A Grandmother's Tribe Returns to Kenya for World AIDS Day/DVD Now Available!

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

Please read below about some exciting activities linked to the 2007 film, "A Grandmother's Tribe", which tells the story of urban and rural grandmothers caring for their HIV/AIDS-orphaned grandchildren. The Kenya premiere of the film will take place on World AIDS Day (December 1), and there will be a public showing in Kibera on December 3rd.

The filmmakers are eager for people to attend the Kibera event: please see details about where and when the screening will take place.

Please read also about other projects linked to the film, meant to provide encouragement, support, and help to grandmother-headed households in Kenya. With greatest thanks, Janet Feldman (KAIPPG International, ActALIVE Arts Coalition, kaippg@...)

"A Grandmother's Tribe" Update, December 2008

Three News Items:

1) 1000 DVD Challenge

2) Kenya Premiere on World AIDS Day (December 1) 2008 and Public Film Screenings in Kibera, December 3rd, and the village of Funyula, in rural Western Kenya, on December 5th.

3) "Play It Forward" Challenge (December 2008-December 2009)

1) 1000 DVD Challenge

The directors of "A Grandmother's Tribe" will be returning to KENYA for WORLD AIDS DAY, 1 December 2008. To help us do this, we would like to sell 1,000 DVDs!Get YOUR DVD today: http://www.agrandmotherstribe.com

(on the Homepage, find the buttons marked "Buy the DVD" for "NZ/Aus" and "Rest of the World")We invite you to do something a little different this holiday season! Instead of the usual gifts, we'd like your support for getting PHASE TWO of "A Grandmother's Tribe" completed, by purchasing your own COPY OF THE DVD!PHASE TWO incorporates filming the follow-up stories of the grandmothers featured in "A Grandmother's Tribe", with looking at the campaign and how it has expanded organically to inspire individuals from the USA, Canada, NZ, and the UK to take action in support of the grandmothers.

The results of these actions have been house-building projects, school fee support, a donated farm acreage, and much more awareness in general for the work these wonderful grandmothers are doing to raise orphaned young people and maintain the communities they live in.

2) Kenya Premiere on World AIDS Day (December 1) 2008, and Public Screenings in Kibera (December 3) and Funyula (December 5)

On World AIDS Day, the US Embassy in Nairobi will be hosting a special screening of the film, to be followed on December 3rd by a public screening in Kibera, which will honour grandmother families living in difficult urban conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, on December 5th, the film will journey to the western rural village of Funyula, for a first-ever screening in the community there.

In Kibera, the screening will be held at the Kamukunji Grounds (Gatwekera), behind the Olympic Primary School, starting at 6pm Kenya time.

3) Play It Forward Challenge (http://voicelesschildrenupdates.blogspot.com/)

This year-long Challenge has been launched by Voiceless Children (www.voicelesschildren.org), a grassroots Kenyan organization, also registered in the USA. Voiceless Children is dedicated to providing individual and community support to people affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Kenyan, especially "grandmother families".

The purpose of "Play It Forward" is to launch a nation-wide "Ripple Challenge" to raise awareness and resources to support the tireless women of Africa. Making a difference is easier than you think! Host a screening of the documentary, "A Grandmothers Tribe", for a local group, large or small -- in a school, a place of worship, or your home. Make it a fundraiser by charging admission, having a bake sale, or a potluck dinner. The possibilities can be endlessly creative!

See the Play It Forward Blogspot for details: http://playitforwardchallenge.blogspot.com/

And also: http://www.voicelesschildren.org/play_it_forward.html

The Film:"A Grandmothers Tribe" (www.agrandmotherstribe.com) tells the story of two remarkable Kenyan grandmothers who find themselves raising their AIDS-orphaned grandchildren after suffering the loss of their own adult children. It is a silent phenomenon in Africa where growing numbers of families are headed by elder women. The film brings an unobstructed lens into the lives of an urban and village grandmother and the children in their care. It is a story of courage and loss, but most of all, it is a story of hope! The film has been directed and produced by Borderless Productions (www.borderlessproductions.com).

