MissHIV

It’s been about two months (and one trip to Palestine) since we were in Kenya for the medical clinic, village and university screenings of Miss HIV and quite a bit has happened in that short amount of time. To hear more screening updates, email me (broadcast@egmfilms.org) and I will forward you our latest Broadcast (if you are not already signed up).

Since next Tuesday’s newsletter is dedicated to the success of our African grassroots screenings, I wanted to make sure we didn’t leave out our incredible partner, MCF (as none of this would be half as successful without their hard work). And hard it has truly been. This summer has not been kind to Kenya, and Grace Mully has taken a moment of her time to share a bit of her struggles with us. The following excerpt is from an email she sent to us a few weeks ago…

“Additional national events that have occurred since the July trip include rationing of water whereby in Nairobi city, the residents get piped water one day of the week and if lucky twice a week.  Electricity rationing is being carried out country wide whereby each household, offices etc (other than the manufacturing zones) get power cuts lasting 12 hours per day, thrice a week.”

“MCF currently has an ongoing feeding program for primary school children in a neighboring school at Ndalani whereby more than half the children had started dropping out of school due to lack of food.  MCF is now feeding 1100 children each day for free to enable them remain alive as well as attend school.”

We will continue to post updates as we receive them…and keep them in our prayers.

We are back home from our African travels and the last few weeks almost seem like a far-off dream. Almost. Through all of the amazing and heartbreaking experiences we had, one small conversation continues to run through my head that I really feel captures the essence of EGM’s mission.

Towards the end of the journey, I found myself in the Maasai Mara (the northern continuation of the Serengeti National Park game reserve in Tanzania. Named for the Maasai people - the traditional inhabitants of the area - and the Mara River. Thank you Wikipedia for that brief, yet succinct, explanation) speaking to a local Maasai woman, Josephine, who worked at the hotel I was staying at. We were talking about the past year’s bloody civil unrest and EGM’s work at the IDP camp. She echoed the exact same sentiments I heard over and over again when speaking to Kenyan locals - the fear and frustration and overwhelming sadness of seeing your beloved country being destroyed. She told me stories from her family and neighbors that were gut-wrenching with not much more than a frown on her face. It was their fate and now was the time to rebuild. But then she said something that has stuck with me the last few weeks - “Unfortunately I am just one voice that no one will hear. I wish there was a way I could empower my voice.”

I became overly excited at this and had to stop myself from exclaiming, “No! No! We’ll empower it! That’s what EGM does!” Instead I told her (calmly) more about EGM and the changes we are working towards.

I realize that just by sitting down and writing her words, that is one small way of empowering her voice. Telling the stories of the refugees in the IDP camps is empowering her voice. And by not letting Africa become a far-off dream, but keeping it as an every day reminder on how this world still needs a lot of work, is empowering her voice.

Friday July 17 - Today we flew to Eldoret (in the south western region of Kenya) to go to an IDP camp - which stands for Internally Displaced Persons. Once we were on our plane, I learned that it would make a stop over in one of the smaller towns to pick up a few passengers on the way, similar to a bus. When we did, it seemed as if we were landing in someone’s backyard. And then we waited because someone was running late. I can only imagine that happening back in the States.

The IDP camp in Eldoret is one of MCF’s projects. About a year ago, there was some very major civil unrest in the region, whch caused some incredible damamge to the people and their homes. Playing on the brewing bad feelings between the different tribes, politicians used these emotions in the last election, successfully dividing the people of Kenya. Although there are many, the main strife was between two tribes, one who originally owned the land and the other who had bought the land (many many years before) and were now living side-by-side. Those who had originally owned the land wanted it back, and - fueled and funded by nasty politicians and leaders - began burning down houses, raping women and children, and killing the men and grandparents. This all began to happen, literally, overnight, and all Kenya could do was watch the horror unfold. Eventually, the brutality wound down and many of those people who had already suffered found themselves without a home and no longer allowed to own their land. So, they became displaced in their own country and sent off to camps that had no food, terrible living conditions, and growing disease. There were about 500,000 people living in these squalors.

MCF stepped in and helped create a feeding program so that at the very least, children and women could be fed. They were able to feed the camps for 1 year, and now soley focus on Eldoret, which has been slowly whittled down to 1,000 people. We went with them today to help pass out food.

It was one of the hardest days so far, seeing these people who have lost their homes and most of their families, lining up to recieve a small portion of dried beans and corn - which is supposed to last them over a month. We toured a lot that had previously held a church. During the peak of unrest, many people had fled to this church for saftey, but the church was torched and almost everyone died. The grounds still remain, with charred bits strewn near the newly erected graveyard. I met a young woman who’s husband was killed in the church, and a few yards away, I met a man who participated in the burning. He has repented and is able to live amongst those he has hurt most. I cannot even imagine such love and forgiveness.

