We are so happy to announce our newest partnership with Samara Lectures, a full-service lecture company working with college campuses and conferences across the US.
Samara Lectures represents speakers who have dedicated their lives to telling their inspiring, socially relevant stories. I was truly impressed by the caliber of their roster, and feel humbled to be in the company of such talented authors, artists and activists.
They provide outstanding support and representation to their speakers at every stage in their careers, whether through career development, increasing awareness about an issue, or advancement of an organizational mission.
We look forward to seeing where this partnership takes us…
Earlier this summer, my parents hosted a screening of our film at the Watering Hole in Moshi, Tanzania . All the funds raised went towards the girls’ dormitory construction project at Vunjo Secondary School in our village of Mwika. This seemed like a fitting project for us to support given the themes of gender violence, inequality, and lack of access to education that we explore in our film.
In Mom’s research of Vunjo Secondary School, she found that:
Last year, 100% of girls who were boarders in Form IV (~8th grade) passed their O-level exams to proceed to Form V (9th grade)
~ as compared to ~
Only 9% of day girls who commuted to school from home passed.
These findings are consistent with the World Bank and others – that girls perform far better when they board at school.
Furthermore, more than 90% of girls who made it into Form V (9th grade) and boarded at the school went on to college!!
So the tipping point of a girl’s educational success is in supporting their ability to pass their O-level exams. Given the 100% pass rate of boarders to 9% pass rate of day students, we believe strongly that there is a need to construct an additional girls’ dormitory to meet the growing demand (girls’ enrollment has more than doubled since 2005.)
2 relevant articles that have recently come out:
1) UNICEF study on the prevalence/impact of sexual abuse for Tanzanian school age girls 2) an article in today’s Daily News (TZ) about the rising rates of “unwanted school pregnancies” that are forcing girls to drop out of school.
In Mom’s write-up of the Vunjo Girls’ Dormitory Project, she explores these and other challenges facing school-age girls in Tanzania, and outlines the benefits of constructing an additional girls’ dormitory to meet the growing demand (girls’ enrollment has more than doubled since 2005).
A portion of the net proceeds from our film will help fund this Vunjo girls’ dormitory construction project.
P.S. Last week, I sat down with Mom and introduced her to the world of blogging. A few days later, she completed this comprehensive blog for Mwika Development Trust Fund (MWIDEFU) that covers the constantly evolving village development projects that she and Dad have been immersed in. Look forward to highlighting each of these projects over the coming months…
UNICEF just released a study that found that nearly 1 in 3 Tanzanian girls are sexually abused before the age of 18. The rate of sexual abuse for boys is approximately 1 in 7.
From BBC News: UNICEF official Andy Brooks said the survey was the most comprehensive carried out on this issue in any country and showed the government was prepared to tackle the problem.
“Tanzania is the first country with the courage to expose the full extent of child abuse among boys and girls,” he told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme.
The survey also found that of those who had sex before they turned 18, 29.1% of females and 17.5% of males reported that their first encounter was unwilling.
Here’s mom’s account of the ALLY fundraising screening on July 7th at a bar in Moshi called The Watering Hole.
Mom and I agreed that funds raised at this screening would help cover construction costs of a girls’ dormitory at the Vunjo Secondary School in our village of Mwika. (More on Vunjo in upcoming posts…)
fyi, Dalton is Aunty Awonyisa’s youngest son who’s now a respected pastor with his own ministry. His response to hearing his mother’s stories has inspired him to do what he can to use the pulpit to promote the rights of women and girls. The power of the church in TZ to transform cultural norms is not to be underestimated…
Here’s to ALLY continuing to do its work in the world…
Hello Eli,
The show started promptly at 8:00 p.m. The place was packed. More chairs had to be brought out from the bar. Considering this is vacation time with many people away, the bar manager was stunned at the turn out.
It didn’t take long for folks to become totally engrossed in the film. After the screening, the reactions were much like those in the U.S. People were so moved. From my friends, the hugs they gave me were extra long. A Finnish lady said she was in tears while watching the movie as she wiped away a few more. A German lad stood by patiently for his chance to get in a word. He just arrived yesterday and what a treat it was for him to have seen the film.
The manager also relayed to me how the reaction of the audience was one and the same. They loved the film and many wanted to know if the DVD was on sale. They wanted to share this experience with others. So many people inquired about DVD that the manager said she would be happy to sell them and give the entire proceeds to Vunjo School without creaming off profit from it.
By the way, we raised 500,000/- (just a little over $300) for Vunjo from the event. It’s a modest amount but we take it a step at a time.
