http://viewchange.org Videos from ViewChange.org (Filtered by topics: Lake Bangweulu) en-us Fri, 04 Nov 2011 08:23:00 +0000 Copyright 2011 Link Media, Inc. http://www.viewchange.org/videos/where-the-water-meets-the-sky Written by Jordan Roberts (March of the Penguins) and narrated by Academy Award®-winner Morgan Freeman, Where the Water Meets the Sky tells the inspiring story of a group of women in a remote region of Northern Zambia who achieve the unimaginable: they learn how to make a film as a way to speak out about their lives, raising an issue that no one will discuss - the plight of young women orphaned by AIDS. Fri, 04 Nov 2011 08:23:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/where-the-water-meets-the-sky Zambia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Gender, Samfya, AIDS, Africa, Technology, AIDS orphan, Lake Bangweulu, HIV >> VOICEOVER: In a remote region in northern Zambia, deep in the Congo River Basin, is a lake with a perfect name. In the local language, they call this place "Bangweulu", which means, "Where the water meets the sky." Built along the shores of this lake is the town of Samfya. Home to mostly fishermen and their families, it is one of the poorest places in the country. Abibata Mahama and Dominique Chadwick are filmmakers and teachers, and this is their first time in Zambia. And they're traveling the 300 miles from the capital to find some new students. Their goal is simple - to bring together a group of women and girls and ask them to speak out about their lives. But they won't just be talking with each other. If the project succeeds, a group of women from Samfya will be heard by their entire community. And they'll be sharing their views in an altogether different way, using a tool that most here have never seen before. >> TITLE: Where the Water Meets the Sky >> ABIBATA MAHAMA [Project Co-Director]: When we got to Samfya, in northern Zambia, we decided to get a group of women and girls together from different backgrounds. >> VOICEOVER: The search for their new filmmaking students begins at a local high school. Here, the head teacher has found seven young women keen to join up. Their next stop is the Samfya market, where fresh fish and local produce are sold daily, mostly by women whose average income is less than a dollar a day. Here, they find two young women selling vegetables who agree to take part. Their final stop is a fishing camp on the edge of town, the poorest area in Samfya. The people here live in straw huts without electricity or running water. Very few have ever attended school, and most cannot read or write. At first, the women seem reluctant. But with a little encouragement from Mabel, the project coordinator, here too they have success. >> MAN: They're saying, "We've just come for the women", so we asked, "What about the men?" And they said, "No, no men, it's just for women." So we said, "Things will be difficult for us, looking after the children, washing, cooking for ourselves." But we're allowing them to go ahead and do their work. >> MABEL [Project Coordinator]: This Agnes, this is Anna, this is Lillian, then she is Beatrice, she is Anastasia, this is...I've forgotten your name. Doreen, okay, and this is Royda. So we have about seven from the fishing camp. Don't worry; we'll bring them back later today. >> DOMINIQUE CHADWICK [Project Co-Director]: I'm Dominique, and I work together with Abibata to run some training for women. We're going to teach you how to use a camera so you can make films that will tell your stories. Once you make a film, produce a film, you can show it to your family, then to your community, to your village, to the other communities in Zambia, and then to the outside world as well. This thing is a microphone, and it takes the sounds, what you hear. >> VOICEOVER: Only half the population of Samfya has electricity, there are no cinemas, and few people own televisions. Although most of the women in the group have never seen a camera or a microphone before, in just three weeks they will produce a film to show the people of Samfya. >> MWELWA [Project Coordinator]: This thing you see here, it records the sound. For example, what I'm saying now, this thing can capture it. >> ABIGAIL [Student]: In the beginning, I was scared of holding these things. I was even scared of getting close to them. But now I have learned they are not difficult to use. And I'm ready to work with them. My life has been like this: I was born in a rich family. But my father wasn't looking after my mother, so we decided to leave our village and went to live with my aunt. I noticed my mother started changing. Every now and again she would go into hospital. So, then in 1995, I think I was in grade two, my mother's illness got worse. So I said, "What are we going to do?" She said, "We'll just leave it alone and God will look after us." My grandfather said, "Daughter, your illness is getting worse. Please bring Abby so she can start living here." So that's how I went to live in Mabumba. One year went by. In 1997, we got a letter saying that my mother had passed away in Lubwe hospital. So I said to myself, "Now