Blog For Free!
Archives
Home
2004 June
2004 May
2004 April
2004 March
2004 February
My Links
Visit 512Collective.org
Index of Recent Posts
tBlog
My Profile
Send tMail
My tFriends
My Images
Sponsored
Blog
Search the Blog:
All content © 2004
The 512 Collective, unless otherwise stated.
|
| Big Weekend |
| 03.16.04 (2:51 pm) [edit] |
Wow. Our Lesotho expedition went so well I could probably cut my whole documentary with the 5 hours of footage we shot in just four days - I would say around 250% of my objectives for the trip were accomplished. I am going to be throwing away so much good stuff when I have to edit this all down to a 45- minute film...
Where to start... Just after posting our previous blog, Justice and I swung by the cafeteria at the UN House for lunch. On our way out, we decided to drop in to the World Food Program offices, even though they hadn't responded to any of my e-mail queries and we didn't have an appointment. Turns out, they were extremely helpful and the lack of communication did not at all represent a deficiency in their support of the production. Unfortunately, it was late in the day and there weren't any food distributions scheduled for the weekend, but said they would do everything they could if we dropped by Monday morning before returning to Joburg.
We then went to catch a taxi into a fairly remote town called Malealea, which cost almost a whole $2... The road turned to dirt as we got higher and higher into the mountains (it was breathtaking), and we started passing donkeys loaded up with big 'USAid' bags of food as we neared our destination. We realized that the WFP was still finishing up their distributions in the area, and jumped out of the taxi when we saw a crowd of people at two big freight trucks. I was able to film some great footage of the food being distributed, and we conducted a few really good interviews with some of the villagers as well.
It was getting late as the trucks finished up and departed, but we lucked out when a man named Thabo invited us into his home for the night. The next morning we were showed around town, and even ate a meal cooked from some of the donated corn meal. Two kids that were around 10 escorted us a few miles down into one of the canyons (one of them barefoot the whole way), and then took us upriver to a waterfall. It was beautiful, a lot like my home in New Mexico only everything was green...
We spent Saturday night in the rustic Malealea lodge, and cruised back to Maseru the next day. I called up the sister of my 6th grade teacher, who happened to live in the city, and she took us into her home for the night. We spent the evening with her friends and neighbors talking and drinking Black Label, 'America's Lusty, Lively Beer'. (Anyone ever heard of it? People here don't believe me when I tell them we actually have never even seen the stuff stateside...). Good times.
First thing the next morning, I hit up the WFP offices just as they were opening. It was great, they fired up one of their spiffy Toyotas and chauffeured me all around the area. First we visited the main food warehouse, where a substantial percent of the country's vittles are stored. After that, they took me to an elementary school where food was being distributed to orphan children (a pretty large chunk of the student body, and a powerful reminder of the country's AIDS crisis). It was unreal - I was the only white person for miles around, and I was surrounded by hundreds of kids that didn't speak English and had never seen a video camera in their lives. Standing in that schoolyard was one of the strangest experiences of my life, but the WFP was totally supportive of me documenting the whole event so I just turned on the camera and focused on shooting. It got difficult when 400 kids were competing for my attention, but the school master kept them in check with his leather whip. Of course, I felt guilty whenever that happened, so in the end I just stood casually next to the tripod and pretended like the camera was off whenever I could.
After my batteries started running low and I had almost filled up the last of our video tapes, I was taken back to the offices where I quickly interviewed the WFP Deputy Country Director with the last few minutes we had left in the city. As soon as I finished the interview and switched off the camera, Justice and I headed over to the border and caught one of the last taxis back to Johannesburg just in time.
Mission accomplished!
DL Fitch,
Over and out.
|
|
|
| |
posted by: dannyd (reply)
post date: 04.29.04 (6:06 pm)
did you get any of those funny hats they wear?
|
|
