Jolie and Pitt wield their celebrity power for 'good'

By April MacIntyre Jun 19, 2006, 2:02 GMT

Celebrities can expend their energies doing things detrimental, in the long run, to their careers and legacies.  Fusses at hot nightclubs like "Hyde", 11th hour walkouts in pre-production on film sets, serial car accidents and drunken, slanderous diatribes are some of the ways. 

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Bono and George Clooney buck that trend, and have by example educated their fans to causes worthy of our attention.  There is much to do still in the continent of Africa, and it is all too easy to forget that children there are constantly in perilous and unconscionable living situations.

According to 'Jason', Chief blogger and journalist of Zenformation Pro.com, the American obsession with shallow info-tainent is working his last nerve.  "It sure was nice of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to raise the profile of the nation of Namibia, but I'll start reading the tabloids when they quit publishing this Brangelina garbage and start talking about the Namibians who welcomed the couple with open arms.

Are you a desperately-spoiled housewife, overly obsessed with Brangelina? Well...how about dumping those subscriptions to People and Us Weekly, saving those pennies, and planning the next family vacation around a trip to the Kavango Region?  …your tourist dollars could sure help out a lot of children."
Indeed.  The result of the recent birth of baby Shiloh has sparked increased tourism and commerce in the African county of Namibia.

According to the website AllAfrica.com, "Namibia: Tourists are flocking to Kavango.  Camera-toting tourists by their dozens, awash in hard currency and South African rands, are flocking to the Kavango Region to cruise by boat on its pristine river and to catch a glimpse of the wide variety of game, while also indulging in fishing.
Several hospitality establishments such as the Sarasungu River Lodge, Ngandu Lodge, Mashare Lodge, Kavango River Lodge, Hakusembe River Lodge and Mahangu River Lodge as well as numerous bed-and-breakfast establishments are scoring from the upsurge in tourism.

Though the region's overall numbers of tourists are low compared to the crowds roaming parks in neigh-bouring Botswana, tourists from Angola, South Africa, Germany, the UK, USA, Netherlands, Denmark, Finland and other affluent countries visit this north-eastern region."