that my mother has died, what am I going to do?" And so I left the house and I went to the bush, where I stayed for two days. While I was there, I just cried. >> WOMAN: Through our suffering, we've looked after her. Whatever we had to eat, we shared with her. Whatever we had, we gave her, to make sure she grew up well. I want her to live well and be settled in life, to take care of herself and be independent. >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: So you position them and make sure that the camera doesn't face the sun. So put them somewhere, maybe there. >> BRIDGET [Student]: The thing that pleased me the most was how to use the camera for filming. I never knew how to use a camera. I would see people filming and just admire from afar. They would be showing off, not letting anyone touch it. Now I'm happy because I have learned how to use a camera. >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: Who else wants to take the camera, and what else does the person want to do? >> ANASTASIA: I want someone to go over there and talk. >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: Okay, so press the red. Ask her to press the red button. Good. You see that is dark, because they are in the shade. >> VOICEOVER: After their first introduction to the cameras, the group must now turn their attention to themselves. The women are encouraged to open up about their lives here in Samfya. >> MWELWA: Let's talk about issues for our film that could make a big impact. After we make the film we'll take it to the villages. It will bring a message and help teach people. Can you see us doing this? >> MWELWA: It was difficult for some of the women in the group, because they had never shared their life stories with anyone. In our Bemba tradition, from the time one is born, it is customary for women not to speak their minds in front of men. Women are not given the opportunity to speak out about their problems, or other things that affect people's lives in the villages, so they're not used to speaking out for themselves. >> MABEL: Ladies, we've come together to talk about the hardships we're going through. The problems that we go through, ladies, are many. We have to talk about them. So now is the time to be open. We don't get opportunities like this everyday. >> LYRIEN [Student]: I really wanted to go to school but my father died early, and there were ten of us, but my mother couldn't look after all of us so we were forced to get married early. All we have found in our marriages is suffering. >> AGNES [Student]: With AIDS you could be a married woman, sitting at home being faithful, while your husband sleeps around and brings you the illness. >> FRIEDA [Student]: What can we do so that this disease goes away? Children are suffering because their parents have brought this disease. What can we do to reduce the impact of parents dying from AIDS? Had it not been for the parents bringing in the illness, they wouldn't need to turn to prostitution and we wouldn't see our communities filled with orphans. >> FRIEDA: Because women here don't talk about the problems we're faced with, we've been held back. But if we spoke out about the problems we're faced with, it would lead to progress for the women in our society. I am happy to be a member of this group of women, because this group is helping us to talk to each other and to share ideas and explain the problems we are facing. It brings me a great deal of concern, this disease of AIDS. The reason I'm talking about this is because it's gripped my heart. If I were to die of AIDS, what would happen to my children? Will they be like those children of other dead parents who have to struggle with all sorts of problems and maybe become street kids because they don't have anyone to help them? All of these are challenges. >> VOICEOVER: It's their second day. The women must now focus on their film and decide which story it will tell. >> MWELWA: Now we should talk and tell each other stories, things that have happened to you, your family, or your friends. From all of these stories, we will choose one story that will suit us best. >> LYRIEN: In grade three, I was only allowed to stay for half the year. Then I was told, "You will no longer be going to school. You always come back late from school and it doesn't leave enough time for you to work at home." >> WOMAN: I left the village and came to my sister's place here in Samfya. I've been trying to earn money by selling fish but it has not been easy. >> VOICEOVER: As the women share stories from their lives, one story emerges which strikes a chord with them all. >> JOSEPHINE [Student]: My friend was born into a very happy and rich family, whereby the parents were able to support her with everything she needs at school. Just as she reached grade five, her parents died of AIDS. >> VOICEOVER: The story of Josephine's friend Penelope brings up an issue familiar to every member of the group: the plight of young women orphaned by AIDS. But in a community where AIDS is rarely spoken about in public, no one knows if Penelope will be willing to talk about her experience, especially in front