Millions across the globe celebrated during last years Olympics when Usian Bolt won a record four gold medals including being dubbed the World’s fastest man. It would come as a great surprise if in today’s headlines you read he had to give up his medals because he couldn’t keep up with the payment of the medals, right! It’s a rather awkward analogy. The show Extreme makeover: Home Edition on ABC has provided American viewers with some of the greatest heartwarming moments on TV resulting to it becoming a hit TV show.

The premise is simple a needy family gets their beat down house demolished and they a saddled into a bigger house. This grand event unfolds in front of the American viewing audience in the millions not forgetting the neighbors who campaigned for them to get the new house. The concern for me is not necessarily the show but after the show. The families are awarded a house and a mortgage. This is where the problem begins.

Reports are now surfacing about some of the families that were ‘awarded’ these houses having problems meeting their mortgages. The most recent being the Wofford’s a family of eight in Encinitas, California who got their house from the show and are now facing foreclosure. If I reflect back on Africa, I can recall shows where contestants could win a house. Whether it was a competition or a reward and you got the house. It was fully paid. The only thing you had to do, is maintain the property. These episodes of Extreme Makeover are starting to almost feel like the tenants are awarded this houses then out of nowhere Ashton Kucther shows up and says ‘You just got Punk’d, here is your mortgage’

The thing that’s missing in this show despite the title is an extreme makeover especially in the generosity department. May be they should give the show a new title ‘Very Extreme Makeover’ where they actually give the houses, mortgage included. Or they could take a page from Oprah who gave her entire studio audience cars. There haven’t been stories of them missing payments because the cars were GIVEN. The only problem they had to PAY TAXES ON A GIFT, that’s some bull. The biggest setback is that with millions of viewers generosity is getting a bad wrap for the generations that are growing with this show. America’s generosity needs a very extreme makeover.