Social media and short-video platforms are currently buzzing with a story involving American YouTuber MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson). Viral posts claim that MrBeast has spent around $10 million, or approximately ₹95 crore, to build a new village in Africa, where children will be provided free meals for five years.
The claim is based largely on a real event, but describing it simply as a “new village in Africa” leaves out important context. According to available official and credible sources, the project is located in Ghana’s Eastern Region and is known as Abna Dakwa Village. The initiative is not limited to constructing homes and other buildings; it is also aimed at reducing the risk of child labour in cocoa-growing communities, improving children’s access to education, and providing families with essential basic services.
What Is MrBeast’s Abna Dakwa Village ?
MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has been involved in social and philanthropic projects in several countries through his charitable organization, Beast Philanthropy. According to information that emerged in September 2026, he has developed a new community called Abna Dakwa in Ghana’s Eastern Region.
According to media reports, the project has cost around $10 million. However, it would not be appropriate to present this figure as an independently verified amount confirmed through a government audit. Therefore, from a factual perspective, it is safer to describe it as a project reported or stated to have cost approximately $10 million.
The project reportedly took around one year of planning and approximately eight months of construction to complete. It includes not only residential housing but also facilities related to education, healthcare, water, electricity, agriculture, and community services.
What Facilities Are Available in the Village ?
According to available reports, Abna Dakwa Village has a school with a stated capacity of more than 300 students. The project also includes 10 houses for teachers, a medical clinic, a marketplace, and other community facilities.
The project also features clean-water infrastructure, water towers, and an off-grid solar power system. This means that the initiative has been designed not simply as a housing project, but as a community where education and essential day-to-day facilities can be made available in one place.
In addition, reports mention agricultural facilities, fish tanks, and food-production systems. These facilities are intended to help strengthen local food production and livelihood opportunities within the community.
Children Will Receive Free Food for Five Years — What Is the Truth Behind the Claim ?
This part of the viral post is important, but it needs to be understood in the correct context.
The plan to provide free meals for five years is genuine. However, this does not mean that every child or every family in the entire village will receive free food for five years.
On September 17, 2026, The Rockefeller Foundation announced a partnership with Beast Philanthropy to develop community-led school meal programmes in Ghana’s Eastern Region. The initiative aims to improve children’s nutrition, learning, and school attendance, while also helping keep them away from child labour.
Therefore, the statement in the viral post that “children will receive free food for five years” should be expressed more accurately as follows:
Students attending schools associated with Abna Dakwa will have access to a school-meal programme for five years.
This distinction is important to avoid misunderstandings in the future.
The most important reason behind this entire project is the problem of child labour in Ghana’s cocoa-growing regions.
According to the International Cocoa Initiative, an estimated 1.56 million children were involved in child labour in cocoa-growing areas of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. This figure is based on a 2018/19 study, so it would not be accurate to describe it as a new estimate for 2026. The same study estimated that approximately 1.48 million children were involved in hazardous child labour.
UNICEF also states that child labour in Ghana is linked to factors such as poverty, limited access to education, and conditions in rural communities. Children face a higher risk of working in sectors such as agriculture and fishing.
This is why simply trying to send children to school is not considered sufficient on its own. If families lack adequate income, food, clean water, healthcare, and other basic necessities, the economic pressure for children to work may continue.
What Is Beast Philanthropy’s Broader Plan ?
Abna Dakwa Village should not be viewed separately from Beast Philanthropy’s broader child-labour initiative in Ghana.
According to Beast Philanthropy’s official information, the organization is working with 11 cocoa-farming communities in Ghana’s Eastern Region. The programme includes several components, including education, healthcare, clean water, school meals, household income support, and child-labour monitoring. The organization has stated a commitment of at least five years to the programme.
According to the organization, its approach is not limited to building infrastructure. It also includes income-generating activities such as Village Savings and Loan Associations, poultry farming, and small businesses. The aim is to improve the economic conditions of families and reduce the financial pressure that can lead them to send children to work.
As of September 2026, Beast Philanthropy also reports 10,167 direct beneficiaries under its Ghana initiative. This figure does not represent the total number of children across Ghana or West Africa; rather, it refers specifically to people who are directly connected to and benefiting from its programme.
Will This End the Problem of Child Labour in Ghana ?
It would be too early to make such a claim.
Providing schools, clean water, healthcare, food, and livelihood facilities in a community can help improve local conditions. However, child labour is a complex issue influenced by a range of economic and social factors.
According to the International Cocoa Initiative, conditions such as poverty, food insecurity, limited access to education, and inadequate access to drinking water and healthcare can increase the risk of child labour in cocoa-growing communities.
Therefore, the success of a project like this cannot be assessed solely by the number of buildings constructed. In the long term, it will be important to examine whether school attendance increases, hazardous child labour declines, household incomes improve, and the infrastructure remains functional and effective over time.
Claim 1: MrBeast built a new village in Africa.
Fact: Partially true, but the location needs to be specified. The project has been reported as Abna Dakwa Village in Ghana’s Eastern Region. Describing it simply as a project that MrBeast built across “Africa” can be misleading.
Claim 2: The project cost $10 million, or approximately ₹95 crore.
Fact: Several credible reports have cited a figure of around $10 million. However, this should not be presented as a final project cost independently verified through a government audit.
Claim 3: Children will receive free food for five years.
Fact: The basic claim is correct, but it relates specifically to a school-meal programme. The Rockefeller Foundation and Beast Philanthropy have partnered to support school-meal programmes in Ghana’s Eastern Region.
Claim 4: The purpose of the village is to help remove children from child labour.
Fact: The project, as well as Beast Philanthropy’s broader Ghana programme, is connected to this objective. It aims to address some of the economic factors associated with child labour through education, food security, livelihood support, and community development.
Overall Fact-Check
Overall, the central claim in the viral post is based on a real event, but several important details have been simplified.
MrBeast’s project is not a village built across “Africa” as a whole. Rather, it is a community development initiative known as Abna Dakwa Village in Ghana’s Eastern Region.
The project, reported to have cost approximately $10 million, includes facilities such as a school, teacher housing, healthcare services, clean-water infrastructure, solar power, and livelihood-related facilities. Meanwhile, the five-year free-meal provision is connected to a school-meal programme for students, supported through the partnership between the Rockefeller Foundation and Beast Philanthropy.
Most importantly, this project should be understood in the broader context of the child labour problem in Ghana. Beast Philanthropy’s programme combines infrastructure development with education, food support, income assistance, and child-labour monitoring. Its actual long-term impact will be better assessed in the coming years through measurable outcomes such as school attendance, household income, and child-labour indicators.
The viral claim is not entirely false; the underlying event is real. However, statements such as “MrBeast spent ₹95 crore to build a village in Africa and all children will receive free food for five years” need to be presented with greater clarity regarding the location, beneficiaries, and funding details.
Social Plugin