of a camera. Penelope is a student at a local high school. The group asks Mabel, the project coordinator, to try and find her. >> MABEL: So are you okay with being open and telling your story? >> PENELOPE [Student]: Let me tell my friends to look after my books. >> MABEL: You don't need to be afraid; you can be open with them. You can explain everything. Are you ready? >> PENELOPE: My name is Penelope. I was born into a rich family. My parents died a long time ago, when I was in grade five. When I joined this group, I explained everything that had happened to me. I came from a great family. My father was a miner. He became ill when I was eight years old, and then he died. One year passed, and then my mother died. Before she died, she explained that she too was going to die. She said, "Your father's death certificate says he died of AIDS, so I'm also going to die of AIDS." She died when I was ten. After my mom died, we didn't have a source of food, so my older sister started taking what was left in the house and exchanged it for food. After everything in the house was sold, she started sleeping with men who would provide us with food. After that, my sister also became sick and died. When my sister died, my aunty came to get us to go and live with her in a fishing camp. >> PENELOPE: My uncle would go fishing, and when he came back, we had to take the fish to the market. >> VOICEOVER: With Penelope now a member of the group, filming can soon begin. Their film will raise issues that affect them all. >> FRIEDA: Penelope's story is similar to mine because when she lost her father they grabbed all the property and left them with nothing. That's the same thing that happened to me. >> BRIDGET: I was seven years old when my father died. My father's family came and took everything. Everything. So when I heard what had happened to Penelope, I felt really bad, and I thought, "I'm not the only one this has happened to." >> ABIGAIL: I know that many of us here in this group have lost both parents to AIDS. Both my parents are gone. Victoria lost her parents; Josephine's lost her parents. Bridget lost her father and Exildah lost her parents too. >> MWELWA: The way I see it, it's not easy for Penelope to reveal how her parents died of AIDS. But our friend is courageous enough to stand in front of our group and is prepared to share her story. >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: We asked you to think about somebody who is between twelve and thirteen years who looks like Penelope. Can you see their faces? Do they look alike? This is Cindy, and in their drama Cindy is going to act Penelope when Penelope was between twelve and thirteen. >> PENELOPE: So you will act the part when my parents died from AIDS. You take your bags and go live in the fishing camp. There you will catch fish with your aunt. So you will act these parts and I will follow up when I'm older. >> CINDY [Actress]: Now is this a true story? >> DOMINIQUE CHADWICK: Yes, it's her story. I think you look enough alike. Thank you, that'll be great. >> VOICEOVER: The filming of Penelope's story begins, and they're heading to the fishing camp, home to some of the women from the group. Their camp is a perfect setting for a scene from Penelope's life. After her parents died she went to live with her aunt in a camp much like this one. >> MABEL: Hello, nice to see you again. >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: How did you collect this, with your hands? >> PENELOPE: With my hands. You will start throwing them there. After finishing sweeping, she could be throwing them there. >> LYRIEN: Action! >> MABEL: Make sure you don't cut off her head. Point up, point up. >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: Because the person whose story is being told is around, we make sure that she checks because it is her story. She owns the story, so she checks to make sure that everything that is being said is authentic. >> PENELOPE: I've even explained to my brother that, well, he should look so sad to show that life has changed. You have moved into a community - to a fishing camp - so life has changed. So you have to show sadness. They have done very well, they have done very well. >> DOMINIQUE CHADWICK: So you must tell them. You must say thanks. >> PENELOPE: Thank you, you've done great work. >> TITLE: Agnes >> AGNES: Today was really great because I took my first photograph. I was really happy that I could learn to zoom in and out, what to press, how to open the lens in front, and how to switch it on. That made me really happy. I asked them to show my husband what I had filmed, and they showed him, and he said, "Wow, did she do that?" And they told him, "Yes". He said, "She has learned," and I felt really good. Penelope's story is similar to mine. The death of her parents reminded me of when my dad died. I really wanted to go to school, but my mother was alone and couldn't send me. For Penelope as well, she didn't have support to go to school, so her story touched me. There are lots of problems here, like buying clothes and blankets for my children, and now one should be in school, but