INSPIRING YOUNG PEOPLE...

(REPORT from Susie Banfield, Voiceless Children US

The presentation of "A Grandmother's Tribe" to a local Idaho youth group (Grades 9 to 12), on Sunday, October 5th, was an inspiration to both myself and the eager young viewers. As I sat among the group after the film's screening, I learned that our younger generation is not out of touch with the world, but are caring and concerned about our shared future. When asked about how the film affected them, here are some of the comments received.

The film was about respect for the older generation and respect for each other. It made me think about how I respect my elders.

It showed me what great love they have for family and each other.

It made me think about myself and where I'm headed in life. It is so much easier for me to make those decisions than those who have less.

We are lucky here in this country... that we have so many advantages, even if our families are not wealthy.

I learned that we should appreciate the fact that we can go to the store and buy a chicken... and not have to share it with eight people.

It makes me thankful that I can take a shower every day and that I don't have to walk so far just to water for drinking and washing.

It made me want to go to Kenya and help those less fortunate.

I believe that the meaning that young viewers experienced is valuable to them and that reaching across the world to share this human insight is powerful. As we move forward in screening "A Grandmother's Tribe", we will continue our tireless efforts to raise the funding necessary to ensure a hopeful future for these amazing elder women and the grandchildren in their care.

Please contact us directly if you would like to arrange a a special screening of this film!!

In the US... susieatvoiceless@aol.com (To visit the VC BLOG click here)

Edmonton Fundraiser - International Women's Day march 8th

International Women's Day - Mar. 8, 2008, A joyous celebration for all ages

7:30 P.M at Village Lifestyles …. 10429 – 79 Ave www.villagelifestyles.com

SEE THIS INSPIRING DOCUMENTARY FILM and hear tributes to women by Roz Shepherd, Rae Watterworth, and Tracy Reed +LIVE ENTERTAINMENT + DISCUSSION + REFRESHMENTS will be provided by the GANG

ADMISSION by DONATION: All Proceeds go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation, Grandmothers to Grandmothers Project www.stephenlewisfoundation.org

If 3 women heed this message, and if they tell 3 other women, there would be 9.
If each of them then spread the word to 3 others, there would be 27.
If each of these 27, passed this along to 3 of their friends, there would be 81.
If these 81 women talked to 3 others, in just 4 steps, there would be 243. In thirteen steps—three to the thirteenth power- the message “support our sisters in Africa” would reach over a million women

This is how geometrical progression works ... this is how a virus spreads and becomes an epidemic
... this is how consciousness-raising groups became the women’s movement. This is how Canadian Grandmothers and Others can reach out to the courageous African Grandmothers who are left to care for and support their grandchildren who are suffering as a result of the HIV-AIDS epidemic.
CELEBRATE THE POWER AND COURAGE OF WOMEN – THERE IS HOPE!

A night to remember in Vancouver

We couldn’t wait to update you on the recent journey of ‘A Grandmother’s Tribe’ to Vancouver, Canada where we held a Gala Screening and Fundraiser on 31st October 2007!!

PHOTOS FROM THE GALA FUNDRAISER AND SCREENING IN VANCOUVER, CANADA:
As you’ll see, we had an excellent turnout at the Vancity Theatre on the evening of 31st October 2007. Special guests included…
• Victor Chan, Founder of the Dalai Lama Center who gave a very warm introduction to the film
• Christine Magill, Special Advisor from the Stephen Lewis Foundation
• Martyn Element, Gala event sponsor and President, Element and Associates, Vancouver
• Felix Masi (Kenya) and Susie Banfield (US) from Voiceless Children.

We were supported by many generous event sponsors such as the Nu & C restaurant team, the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Mat Wilcox and her team from TheWilcox Group, M-13 Ventures Ltd, Pam Wright, The West Vancouver Anglican Church Choir, Whitefish Group, A&B Party Event Rentals, Lilacs and Lavenders, Simply Safari and a number of wonderful volunteers.