The Play It Forward Challenge:

We would like to find one person or group in each state in the USA to become the "State Leader". We have 50 copies of "A Grandmother’s Tribe" on DVD. It includes an eight-page booklet on how to host an event or you can create your own. The "State Leader" would host the first screening event to raise funds for Voiceless Children. Then they would ask someone from that group to host a screening, and so on. Each state would keep track of their events and the amounts raised. We will post state results on the Play It Forward Challenge blog. Screening events can be any size. A group of four people watching it in their living room might be inspired to host a yard sale to raise funds. A person from that group may belong to a Parent-Teacher Organization that would like to raise awareness in their school about global citizenship. And so the individual connections evolve one screening at a time. All events, large or small, will contribute to the shared outcome! Our world is complex these days. It is often difficult to know where to begin. That’s the beauty of the Play It Forward Challenge and Voiceless Children. The money goes directly to the people who need it. Voiceless Children is a Kenya-based grassroots NGO, run by a grandmother-raised orphan and community organizer, Felix Masi. American grandmother, Susie Banfield, runs the organization in the USA as a registered 501©(3) non-profit. You can register your event on the Play It Forward Challenge blog site. Share ideas and event photos. We will keep a monthly state-by-state tally on the site, based on amounts received. The Play It Forward Challenge will also be promoted on the film's website, with innovative events profiled in the film's newsletter. It wouldn't be the Play It Forward Challenge without a "challenge". As of December 31, 2009, the Voiceless Children Advisory Board will select the top fundraising event and the three most "innovative" events from the previous fifteen months. We will then bring Felix Masi to your community to host a special screening of the film, along with updates directly from Kenya on the difference that your efforts have made in improving the life condition of grandmother families.

PROCEEDS can be mailed by check or submitted through the website via PayPal to:VOICELESS CHILDREN • 13215 SE Mill Plain Blvd. C-8 #527 • Vancouver, WA • USA • 98684-6999

Felix Masi (Kenya) can be reached at felixmasius@..., Susie Banfield (USA) at SuuzieBee@..., or Donovan (also in the USA) at wtdonovan@....

About the Director:

QIUJING WONG | Director / CEO | qiujing@... | Courier / Delivery – L3, Old Sofrana House, 18 Customs Street East, Britomart, Auckland CBD, New Zealand | Postage – P O BOX 105078, Auckland City, Auckland 1143 | Tel NZ +64 9 302 3103 Cell NZ +64 21 620 348 Borderless Productions LimitedFILM | TELEVISION | CORPORATE | COMMERCIAL – Films that Create ChangeWebsites: www.borderlessproductions.com | www.agrandmotherstribe.com About Borderless Productions Limited: Borderless Productions is an international screen production company with its head office in Auckland, New Zealand. It specialises in documentary filmmaking, commercial production and campaign management for New Zealand and international clients. Borderless believes that film and media can be used as a genuinely powerful tool to create positive social and environmental change and works with clients and partners who have a similar vision for the world.

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

Please read below about some exciting activities linked to the 2007 film, "A Grandmother's Tribe", which tells the story of urban and rural grandmothers caring for their HIV/AIDS-orphaned grandchildren. The Kenya premiere of the film will take place on World AIDS Day (December 1), and there will be a public showing in Kibera on December 3rd.

The filmmakers are eager for people to attend the Kibera event: please see details about where and when the screening will take place.

Please read also about other projects linked to the film, meant to provide encouragement, support, and help to grandmother-headed households in Kenya. With greatest thanks, Janet Feldman (KAIPPG International, ActALIVE Arts Coalition, kaippg@...)

"A Grandmother's Tribe" Update, December 2008

Three News Items:

1) 1000 DVD Challenge

2) Kenya Premiere on World AIDS Day (December 1) 2008 and Public Film Screenings in Kibera, December 3rd, and the village of Funyula, in rural Western Kenya, on December 5th.

3) "Play It Forward" Challenge (December 2008-December 2009)

1) 1000 DVD Challenge

The directors of "A Grandmother's Tribe" will be returning to KENYA for WORLD AIDS DAY, 1 December 2008. To help us do this, we would like to sell 1,000 DVDs!Get YOUR DVD today: http://www.agrandmotherstribe.com

(on the Homepage, find the buttons marked "Buy the DVD" for "NZ/Aus" and "Rest of the World")We invite you to do something a little different this holiday season! Instead of the usual gifts, we'd like your support for getting PHASE TWO of "A Grandmother's Tribe" completed, by purchasing your own COPY OF THE DVD!PHASE TWO incorporates filming the follow-up stories of the grandmothers featured in "A Grandmother's Tribe", with looking at the campaign and how it has expanded organically to inspire individuals from the USA, Canada, NZ, and the UK to take action in support of the grandmothers.

The results of these actions have been house-building projects, school fee support, a donated farm acreage, and much more awareness in general for the work these wonderful grandmothers are doing to raise orphaned young people and maintain the communities they live in.

2) Kenya Premiere on World AIDS Day (December 1) 2008, and Public Screenings in Kibera (December 3) and Funyula (December 5)

On World AIDS Day, the US Embassy in Nairobi will be hosting a special screening of the film, to be followed on December 3rd by a public screening in Kibera, which will honour grandmother families living in difficult urban conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, on December 5th, the film will journey to the western rural village of Funyula, for a first-ever screening in the community there.