she can't and this hurts me. We had her registered and she wants to start school, but we can't afford a uniform. At school they don't take children unless they have a uniform. I wish all the children here could go to school. It would be good if they could work in offices. We won't have the chance, but they should. They should progress in life. >> DOMINIQUE CHADWICK: So what do you do when the camera is not straight? You just undo that and you hold the camera. >> MAKUKA: Oh baby! She doesn't want her mommy off having fun. >> DOMINIQUE CHADWICK: Is that your baby? >> MAKUKA: Yeah, yeah. >> DOMINIQUE CHADWICK: You go and feed him, feed her. Who wants to do camera? >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: People settle on different things. Some people will automatically say that, "I want to be on the camera." Somebody will say, "I want to be the sound person"; "I want to be the director." So they don't all go for one thing. >> DOMINIQUE CHADWICK: When you think it's ready, you say, "Action," quite loud. >> MAKUKA: Action! >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: Take control. >> ELIZABETH [Student]: No! >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: Director, take control. Find out whether your sound is okay, your camera's okay. >> MAKUKA: Are we recording? >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: Please go back. Then you ask your cameraperson to roll before you say "Action". >> MAKUKA: Oh, I thought it was just a try. >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: No, no. We are going for a take now. >> MAKUKA: We are recording. >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: Okay, okay. So ask everybody to stand by. >> MAKUKA: Be on standby, please! Action! >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: I can see that they are progressing, and they are happy, and they are eager. They are using technology to tell their own story, and they're really happy about it. I'm very optimistic that at the end of the day they will have a very good story that they will be proud of. And we will also be proud of them. >> DOMINIQUE CHADWICK: Shout, "Cut!" >> MAKUKA: Cut! >> ELIZABETH: That's what we want! >> VOICEOVER: The next location is the Samfya market, a challenging place for filmmakers, especially for those with only a few days' experience. >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: Directors, once the camera is recording, you people shouldn't be talking. When you go back and you play, you see that all your noise will be there. And when you are actually filming, you don't need that. So once she says, "Sound ready. Camera ready. The actor is ready" and you say, "Record. Action", all the crewmembers should stop talking. And the one controlling the crowd, if there's somebody making unnecessary noise, you go and drive those people away. >> VOICEOVER: After moving in with her aunt, Penelope had no choice but to leave school and sell fish in the market. But she would earn very little money. By this time, her situation had become desperate. >> PENELOPE: At the market, I would bump into my friends who were also orphans. They said, "You are wasting your time here at the market." I saw how well they looked and I thought I could join them. I thought maybe if I go into the same work as my friends it might help me. But my friends hadn't told me what work they were doing. That's when they showed me the house and said, "This is where you should come." I became a prostitute when I was 14 years old. What made me become a prostitute was hunger at home. I didn't want to be a prostitute, but the hardship had become extreme so I did what my friends were doing. The men didn't treat me very well. When I said, "Let's use a condom," they would be very difficult. They would say, "What makes you think you're so special?" When I saw that I wasn't earning enough money with the condoms I could have started doing it without using them, like my friends. Maybe now I would be sick, like my friends. Prostitution is a big problem here in Samfya because there are so many orphans. There's so much AIDS here, it's as if it was born here. When AIDS takes the parents then their children suffer, then they become prostitutes, and if they have children, it will just continue. When people see this film they will see the truth. This gives me the strength to continue with this work. Sometimes I want to stop because what I am acting is difficult, but then I think, "I'm not the only one that this has happened to." There are others who are going through the same situation. Let this film teach them. >> VOICEOVER: With help from Benjamin Chama, the headmaster of a local school, Penelope's ordeal came to an end. >> BENJAMIN CHAMA: I've seen so many girls fall into this trap of trying to get money. They go into bars, they will stay in the bars with their friends, they will be abused so much, and they will end up maybe getting HIV/AIDS and it will result in death, most of the time. When I first met Penelope, she was in a group of friends. I think those friends did not really want to have anything to do with me because they knew I