Posted on Monday, July 7th, 2014 by Will Hagle
Surrogaid is a fictional NGO created by real organization War Child in order to emphasize that the only people who can help children in war-torn nations are the mothers and families there who need monetary support from abroad.
Surrogaid is an ad campaign created by War Child that gives visitors the false sense that helping children in war-torn countries could be as simple as clicking a few
times on a website. The site is set up as if it actually is the home to a futuristic NGO, and it’s well-designed enough to be believable. The homepage describes Surrogaid as “The revolutionary way to remotely donate motherhood online,” and it gives visitors three choices on how to do so. You can “prepare a casserole” by clicking through ingredients, “Lull a child to sleep” by remotely cradling a baby with a robotic arm, or “Hug a child” using remote-operate prosthetics. There are even detailed demos for each option, allowing you to actually carry out whatever activity is described.
Donate to War Child to Help Make a True ImpactAfter progressing through the first few steps of a particular donation activity, War Child explains that the whole thing is a sham. The organization then explains that simply clicking around the web will do nothing to actually have a positive impact on mothers and children in war-torn nations. War Child, on the other hand, was created in order to support mothers and families in war-torn nations by educating them and helping them in their professional pursuits. The organization operates on the principle that knowledge, education and success will be passed down from parents to children and that that positive cycle will be perpetuated. While you can’t actually donate a virtual hug on the site, you can donate money. There’s a dedicated page that allows visitors to give a donation of any monetary value. Overall, the site is a smart way to catch visitors attention and emphasize the fact that true change does not come from clicks, as some other sites suggest.
