Words by Blacka Di Danca
Fans of dancehall know Ricardo “Mundo” Gordon– aka Mundo Ravers– as a leader of the influential dance crew Ravers Clavers, and the creator of such dances as “Sassa Step” and “Follow Thru.” After years of going to battle for dancehall, Mundo is now fighting a critical war of his own, having been diagonsed with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a disease that attacks the kidney’s filtering system, causing serious scarring.
Mundo has been in and out of hospitals in the USA and Jamaica, undergoing treatment from home and in medical centers. His treatment calls for him to have tubes in his chest and arm for four hours per day, three times per week, but, due to financial constraints, he’s only able to do it twice a week. Mundo, his family and doctors are now looking at possibilities for him to do a kidney transplant in Cuba, but he will need to raise minimum funds of $60,000. A kidney donor is already on hand. He is now experiencing glaucoma in the eye, hair loss, discoloring of skin and heart problems. Watch this video to see and hear Mundo’s testimony.
As a dancehall choreographer, I want to do what I can to spread awareness. I teach Mundo’s dances in my classes and I perform his steps in parties, so it’s my duty as part of the culture to lend a hand. I’ll be out of the country for the next three months teaching workshops in Europe and South America, so unfortunately I can’t host a fundraising class, but I want to use my network and fanbase to contribute. So today, I’m issuing the #FollowThruChallenge. We can do something about this unfortunate situation just by reposting and sharing this challenge with everyone you know that loves dancehall, or who just wants to support a great cause.
Here’s the instructions:
1. Make a video doing Mundo’s dance “Follow Thru.”
2. Post the video on Facebook, Vine, Youtube, Twitter or Instagram.
3. Hashtag #FollowThruChallenge.
4. Attach this link to your video in the description or comments: http://www.danceja.com/dance-for-mundo/
5. Donate anything you can (the donation information can be found in the link above)
6. Nominate your friends, favorite dancers, favorite artists/musicians to do the #followthruchallenge. They have 24 hours to complete this challenge.
We all can do his and Ravers Clavers dances in parties and normal YouTube videos, so now let’s do it for a cause. If we do it together, we can help tremendously. One dance video can help save a life!
If you would like to donate money to assist Mundo with his treatments, as well as to contribute to the kidney transplant operation, you may send cash to him directly through the bank or via money transfer, with the following information:
NAME: RICARDO GORDON
LOCATION: KINGSTON, JAMAICA
BANK DEPOSIT INFO: Scotia Bank – A/C# 923598 – Address: 61325 Premier Branch, Kingston, Jamaica