From Outpost Kabudula:
Rainy season is a prayer answered among a community of farmers. With last years harvest producing little surplus, many families continue on in a perpetual state of hunger. There is little they can do, hold labor and pray. The color green, in any shade, brings a certain flush to tired faces; the rains bring hope.
Today, after a week-long downpour, the rains broke and I took full advantage. I mounted my bike and rode to Kasambwe Primary to discuss the final selection of students for the filmmaking workshop we will be teaching there. Upon my arrival, the headmaster had four of the children that will be participating lined up to meet me. They were anxious.
This is Zikiel Stayford. He is one of the only students I spoke with that had ever seen a film. He told me that he had seen, once, a music video for a gospel song and he like that very much. He aspires to be a teacher and he loves to read. When I asked him why he loved reading, he said, “reading helps me to forget about my problems.” Zikiel is 13, and he is an orphan.