In Kibera, the screening will be held at the Kamukunji Grounds (Gatwekera), behind the Olympic Primary School, starting at 6pm Kenya time.

3) Play It Forward Challenge (http://voicelesschildrenupdates.blogspot.com/)

This year-long Challenge has been launched by Voiceless Children (www.voicelesschildren.org), a grassroots Kenyan organization, also registered in the USA. Voiceless Children is dedicated to providing individual and community support to people affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Kenyan, especially "grandmother families".

The purpose of "Play It Forward" is to launch a nation-wide "Ripple Challenge" to raise awareness and resources to support the tireless women of Africa. Making a difference is easier than you think! Host a screening of the documentary, "A Grandmothers Tribe", for a local group, large or small -- in a school, a place of worship, or your home. Make it a fundraiser by charging admission, having a bake sale, or a potluck dinner. The possibilities can be endlessly creative!

See the Play It Forward Blogspot for details: http://playitforwardchallenge.blogspot.com/

And also: http://www.voicelesschildren.org/play_it_forward.html

The Film:"A Grandmothers Tribe" (www.agrandmotherstribe.com) tells the story of two remarkable Kenyan grandmothers who find themselves raising their AIDS-orphaned grandchildren after suffering the loss of their own adult children. It is a silent phenomenon in Africa where growing numbers of families are headed by elder women. The film brings an unobstructed lens into the lives of an urban and village grandmother and the children in their care. It is a story of courage and loss, but most of all, it is a story of hope! The film has been directed and produced by Borderless Productions (www.borderlessproductions.com).

The Play It Forward Challenge:

We would like to find one person or group in each state in the USA to become the "State Leader". We have 50 copies of "A Grandmother’s Tribe" on DVD. It includes an eight-page booklet on how to host an event or you can create your own. The "State Leader" would host the first screening event to raise funds for Voiceless Children. Then they would ask someone from that group to host a screening, and so on. Each state would keep track of their events and the amounts raised. We will post state results on the Play It Forward Challenge blog. Screening events can be any size. A group of four people watching it in their living room might be inspired to host a yard sale to raise funds. A person from that group may belong to a Parent-Teacher Organization that would like to raise awareness in their school about global citizenship. And so the individual connections evolve one screening at a time. All events, large or small, will contribute to the shared outcome! Our world is complex these days. It is often difficult to know where to begin. That’s the beauty of the Play It Forward Challenge and Voiceless Children. The money goes directly to the people who need it. Voiceless Children is a Kenya-based grassroots NGO, run by a grandmother-raised orphan and community organizer, Felix Masi. American grandmother, Susie Banfield, runs the organization in the USA as a registered 501©(3) non-profit. You can register your event on the Play It Forward Challenge blog site. Share ideas and event photos. We will keep a monthly state-by-state tally on the site, based on amounts received. The Play It Forward Challenge will also be promoted on the film's website, with innovative events profiled in the film's newsletter. It wouldn't be the Play It Forward Challenge without a "challenge". As of December 31, 2009, the Voiceless Children Advisory Board will select the top fundraising event and the three most "innovative" events from the previous fifteen months. We will then bring Felix Masi to your community to host a special screening of the film, along with updates directly from Kenya on the difference that your efforts have made in improving the life condition of grandmother families.

PROCEEDS can be mailed by check or submitted through the website via PayPal to:VOICELESS CHILDREN • 13215 SE Mill Plain Blvd. C-8 #527 • Vancouver, WA • USA • 98684-6999

Felix Masi (Kenya) can be reached at felixmasius@..., Susie Banfield (USA) at SuuzieBee@..., or Donovan (also in the USA) at wtdonovan@....

About the Director:

QIUJING WONG | Director / CEO | qiujing@... | Courier / Delivery – L3, Old Sofrana House, 18 Customs Street East, Britomart, Auckland CBD, New Zealand | Postage – P O BOX 105078, Auckland City, Auckland 1143 | Tel NZ +64 9 302 3103 Cell NZ +64 21 620 348 Borderless Productions LimitedFILM | TELEVISION | CORPORATE | COMMERCIAL – Films that Create ChangeWebsites: www.borderlessproductions.com | www.agrandmotherstribe.com About Borderless Productions Limited: Borderless Productions is an international screen production company with its head office in Auckland, New Zealand. It specialises in documentary filmmaking, commercial production and campaign management for New Zealand and international clients. Borderless believes that film and media can be used as a genuinely powerful tool to create positive social and environmental change and works with clients and partners who have a similar vision for the world.