was headmaster of a school. But Penelope stopped, I could see that she was quite a polite child and maybe she had just gone wayward because of the influence of the friends. So I offered that she should come back into school, and I could see the radiance in her face. This is a child that was very, very happy! I have in the school, a school of about 1,700 pupils, about 500 orphaned children here. And most of these, you know, it's as a result of HIV and AIDS. As the school head, I have now become a counselor to these children, because I think they need to be given encouragement that they can continue, despite losing their parents. My greatest hope is that every child in this school will finish their education. That will be, I think, I will die a happy man. >> STUDENTS: [Singing] Stand and sing of Zambia, proud and free, land of work and joy in unity. Victors in the struggle for their rights. We've won freedom's fight. All one, strong and free. >> VOICEOVER: With only a few days left before they show their film to the people of Samfya, the women double their efforts to finish on time. >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: It's really amazing - you see that in the first place, they are coming from different backgrounds. They don't know the people they are coming to work with. But once you bring them together, then there's a kind of unity, a kind of force among them. The women we bring together, they have to believe and trust that we can guide them to come out with a film at the end of the day. >> JOSEPHINE: Action! >> PENELOPE: How are you? >> MAN: What are you doing? Don't you know that prostitution can lead to HIV? >> CHRISTINE: Is this one your brother? >> PENELOPE: He's my brother. >> CHRISTINE: I want to tell you that there's nothing like that. >> DOMINIQUE CHADWICK: Okay, what was the sound like? >> FRIEDA: Nice. >> DOMINIQUE CHADWICK: Nice? Okay. >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: And we have to believe that no matter where they are coming from, the skills that they are going to be given, they can use it to get their voices heard. >> BRIDGET: I've seen a big change in myself because before this group I didn't know how to find a story, or how to find out about other people's lives, how to ask questions. I've never had this kind of strength, but now that I've been in this group I can stand up and talk in front of people in English or in Bemba. I can talk and they can hear me. Now I can do it and I won't even be shaking. >> DOMINIQUE CHADWICK: The VCT scene is a very, very important scene in the film because it will inform people of the urgency to be tested. >> VOICEOVER: Samfya has one the highest rates of HIV infection in all of Zambia, a country where one in six adults lives with the disease. Life expectancy here is under 40. The group has come to a local clinic to film the last major scene of Penelope?s story. She came here as a 16-year-old to be tested for HIV. >> PENELOPE: I was 16 years old when I realized that it is important for me to go for the test at the VCT Center. Because I know that through my background, I was a prostitute, and I realized that the men I was sleeping with, I couldn't tell just by looking at them. So, in order for me to be free in mind, I should go and have a test. >> DOMINIQUE CHADWICK: Okay. Action! >> NURSE: How are you? >> PENELOPE: I'm okay, how are you? >> NURSE: I'm fine, thank you. So, you've come for the test. There's one thing I want to find out from you. Have you ever been exposed to any risk factors? >> PENELOPE: Yes. >> NURSE: Was there protection or there was no protection? What I mean is, were you using a condom, or were you not using a condom, each time you used to have sexual intercourse? >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: People have gotten to know other people and they are becoming friends, becoming a family, so it's not that she's just acting, but we have feelings attached to it. And people are sharing her pains; people are sharing everything that she went through. Because she is reliving all that she went through, and that is not easy for her to have gone through that and now reliving it for the film to be made. >> NURSE: Okay. Your results are out. Are you ready for your results? >> PENELOPE: Yes. >> NURSE: Okay, here you are. I see that it says "one", that means it is HIV negative. >> PENELOPE: Yes. >> NURSE: So what do you understand about HIV -- >> MAN: There is an event this evening, at 7:00pm tonight, a film made by women from Samfya. For those of you who like joy and learning, at 7:00pm tonight, a film will be shown, made by women here in Samfya. The film is called, "I've Found My Way." >> VOICEOVER: On the day of the film's first showing, the women decide to get the word out on their own. >> PENELOPE: At 7:00pm there will be a film shown tonight. It tells the story of how orphans are mistreated and what our community can do about the problem. >> ABIGAIL: This film is made by the Samfya Women Filmmakers. We are teaching one another, and we're teaching our friends. >> MWELWA: We don't know how people will react after seeing our film, or how they