A Grandmother's Tribe: Documentary on HIV/AIDS

A Grandmother's Tribe tells the story of two Kenyan grandmothers who have stepped in after the loss of their own children to raise their young grandchildren. The film is designed to give insight into their world of survival in village and urban life as they prepare for Christmas in Africa. These two women represent thousands of others who, at a late stage of life, are literally starting over again to raise orphaned children. According to the producers, the challenge is enormous as they deal with the grief of their own losses and poor health in order to feed, educate, and care for a growing number of orphaned children. The organisers have designated the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF), a Canadian based organisation which supports community-based African organisations helping women and children living with HIV/AIDS and, in particular, grandmothers, as the beneficiary of all funds raised from sales of the DVD.

Alongside the DVD, the producers launched the Take Action Initiative, which encourages people to organise screenings of the documentary. The producers provide an 8-page booklet with the CD that outlines the Take Action approach, briefly as follows.

1. Obtain a copy of the DVD and host a private fundraiser screening with friends, family, or the local community.
2. Register the "A Grandmother's Tribe" event on the project website and join the combined global voice in support of the grandmothers.
3. Watch the DVD and conduct a discussion with the help of the Take Action Event Guide.
4. Raise funds as a group to support the grandmothers.
5. Send the money to the Stephen Lewis Foundation on behalf of A Grandmother's Tribe for contribution to the "grassroots grandmother projects" in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The production team spent the first 6 to 12 months networking through film festivals to profile the film and search for optimum distribution openings. During this time, they also screened the film at a number of theatres around the world for fundraising purposes. Producers focused on context screenings where the film was presented along with discussion and dialogue. According to producers, this is an emerging trend with major corporate and not-for-profit conferences as it enables the film to be connected in meaningful ways with audiences that may be willing to take action.

Click here to purchase a copy of the DVC online.

HIV/AIDS, Ageing.

According to the organisers, the philosophy of Borderless Productions is "creating positive change one film at a time." To take another step in making that a reality, Borderless Productions established a dedicated entity, Borderless Foundation, to enable a giving back process associated with the films they produce. In particular, Borderless Productions is committed to a series of films that will focus on the role and social impact of grandmothers in cultures around the globe. According to the producers, in sub-Saharan Africa there are now 16 million AIDS-orphaned children. In some regions, up to 60% of orphaned children are being raised by their grandmothers. Very little aid is reaching these women to help them with food, shelter, health care, and education.

The film has received nominations and awards for its impact on changing lives. In 2009, "A Grandmother’s Tribe" was awarded the Carolyn Stolman Humanitarian Award at the Sonoma Film Festival, California, USA. In August 2007, it was selected for a world première screening at New Zealand’s DOCNZ Documentary Film Festival and was awarded a Special Mention in the best Medium length documentary category. At a special event hosted by AMP Financial Services, Qiujing Wong was awarded one of twelve scholarships for helping launch a unique filmmaking endeavour in Africa. The scholarship was to support Wong, her partner, and their team of volunteers on their global campaign to create awareness about the grandmothers of Africa who care for orphaned children.

Since A Grandmother’s Tribe was launched as a Take Action Initiative alongside the Documentary Film a number of initiatives have been launched and funds raised. These include the following:

1. As a result of the Vancouver Premiere of the film in 2007, 7 grandmother’s in Mudoba Village have been gifted new homes. The building of these houses has been funded by donations made through the film and the projects have employed local labour. Each house is a simple dwelling with wooden structures, mud walls and a tin roof. They also include a toilet which is a separate dwelling to the house.

2. The grandmothers of Mudoba who feature in the film have been gifted an "acreage" with irrigation, a generator, and seeds where they are able to plant produce to feed their families and sell at the local markets. The cost of the 10-year lease of the acreage, irrigation, and seed was supplied by a donor of A Grandmother’s Tribe.

3. Silas, who features as a central character in A Grandmother’s Tribe now attends a Secondary boarding School where he is continuing his high school education towards fulfilling his dream to become a doctor. His boarding school fees and cost of living is covered by a donor of A Grandmother’s Tribe.

4. 250 grandmother groups linked with the Stephen Lewis Foundation have been given a DVD copy of the film by the filmmakers. Fundraising screening events have been held across Canada and funds have been donated to the Stephen Lewis Foundation to disperse to the grandmother groups it supports in sub-Saharan Africa.

5. Thousands of DVDs have been purchased online and viewers have hosted their own "take action" fundraising events. Funds from these events have been sent to the Stephen Lewis Foundation for dispersement to the grandmother groups it supports in sub-Saharan Africa.
6. Premiere and Special Events hosted by Voiceless Children, the support organisation who feature in the documentary have also raised funds for the grandmothers of Kenya through the use of the film. Highlights include:

• A Premiere in Vancouver where $2,500 was raised through Silent Auctions of Felix Masi’s photography.
• A Premiere in Long Beach that raised $2,000 in donations plus ongoing annual donations of $600 / annum from attendees.
• A one off donation of $5,000 from the USA Section of the Foundation International College of Dentists as a result of their President viewing the film
• Several copies of the film has been circulated in the US including Virginia, Washington DC, California, Washington, Oregon, Michigan, New York, New Mexico, Minnesota, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and most of those who have viewed the film have made donations to Voiceless Children.