And that can be attributed to MCF. When most of the IDP came to the camps, they did not want food they wanted guns. MCF provided more than food, they brought in couseling and emphasized the church, giving the strongest of emotions proper outlets. This allowed the violence to end and the healing to begin. Although I met a few very angry men, the overall feeling was that it is time for them to restore their lives and move on. The trouble, of course, is now the lack of land and money to give back a portion of what was lost, which for most people, was everything. Now begins the long hard struggle of restoring a broken country, but when I spoke to Grace, she had nothing but hope.

Thursday July 16 - This morning we set up Miss HIV to screen at the Medical Clinics, but left the group on their own this time. We have a new mission today, and that is to shoot an interview with Dixon Mulli (who works part time for EGM), which will then be incorporated into an overall piece on our trip to Kenya. We have decided to use Dixon’s interview as a chance to incorporate our training modules that we previously presented to a select group of MCF students and staff. This will be their hands-on training, which will hopefully allow them to take this knowledge and apply it to their own cause. Our goal is to empower MCF by allowing them to continue sharing their amazing stories with the rest of the world.

I have to say, they had some amazing quesitons and feedback during the training. We were unsure of how much technical knowledge they possessed (and they were very quite while watching our training modules the other day, so that added to the mystery), but whether or not all of them had any formal training, they picked everything up right away. We left them with a few small cameras, a little bit of knowledge, and a whole lot of encouragement and look forward to seeing what comes out of Ndalani in the next few months!

After we wrapped the interview, it was time to move on to Yatta, another MCF compound, but one meant specifically for child mothers and girls taken out of the sex industry. Here they have created a safe and comforting environment where the girls go to school as well as learn basic care for themselves and their children. The idea is that whenever an MCF child leaves for college or is ready to move out on their own, they are given the tools to remain self-sufficient. An quality that flows through the entire MCF organization.

Like Ndalani, Yatta also grows green beans and other crops of vegetation. The green beans are for consumption and export, but the vegetation is meant to help restore the barren lands of Kenya that have gone from 20% coverage in the last ten years to 2%. Without trees and vegetation, Kenya will be a dying country. MCF sells the seedlings grown in Yatta at a very low cost to the community, hoping to promote planting while slowing down deforestation. It is amazing to think of all the small ways one organization can contribute to it’s community. Models like MCF help serve as a reminder in ways that we can give back to one another, in both big ways and small ones. They all count.

Wednesday July 15 - Today about 800 students from other schools came to join us at MCF for a day of education and conversation on important issues like poverty, environmental education, social issues (drug abuse), and HIV/AIDS. Each issue was framed in a class that the students attended to learn more about the issue and how it affects them and then participate in open discussions.

Once they attended the HIV/AIDS class, the students were then able to view Miss HIV. Grace Mulli introduced the film, and afterwards, a local specialist talked to the kids, fielded questions, sparked discussion, etc. Although we are not allowed to promote testing to kids under 18, we did encourage and gave them priority at the MCF clinic.
I was able to talk to a good amount of the kids about their experiences and various backgrounds (although they only seemed interested in my favorite movies and if I was married and where I lived and how I did my hair). Once I was able to get them to focus on my questions, I found that they were very intelligent and versed on this disease, well beyond their years. To see young African teens experiencing a movie that not only speaks to their issues, but also features a demographic that they can immediately connect with, is a powerful thing. It has allowed Miss HIV to truly blossom into its full potential – Miss HIV is a film that sparks emotion, encourages action, and empowers voice - right here, right now.

Tues July 14 - A few times a year, MCF opens its children’s clinic and gives free medical care to the surrounding community. People will walk as far as 10-15 miles just to seek basic health care for themselves and their children. About 300-500 people will come, each day, to see a doctor or a dentist and each are seen (and treated) for free - with meals and water provided by MCF. For many, that meal or glass of water is their only one for the day.

Some who help out at the clinic are volunteers, like Katlin Brown from Toronto, Canada, who comes once a year to help clean (and pull) teeth. Yesterday she pulled 130 teeth, a few of them in such poor states that they warrant showing them to the dental community at large as new specimens.

The other doctors and nurse practitioners are Kenyan and are paid a stipend by MCF. This is an important detail, as it does a number of amazing things; 1.) Creates work for Kenyan doctors, which allows them to stay within and serve their community, 2.) Breaks down some of the language barriers, no small feat as there are 27 different dialects in this 50 mile radius alone 3.) Promotes a sense of familiarity and community, which is important for someone who may be very sick and scared.

And this is where we screened our film, Miss HIV, for the first time in Kenya.

The first attempt at setting this up was a bit shaky, as our venue was essentially the outside wall of the clinic. Even though we anticipated this, we were still out done by the brightness of the African sun, regardless of our attempts to shield it away. In the end, as it always does, the sun won and we had to bring in two MCF television sets in lieu of our large projector. Once that challenge was faced, we were able to move on and start the program. This began with Grace Mulli explaining the film and Dr. Mutiso speaking to the groups (about 300 people at a time) on the basic facts about HIV. Even though a majority of the group is affected by HIV/AIDS (either directly or through a family member), it was staggering to hear the questions they were asking.