ELEVEN NEW GRANDMOTHER HOMES AND ONE NEW 'FELLOW':
The highlight of the Gala Event came towards the end of the evening. Following a question from an audience member about the cost of Freda’s new home, there was a spontaneous ‘bidding’ to contribute eleven new grandmother homes, at $3,000 US each, for the village grandmothers profiled in the film. These two-bedroom homes with a separate bathroom will bring renewed pride and motivation to the lives of these older women and the community they live in. Voiceless Children will now focus its efforts on building these homes in Funyula over the next 12 months. Their vision in doing so is to build long-term sustainability of the community. Village youth will also be mentored in trade skills to build these homes which will provide them with employable skills as well as earning fees to continue with their schooling. It is a remarkable model of providing sustainable ‘hand up’ assistance that benefits multi-generations at one time.
A heartfelt “thank you” to those individuals who have so graciously stepped forward to make this happen!

Our second exciting announcement is the appointment of Felix Masi, as the first Borderless Foundation “Fellow”. Felix is the founder of Voiceless Children who works in Kenya to support these grandmother-headed homes. BORDERLESS FOUNDATION TRUST is a Charitable Purpose organization set up in New Zealand to support projects created by Borderless Productions Limited. This fellowship will allow Felix the freedom to focus his energies in the coming year to make a world of difference in the lives of Kenyan grandmotherfamilies.


THANK YOU FOR THE INCREDIBLE SUPPORT!!!
We thought that finishing the film would be one of our greatest accomplishments. I can assure you that the real journey begins now. We are more passionate than ever about the positive change that can be initiated through the film and people who genuinely care. We hope you’ll join us on this journey of compassion and positive change!!

In Editing Mode and continually evolving...

You no doubt know that the 'A Grandmother's Tribe' production team is now back safely in Auckland, NZ. Our experience filming in Kenya (Nairobi, Busia, Kisumu and Nakuru) went splendidly!

'A Grandmother's Tribe', is now made up of 53 hours of high definition footage, a couple of editors, an edit suite getting warmed up, a team of story writers, a couple of executive producers and a lot of heartfelt support. It is remarkable how much has been accomplished with the encouragement of our many donors and sponsors. You have given us advice, finances, connections, positive attitudes and all this keeps directing us in the right way.

Our schedule for now, is to allow the film to make its way into the computer, to evolve the script from the completed treatment which we're very happy with, and to plan for the next phase of fund-raising. Apart from submitting applications to a couple of film funds and continuing with donations for our grandmothers, we're also working on putting together the 'Black Tie Gala event of the Year' aiming for mid 2007 as a pre-release event for the film!!! So watch this space for more announcements to come over the next few months.

The goal is to have the film ready for international festival release by July 2007, and in that release phase, we will also work on a couple of Premiere events around the world (one of which will definitely be back in Kenya with the stars of the film).

Many of you have asked when this documentary will be on television. For now, we are focused on our festival release strategy, and our television broadcasts are likely to unfold out of the success we have in theatres. When we do strike broadcast deals, we will be sure to tell you both on the BLOG and through our newsletter.

To remind you all, 'A Grandmother's Tribe' is a NOT FOR PROFIT venture. Produced by Borderless Productions, we are dedicated to making sure that all net proceeds are directed first back to the grandmothers featuring in our films. It has already started and this approach is working as you will have read about in the BLOG. These wonderful women will take care of ensuring that the money is spent on education for their children, building facilities for a better life in the villages and slums and the many other ways they plan to advance their lives in Kenya.

Beyond this and into the world...the film and campaign has a growth plan whereby we intend to reach grandmothers in communities in the developing world first and then eventually all grandmothers of the world. So there is definitely a lifetime of work set out in front of us.

As we have always maintained from the very start, all grandmothers are worth honouring...they are often the strength and backbone of our societies and the very group that we should be going to to learn our history, culture and take advice for the future.

Please contact me if there is anything I can do to help you be better informed on this film, or the campaign.

Thanks,
Qiujing

P +64 9 302 3103
C +64 21 620 348 or
email me at qiujing@borderlessproductions.com

Merry Christmas

From the team in Kenya, we wish you a wonderful Christmas. The journey is almost over, and our time with grandmothers and their families in both the villages and cities in Kenya has changed our perspective of humanity forever! This year, thanks already to many friends with big hearts, we have not only been able to begin making a fabulous film, but we have also contibuted to helping up many whom really need our support. Grandmothers in Kenya have benefited from bags of flour, sugar and tubs of fat, parrafin, AN ACERAGE PLANTATION fitout with generator, pump and irrigation, and grandmothers in Kibera, Nairobi have been given small gifts and their grandchildren will be supported with education in 2007.

