This Ghanaian Kid Became A Gigantic Meme And Now People Are Donating To His School Fees

    "When I first saw the [number of] likes on the memes, I thought, What if these people could help Jake?" his former teacher told BuzzFeed News.

    This studious little guy is 5-year-old Jake Amo from a village called Asempanaye, in Ghana.

    You: But I was here just 30 minutes ago, do you really have to sign me in again? New Security Guard:

    A picture of him doing his schoolwork went hugely viral online and became a giant meme.

    facebook.com

    "Dear Slim, I wrote you but you still ain't calling I left my cell, my pager, and my home phone at the bottom"

    People have edited Jake on to popular South African rapper AKA's album cover.

    He's probably writing "Always had a dream that I would be the Super Mega, on my first offical meme but they treat m… https://t.co/xqne17Ctr4

    Given him multiple hairstyles.

    "Dear diary, The world has been rid of men. And I sit here and realise that even in death, men are still scum."

    Made him a member of parliament.

    Jake famous kid MEME now is the member of parliament

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    The meme reached French Twitter.

    BuzzFeed News spoke to his former teacher Solomon Adufah who posted the picture of Jake 43 weeks ago. It was taken by photographer Carlos Cortes.

    Adufah, 27, lives in Chicago but often goes back to Ghana, his home country, to volunteer as a primary school teacher. "People were texting and tagging me in the memes," he said. "Some were negative and that's not what I saw in Jake. It's like having a relative and everyone's making fun of them."

    Adufah said Jake is a "very special child", adding: "He is the tiniest person in the class and he'd always sit next to me whenever we had study and creative lessons. He was very quiet, shy, and had a tiny voice."

    But he quickly noticed that "when it comes down to the work, Jake's work really stood [out] ... which shows you don't have to be the loudest in the class" to make an impact.

    Despite his mixed feelings about the meme, Adufah realised the global reaction could be an opportunity to make a positive difference. He set up a GoFundMe page and will use the money raised to not only contribute to Jake's primary and secondary education tuition, but other pupils too.

    "The fund doesn't just affect Jake," Adufah said. "It will also help his friends. When I first saw the [number of] likes on the memes, I thought, What if these people could help Jake?"

    He said he wants to support "child education in rural areas like Asempanaye, [which is] far from the main town".

    Adufah, who is in touch with Jake's parents and his school in Asempanaye to keep them in the loop, said Jake has no idea he became an internet meme. He said the school is also amazed by the reaction to Jake's picture and the willingness to help support children in their village.

    To date, $9,265 (£7,717) has been raised.

    To find out more about the campaign, you can read more here.