will look at us as a group, and especially how they will respond to our friend whose story we are telling. >> WOMAN: If you have time, we hope you can come and watch it at the high school. >> VOICEOVER: With only a few hours before the screening of their film, Penelope returnS to the village where she lived with her parents, to the place where her family home once stood. >> PENELOPE: When my parents were alive my life was good. I'll never forget how close we were with my father's relatives, but when death came to my parents, my father's family changed. They came and took our beds so we had to sleep on the floor. We used to have a TV and a stereo, and although the house didn't have any electricity, those things made the house look good. The fact that they grabbed everything wasn't easy, but what could we do apart from accept what's been done? I would like my father's family who grabbed our property to see my story. This is my cousin. This is my auntie, the sister to my father. We are going to show a film about what happened to me at the high school at 7:00pm tonight. Will you be able to come and see it? >> WOMAN [Penelope's Aunt]: I can't come because I am too busy. The farmland your father left is a long way off and I don't have time. >> PENELOPE: I just pretend to be happy when I'm near them. If you could get inside my head when I sat with them, then you could have seen what I was thinking. The thought of them grabbing our property still haunts me. When I'm talking to them I can still picture them taking things from our house. That's what's stayed in my mind; I don't know how to get rid of it. >> VOICEOVER: At Penelope's request, their film's premiere will take place at a local school. It will be the first film ever produced in Samfya. >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: It's really brave of her. Not everybody in this school knows Penelope's story. But today, after the screening, everybody will leave knowing that, "Oh, this is what she's gone through." >> ABIGAIL: When I think about how Penelope has shown us all her suffering, I want to urge people to give her the respect she wants and deserves. It has been difficult for her to tell her story. It is not easy to tell people what you've been through, but I'm hopeful that people will respect her for it. >> PENELOPE: I'm Penelope and I'm from Samfya in northern Zambia. My parents were very supportive and loving. But one day, my father died of AIDS and that's when my mother disclosed to us, me and my brother, that she is also going to die. It is so difficult to believe that your beloved one has died. Then, our auntie came and she offered to take me in her fishing community, but my aunt didn't have enough income to support me to school, so I had to start selling fish at the market. My friends, who are also orphans, they've engaged themselves in prostitution. When those friends came, they passed through the market and they started saying that, "We are making a lot of money". So I was eventually convinced to join them in prostitution. I was in prostitution for three months, but I wasn't a happy prostitute. My auntie wanted me to stop prostitution so she went to see the head teacher. So one day, I met him in town. He said that if I'm ready to stop prostitution, he could help me in school. >> BENJAMIN CHAMA: I met your aunt yesterday. She came to see me at the office. She's very, you know, worried about you. Are you willing to come back to school, Penelope? >> PENELOPE: "I'm very much willing, sir. If that could happen, I could be the happiest person in the world!" Because I engaged myself in prostitution, I was worried that I might be infected with AIDS. So I decided to go to the VCT Center to be tested. >> NURSE: So what do you understand about HIV negative result? >> PENELOPE: In my body, you have not found the germ [virus] that causes AIDS. >> PENELOPE: So now I'm back at school. I'm now a changed person. It was because of poverty that I left school and engaged in prostitution. I'm now very happy because I have a future. My story needs to be told to show people how vulnerable orphans are, and nobody should take advantage of them. >> VOICEOVER: As the film draws to an end, the women sense an opportunity. Without prompting, they take to the stage one by one. >> FRIEDA: All the people who made the film are here, and you can start asking questions. >> WOMAN 1: From what I've heard, when you have HIV/AIDS your life is very short. Is it true? >> PENELOPE: Yes, this is true, but the problem is us young people are scared of the VCT Center. We think it's just for adults. But as the film showed, young people like us can go there too. >> WOMAN 2: This shows us that leaving the house and going into prostitution is a very bad thing. Prostitution involves some real dangers. You can get all kinds of sickness and it can end in death. >> ABIBATA MAHAMA: I don't think most of them will ever forget today. Most of them spoke so confidently, and it's all part of what the whole filmmaking and advocacy is all about. Build their confidence up so that their confidently talk about contributing to change attitudes. And