I pride myself on trying to uncover interesting, creative people who are using the web to do some good. I’d say I’m pretty good at it, but some days I get completely blown out of the water. Friday was one of those days.

“What happened?” you may be asking. Well, I was contacted by one Michael Wright, a podcaster and film maker I’ve grown to respect immensely, and he had a story to tell me. A story I will share with you here.

You see Michael is making a film about a man named Fred Tumwebaze. Fred is from Jinga, Uganda. Fred lost most of his family to AIDs and for a long time Fred’s one and only possession was a dairy cow.

I talk about embracing constraints a lot around here, and if you can beat Mr. Tumwebaze’s constraints, well I’d like to hear about it.

That could have been the end of the story, except Fred decided to do something. He sold his cow and opened a school (Omega School), today it educates and feeds over 500 kids per day.

This is where Michael re-enters our story and the power of good people and good technology comes in.

Fred Tumwebaze is now in LA with Michael and if everything goes according to plan, he will be sharing his story with many of the biggest movers and shakers in Social Media — several of which have already committed to helping Fred spread his message, and helping educate his team of volunteers on how best to use the Internet to do it cheaply and effectively.

I’m nothing short of thrilled to do my small part in helping.

If I’ve learned anything about the Internet it’s this: the real power of it is when people with platforms decide to use them to spread messages that matter. Fred’s story and the many like his are examples of just that.

I’d encourage all of you to visit Michael’s site and follow this story as it develops.

While you’re here, you should probably take a look at my newest project — All the Little Things — building great ideas on the web.
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If you enjoyed that why not find a job or read our guide to working in the 21st century. You can also join our Kiva team or hire me for your project.