The team in Kenya working with us, Felix Masi our fixer, Susie Banfield resident grandmother and photographer, Ken and Ngungu our drivers, Malcolm X, Brian Jnr ("Daddy"), Kenneth, Abuja and Badi our security, and Laya, Pastor, Mili and Judith our guides, are incredible people whom we will not forget. Thanks for making Kenya a colourful place to be! :)

For now, Dean and I are back to NZ soon to complete the making of this film, and the next steps promise to be just as exciting as the previous ones. We plan on a NZ based Black Tie Gala Event starring the grannies from our film, travels back to the grandmothers in Kenya to premiere the film, and a global distribution to all festivals and cinemas to finally deliver the world this beautiful story of the unsung heroes of Africa.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Love the AGT team..xx

On our way to Narobi...in nairobi

We've stopped off to meet Josephine and the Hope for Life Centre in Nakuru...and the work she has done to bring together orphaned children and their caregivers (grannies, aunts, etc) in one place and empower them to a better future is really inspiring. Josephine has done this with some help from a few great people in Canada and all over the world. Infact it was Roz Shepherd and Debbie Riopel who told me all about her work which prompted us to stop off. We interviewed the grannies about the changing times that have brought about all the issues they face - which of course including losing their children!

More soon when we are in Nairobi. I am already starting to notice the effects of urbanisation on this country.

Love the AGT teamx

Coming together

The best thing we ever did was come back here and spend more time with the grannies. They are so awesome. We've been with them while they weave mats (their teacher is teaching them pro bono) and sell to make money to send their grandchildren to high school. Primary is free.
And on top of that we've had a chance to spend more time with Frida, and tomorrow we'll be able to check out the results of the xray we helped one of the kids get. I wont be able to tell you the outcome - that you'll have to wait for the film to see what its all about.
I had a bit of a tear in my eye today though as we said good bye to some of them. They come from so far to meet us - walking around 1-2 hours each way. And to them its no big deal!
Best wishes to you all!...AGT teamx

Village Life...

Grandmother's are the best! Go give your granny a hug!!!
We're in Busia at a village at the moment and will be here for a week in total. It's perfect. Then we're off to Kisumu and then Nakuru. (All this is west Kenya) The grannies came together yesterday in a gathering, one they usually have on tuesdays, with the purpose of building strength and sharing their burdens. With some of the help our sponsors have given, we were able to by each granny one bag of flour, one of sugar, and a tub of cooking fat. (Total cost 9,000 shillings) Ontop of that we gave them one litre of Paraffin which will help their grandchildren study by light when it gets dark.
Felix and Susie's work here with Voiceless is, in my opinion, the perfect approach to building sustainability for these communities without intruding on their normal ways of life.
They have so far built a pilot project - one home for a granny (Mama Frida) and it only cost $2100 US to build! And then they bought 10 cows for 10 grannies and those who missed out will take the offspring when these ones mature.
So we're back to basics here, but I am loving being able to stop and take a good look at how humans survive even in the most simple environments. Part of me envies the organic, natural way they live - sometimes I question whether we're that much better off in our busy, technologically bound world. Anyway, the point is, we're having an amazing experience and the story will be a beautiful one.
Thanks for all your ongoing support and drop us a line sometime.
All our love Dean and Q xx (And Felix and Susie from www.voicelesschildren.org - and Ndungu our driver). From Busia, Kenya.

Two weeks to go until we leave for Kenya - Sponsor 'A Grandmother's Tribe'

Now that we have launched this BLOG I thought we'd add a few comments to it and test it out. With only 10 days to go until we depart for Kenya via Dubai, we decided to revisit our goals for the project. If you received our recent newsletter you will have read these...and if you would like to be a part of the newsletter distribution, email me and I will add you onto our fast-growing community of friends. qiujing@borderlessproductions.com

Sponsorship of the project is critical to ensure we can take as much as possible to grandmothers in Kenya this time we visit. We're told that gifts of animals, food, clothing and money is best and we will be taking all sponsorships before, during and after our visit between Nov 29th-Dec 27th 2006. It's really easy - visit http://www.borderlessproductions.com/a_grandmothers_tribe/index.html and contact us to make arrangements to become a sponsor.

We're currently looking into PAYPAL as a system to process these easier so bear with us as we try and work this out.

Thanks in Advance!
AGT Team xx