Dalton took everything in stride with his calm, practised demeanour of a pastor. But today, as we looked back and reflected, he admitted it was a shock for him to hear from his own mother’s mouth what he had heard from many women — the agony of being forced into marriage with the man who raped her. After having seen the film, he can personally identify with the deep hurt of his mother and unfruitful marriage, her simmering anger for having been denied further education. He is determined to make his ministry totally committed to promoting women’s rights, women’s right to choose whom they would marry and woman’s right not to remain in abusive marriage.
The reactions were the same whether the viewer was Tanzanian or an expatriate. One young Tanzanian man declared that he hadn’t been sure whether he would return to live in Tanzania, but having seen the film, he definitely will do so.
As in the U.S., the film is stimulating an awakening and self-discovery in people that is simply amazing.
When this film journey began, never could I have imagined that 7 years later, I would be in the East Wing of the White House, waiting to present President Obama with the DVD of my film, A Lot Like You.
But there I was, sipping champagne with approximately 100 bisexual, transgendered, lesbian and gay activists from around the country, mingling with Vice President Joe Biden, Rahm Emanuel and other senior White House officials while casually stuffing extra cocktail napkins with the Presidential seal in my purse.
Then half an hour later, without much fanfare, I was face to face with the man himself.
In the note accompanying my gift to President Obama, I told him, “I wish I had read Dreams From My Father before embarking on my film journey, because your book would have uniquely prepared me for the family stories I was about to hear.” And it was true. Continue reading →
Logic Amen was at our screening on June 12th. He reflects on the question he posed at our Q&A session in a 3min piece–Speak On It (KBCS).
Is it possible for us in the US to respectfully engage in the struggle for justice and equality in developing countries without compromising the autonomy and sovreignty of indigenous nations??
I’ve been deeply considering this question my entire life, and would welcome your thoughts!!
3 : a period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, study, or instruction under a director
After my final interview with Mom and Dad in 2009, I retreated back to the page. After seeking refuge in my journal for months, the seeds of our final narration started to take root.
But figuring out how to reframe our narrative structure around my own personal experience still felt daunting. Inspired by a mapping project my dear friend Vassi had recently shared with me, I decided to map out “my journey in this film.”
Artwork by Hilary Painter, from Ms. Mackoff’s Women’s Lit Class @ Roosevelt HS…
Best Documentary Golden Space Needle Award To Be Heard, directed by Roland Legiardi-Laura, Amy Sultan, Deborah Shaffer, Edwin Martinez (USA, 2010)
First runner up: Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, directed by Constance Marks (USA, 2011)
Second runner up: Buck, directed by Cindy Meehl (USA, 2011)
Third runner up: How to Die in Oregon, directed by Peter D. Richardson (USA, 2011)
Fourth runner up: Hot Coffee, directed by Susan Saladoff (USA, 2011)
Rounding out the top ten: Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians, directed by Bryan Storkel (USA, 2011); The Interrupters, directed by Steve James (USA, 2011); Circus Dreams, directed by Signe Taylor (USA, 2011); 12 Angry Lebanese, directed by Zeina Daccache (Lebanon, 2010); A Lot Like You, directed by Eliaichi Kimaro (Tanzania/USA, 2011).
SIFF’s lineup this year was truly exceptional, featuring films from over 75 countries. What a complete honor to have our film mentioned alongside these films/filmmakers!!!
More on our 2nd screening and our final days of SIFF to come. But for now, here’s the complete SIFF Award rundown…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Connie Burk
Tel: 206-568-7777
Email: connie@nwnetwork.org
SIFF FILM INSPIRES AWARDS FOR SEATTLE NON-PROFITS ON “LOVING DAY”
Seattle filmmakers’ project “A Lot Like You” highlights issues of multiculturalism and
violence, prompts recognition for OneAmerica and Refugee Women’s Alliance
Immigrant justice organizations OneAmerica and Refugee Women’s Alliance will receive awards in recognition of their work on Sunday, June 12, immediately following the Seattle International Film Festival screening of “A Lot Like You,” a project by Seattle-based filmmaker Eliaichi Kimaro.
The film screening and awards ceremony will take place at the Admiral Theater in West Seattle at 1:00 pm, followed by a reception hosted by non-profit The Northwest Network of Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian, and Gay Survivors of Abuse. The awards recognize the efforts of these non-profits to support immigrant communities, women, and families by connecting the mission of all three organizations to the powerful message of the film, which is “a compelling study on the roles that race, class, and gender play in forming our cultural identities.” OneAmerica and Refugee Women’s Alliance will each be presented with a Certificate of Honor and a $1,000 award from The NW Network. Continue reading →
