These 8 Ice Bucket Spinoffs Challenge Hunger, War and Politics  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

The various Ice Bucket spin-offs in Lebanon, Côte d'Ivoire, United States, Gaza and Venezuela
The #IceBucket Challenge has proven people's willingness worldwide to take unusual showers on camera for a good cause.
The viral campaign for neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is meant to raise awareness and encourage donations to research. Participants film themselves dumping a bucket of ice water on their head and then nominating others to do the same within a certain amount of time or else donate to a charitable organization.
From Nepal to Venezuela, activists have created spin-off videos that draw awareness to other issues around the world. Take a look at eight of them:
Afghanistan has been marred by political deadlock since July 7. A few citizens have challenged politicians via an Ice Bucket Challenge-like video to find a consensus and move the country forward. The caption of the video on Facebook explains the idea :
We are feed [sic] up with the current political uncertainty of our country. We ask our leaders to accept the results of the second round while keeping it cool. We give this challenge to all Afghans and encourage them to make the same demand!
The “Lather Against Ebola” campaign invites people to pour soapy water on their heads to educate people on the transmission of Ebola virus, which has infected more than 3,000 and killed more than 1,500 in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Senegal. The hashtag for finding videos online is #MoussercontrerEbola.  Here is a video of one participant, Edith Brou in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire:
Not all videos are for medical causes. In Gaza, the Rubble Bucket Challenge is a variation on the Ice Bucket Challenge to spread awareness of the plight of children during Israel's deadly assault against strip. In the following video, the participant explains that :
We looked for water however the use of water is more important [here] than to empty it over our heads [..] We do not ask for material aids, we asked for solidarity positions
In Hyderabad, India, 38-year-old journalist Manju Latha gave the challenge a twist that would be more adapted to India. Gone is the ice, in with the rice. But during the Rice Bucket Challenge, meant to fight the problem of hunger in the region, there is no dumping of rice over your head. You simply pick up a bowl of rice and hand it to someone in need. Participants are asked to then post photos to Facebook under the #ricebucketchallenge hashtag. Here is a video of the Rice Bucket version of the challenge:
Drawing on the similar want for water in the region, a group of Lebanese made a lighter video of themselves “pouring” water they don't have on their heads:
Sometimes water is not the only resource lacking in some countries. To palliate the needs for many staple foods in Nepal, Global Voices author Sanjib Chaudhary reports that the #FillTheBucket initiative is gaining steam. He explains that:
The person taking the challenge needs to buy a bucket with lid and a mug and fill the bucket with essentials ranging from rice, pulse to medicines and sanitary pads. The bucket goes to the recent landslide and flood victims in Nepal.
This video from Aakar Anil explains how the challenge works :
The month of August was rocked by protests over the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and other instances of police brutality directed at black men. To highlight the need to reduce gun violence, actor Orlando Jones poured a bucket of bullets over his head. He explains the reason for his gesture:
the ALS Association is a completely worthy and incredible organization. They've raised millions of dollars, which is kind of amazing […] I wanted to do what ALS did, co-opt a viral thing and make it my own, to talk about the insanity happening in Ferguson and just around the world. My parents are like, “It's the '60s again. “Those shell casings in my video represent the people who paid the ultimate cost for the freedoms we have today. I couldn't find enough bullets to dump on myself to illustrate the number of people who gave their lives for a very important ideal.
Actor Matt Damon also made the challenge his using toilet water to draw attention to a worldwide problem: access to safe drinking water and sanitation:
Waste of water is the most common criticism of the Ice Bucket Challenge. In Venezuela, Global Voices Venezuelan author Laura Vidal signals that “somebody from Maracaibo city (a particularly hot city in the West of Venezuela) made a video to denounce the lack of water it the region. The video has had over 38k visits.” Here is the video:
There are most certainly other spin-off videos form other countries for various causes out there worth mentioning. Let us know in the comment sections if you know of videos we have missed.