ROLL THE CREDITS
I just so happened to be in Malawi when Madonna was making this documentary. I met the film's director Nathan Rissman and his associate Grant James. I hung out with the cameramen Johnnie-Martin White and Kevin Brown. I met Kristen Ashburn who was there shooting photography for the companion book to the film. I got to hear so many amazing stories over dinner after they got back from filming.
Nathan introduced me to some of the children you'll see in the film. I met the handsome, positive Fanizo. This is his village.
That's Fanizo on the left next to my friend Delia, who I also met on this trip. She was an instructor trainer for SFK - Spirituality for Kids. SFK teaches taking responsibility for your life. For every cause, there is an effect. To every problem, there is a solution. You will learn more about SFK in this documentary. Fanizo was orphaned and living with his grandmother. Nathan told me that Fanizo dreamed of going to school to better himself, but couldn't afford it. Through his own determination and some of the training he got in SFK, he was able to make his dream a reality. He studied extremely hard and secured a sponsor for his tuition (OK, it's Madonna) and is now going to the very prestigious Kamuzu Academy for boys.
NOTE: Madonna is opening an Academy for Girls now. More about that soon.
Also in this film, I met Reverend Chepeta, who founded and runs the ever-expanding Home of Hope orphanage. Those of you who participated in my last fundraiser contributed directly to this orphanage. $13,490, to be exact.
It was at the Home of Hope that I met the sweetest little girl. Nathan told me her name was Wezi. I was so happy to see her again in this film! I didn't know her story till now - that she was living with AIDs, the disease that killed her family. Seems everyone at that orphanage carries a heavy load. And, inexplicably, they are able to smile under the weight.
NO COINCIDENCES
All this is so cool to me because before my visit, I had no idea Madonna was making a movie let alone that I would meet all of these interesting people on my trip.
I was there because I wanted to get involved with a charity that was working to end extreme poverty. That's how I learned about Raising Malawi. I was 100% ignorant on all of it, so I set off to Malawi (second poorest country in the world) to educate myself. I knew that Philippe van den Bossche (charity director), who I'd briefly met once before, was planning to be down there in late January of 2006. I found out where he was staying and I showed up on my own. Looking back, I'm not sure where I got the balls to do that. But I'm glad I did.
I'm a zillion times smarter now on the challenges we face and the solution that is possible to actually accomplish this grand goal to raise a country. I'm also starting to wake up to my role in the whole thing. Was it really a coincidence that I showed up when all these other forces had come together for the same greater good?
I AM BECAUSE WE ARE
The title is derived from the concept of “Ubuntu,” an idea in African spirituality that all of humanity is connected, that we cannot be ourselves without community, that an individual’s well-being is dependent upon the well-being of others.
Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Dr. Paul Farmer, Bishop Desmond Tutu, President Bill Clinton, Madonna and many others drive this idea home in the documentary. It means there is someone in Malawi who is part of me. Someone in the UK who is part of me. We are all in this together. We have a common fate. Not an us versus them fate. We're all interconnected. We are all responsible for one another. We need one another to be all they can be so that each of us can be all we can be. We're living in a world where we have a choice: Change. Or die. We can solve these problems together and find a path to peace.
In the documentary, there is a story about a young boy named Luka. Strangers give him money to go buy paraffin (kerosene, i believe). They tell him he can keep the change. When he heads off toward the field, they chase him and pin him down. They cut off his genitals, which they can sell to a witch doctor for a good bounty. With it, a witch doctor will make a potion for health. It's gruesome and hard to watch. It's not a cultural choice. We would not let this stuff go on in our culture. Psychos kidnap our children here and we hunt them and prosecute.Here's where you and me come in. I'm not suggesting for a moment that we need to go into other countries and impose our views and laws. Just recognize that where there is no education for the people, a country can quickly become compromised by superstitions and black magic. People want to find a way out of their problems. They will consider all possible options.
These practices are destined to continue if we don't educate and find self-sustaining ways to bring commerce to people living in extreme poverty. Have you read Three Cups of Tea? No one was investing in schools for the children of Afghanistan. By the world's lack of involvement, we left that job up to the Taliban. We did that. By not getting involved to help. Imagine growing up in a place where your sole focus is finding your next meal and staying warm or dry or just alive. If there is no school to go to and no teacher to teach you and show you a way out, a way up, there is no future for you. Now imagine money starts coming into your neighborhood. Schools and training camps go up. You go to those schools. And you learn. In this case, you learn about Islamic fundamentalism. No one else showed up.
We did that. We turned a blind eye on the burden of extreme poverty and let jihadist training camps masquerading as schools go up in a the most unstable part of the world. In fact, we promoted it by not stepping in to help. That's all of our doing. Jeffrey Sachs says in his book, "The End of Poverty", if you want to end terrorism, you must end poverty first. It's a vicious cycle.
There are ways that each of us can contribute by supporting basic education, vocational training, and health care.
But the first thing we have to do is learn about these problems.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Please watch this documentary. Educate yourself. Put some energy (that translates as time and/or money) into ending extreme poverty. Kristen Ashburn's companion book to the documentary is available for purchase. Click here to pre-order I Am Because We Are. Keep it in front of you. And don't look away. It's on all of our radar now.
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