By then end of the day, even though I didn’t do much strenuous activity, I was physically and emotionally drained. Watching and “talking” to the people (I couldn’t communicate with them at all, aside from overly energetic hellos from me and wary smiles from them. At one point, though, a very old and happy woman spit on me, which apparently is a blessing - I tried to smile graciously.) left me contemplating their lives and the shameful distribution of wealth in this world. We are capable of feeding and provide water for every person on this planet, yet we are far from accomplishing this very basic act of humanity.

It is easy to feel depressed and overwhelmed by the large challenges facing this community, and countless others just like this one all over the world, but then I look at what MCF has been able to accomplish despite much adversary.  Through their work with the children and the surrounding communities, they are getting closer and closer each day to their goal of “creating an Africa fit for children”. One day – and one person – at a time.

Mon July 13 – We arrive at Ndalani and set up our film training modules. Five of their former students, who now participate in MCF’s teachings, sit in on the training to learn the fundamentals of making a short film. We plan to put the theories taught today into practice later, having them help with some filming we need to do for EGM. This small part will hopefully give them the encouragement to develop their skills (in filmmaking, or anything for that matter) that will in turn enrich their lives and the lives of their community.

We take a short tour of the MCF fields at the end of the day with Grace as the sun and high heat go down. She tells us of the two year drought Kenya is in and the troubles that lay ahead. MCF has been lucky, as they had a stream that gave them (and their fields) water, but the creek has gone dry. Grace says that has never happened during the course of her life. MCF has about two weeks before they run out of water and must face a very serious reality. As the crops die, so does their food and source of income.

When people are fed, they are free to focus on other issues - they are allowed to begin the path of empowerment. With this taken away, they must shift that focus back to the rudimentary elements of survival and hope for the best.  It is a shame that after all of the progress we have made in humanity, people in Kenya have to hope they won’t die because they have run out of water.

But Charles Mulli – indeed all the Mulli children – is a strong man with great moral character and has faced - and overcome - greater challenges. Tonight we were told a story, also about water, that is simply amazing. When MCF was first moved to this current location (in Ndalani), they were using the river for drinking water. Even though they were boiling and purifying the water, many of the children would get terribly sick over and over. One night, as 30 children lay in the infirmary from dysentery, Charles Mulli cried and prayed to God. This was the best place for his family, but how can they stay with no clean drinking water? He wandered outside to clear his head and stopped dead in his tracks, feeling an overwhelming force to dig. The next morning he gathered a large group of his kids and told them to dig. They thought he was insane. Aside from the river, the next well of water was 20 miles away (wells being a rare thing in Africa). They dug and dug and after many grueling hours, Isaac Mulli came across two stones laying across each other. Charles insisted he strike the rock and when Isaac finally did, a huge gush of water sprung out. This became “Jacob’s Well” and has not gone dry to this day.

Even though I am fairly skeptical of miracle stories, I can’t help but recognize the simple beauty in this one. God is always talking to us, and Charles Mulli was listening.

Africa: 1

The Internet: 0

Just now able to connect - almost a  week into the trip.

I’m sitting in London’s Heathrow airport, waiting on the next (and final) flight of the trip. The first leg was the “sleeping” portion of the trip, but of course plans never quite work the way we so diligently plot out. I ended up reading a good amount of the book I brought (one that had been on my “to-read” list on Goodreads for much too long), “Mountains Beyond Mountains”. I don’t think I could have chosen a more timely book. Or one that speaks so eloquently on the reason we are going to Kenya in the first place.

A biography on Dr. Paul Farmer - a doctor who specialized in ethnographic medicine - this book is more a study of humanity than the story of one man. One of the many lines that really stood out for me was a quote by Rudolf Virchow (a long dead scholar Farmer admired) - “If disease is an expression of individual life under unfavorable conditions, then epidemics must be indicative of mass disturbances of mass life.” Essentially, we must look at social issues as a whole - the interaction of politics, wealth, social systems and disease are closely tied. That beyond this mountain, lays another. I am both excited and exhausted at the prospect of working towards “greater” change, but it is hard to escape the feeling “am I doing enough?” I don’t think that is a question that I can ever really answer, but only try to live my life in a way that acts as an answer.

We leave on Saturday for Kenya - the first trip to Africa for many of us. I can’t say that I’m looking forward to the actual travel portion - 23 hours total for me. I fly from San Francisco to London (10 hours), 3 hour layover and then London to Nairobi (another magical 10 hours). I thought science was supposed to have developed some sort of quantum-leaping-travel method by now. It is 2009, right? Where are our flying cars?

I’m stockpiling my books, magazines and iphone game apps - which probably has a 2 hour battery life. Perhaps I will just have to settle for thinking and being in the moment, not an easy task. It has been a long time since I stopped moving and shaking and trying to run the world from my computer and phone. There is a fine quality to being still and in the present, that I admire in other people. The ability to truly feel and understand what you are feeling and not try to change it. I’m not even sure if I know what that’s like. I have a feeling that the eye-opening part of going to Kenya may start with the plane ride. Let’s hope, because it is going to be a long one.