a great inspiration and has made me to think outside of my bubble.
Keep up the awesome work, and Thank You!

Posted by: Carona Yook on October 20, 2004 12:02 PM

Maybe its worthwhile to add that Sarah's video for World on Fire was inspired by an engineers without borders' letter from the field, posted on their website.

You can read more (and see Sarah's video) here.

Posted by: Chris Evans on October 26, 2004 11:18 PM

This is by far the most touching video i have ever seen, for the last 3 days ive been trying to figure out how to pay for a new computer. I dont really need it, its more of a want, i think i will donate a large portion of the money i have earmarked for my purchase to a better cause. There is now a no doubt video on, i wonder how much money it cost to make this piece of junk. Sadly, the lives we lead and the media in this country make it easy to forget, i dont want to forget.

Posted by: Ryan on November 5, 2004 2:33 AM