I think it's really working. >> FRIEDA: We appreciate your comments; we'd like to hear more. >> BENJAMIN CHAMA: That was very nice, you know, that film that we watched. I want to thank you for being very brave. Thank you for a job well done. Thank you. >> VOICEOVER: With the success of their premiere, other screenings soon follow across Samfya. >> PENELOPE: At the end, people were passing some comments and I was happy that the comments they were passing, they were good. They didn't know that in Samfya, there would be a group like this. >> BENJAMIN CHAMA: The things you've seen do happen in our village, right? Especially to orphans, when property is grabbed from them. >> MAN: This film is very good. Next time, I would like even more information. >> PENELOPE: I'm proud because we want to make a difference. So even my fellow friends, they are proud. >> WOMAN: Stop making noise! We're really thankful for being shown this film. We never expected to see a film like this in Samfya and we really want to thank the people who made it. >> VOICEOVER: After their screenings in town, the women have one important audience left to face. They bring their film back to the people of the fishing camp, to the husbands and children of their fellow filmmakers. >> PENELOPE: Making a film about your life story is not easy, but if you really put your heart into it you can explain everything, because if you keep something to yourself it becomes a burden on your heart. But if you share it with people it becomes lighter. Because of our film, by telling my story, and showing the film to people, my heart has slowly, slowly started to open up. Because of this, I started forgiving my father's relatives. People say, you never forget, but I'm putting the past behind me. >> AGNES: I want to thank those people who picked us up. We never imagined that we would do what we have done, and for that we are on our knees. >> MAN 1: This group has been really good, and they've enlightened us. We've seen firsthand what happens when you leave a child and the child is suffering. I want to say thank you. You who have come to visit us have brought us happiness; you've left us with joy. >> MAN 2: Orphans like me used to shed tears when we saw other kids with their parents, seeing them happy together. This used to bring us misery thinking back to those times when we were with our parents who we've lost. I really want to thank this group, and I'm left speechless. And I ask this group, are we going to see you again? >> SIGN: Sweet After Sweat Shopping Center >> AGNES: This project has brought joy to us women in Samfya, especially us women in the Samfya Women Filmmakers. People in other areas who are not in this group are really envious, and they say they want to join us. Others came to us and said, "It's great what you're doing. You should make more films, you shouldn't stop." I'm hoping this group will continue. Just like a fire, when it's burning, it should keep on burning. >> TITLE: Abigail graduated from high school. She hopes to study business in Zambia's capital, Lusaka. Cindy is finishing primary school. She wants to be a lawyer one day. Frieda cares for three young relatives and her five-year-old daughter. She wants to be a teacher and hopes to begin training soon. Agnes has started her own small business selling vegetables. She is now in school taking literacy classes. Bridget cares for her sister's three young children and her own daughter. She has been elected secretary of the group and is studying social work. Penelope graduated from high school. She has started her own small business and hopes to start teacher training soon. >> TITLE: The Samfya Women Filmmakers went on to show their film to over 3,000 people across their community. The group is already at work on their next film, a documentary about child marriage. This project was made possible by The Campaign for Female Education. For more information about how you can help educate and empower girls and women in rural Africa, visit www.camfed.org. http://www.viewchange.org/videos/the-entrepreneurs Florence, Esnart, Ng'andwe and Precious all come from backgrounds of extreme poverty in rural Zambia. They've embarked on five months of intensive training in leadership and enterprise. With courage and determination, these young women defy the odds and establish their own successful businesses, proving that anything is possible. Fri, 12 Aug 2011 09:41:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/the-entrepreneurs Zambia, Social entrepreneurship, Gender, Sub-Saharan Africa, Microfinance, Education, Social change, 10,000 Women, Mpika, Entrepreneurship >> TITLE: Camfed presents: A See Change Films Production, in collaboration with Goldman Sachs, 10,000 Women Initiative, and The University of Cambridge.>> TITLE: 150 young women from rural Zambia, from backgrounds of extreme rural poverty, are coming together to undertake an intensive training course. Over the next five months they will be taught leadership skills, social entrepreneurship, and how to become successful businesswomen. >> SIGN: Lubwe High School Educaiton Board>> TITLE: The Entrepreneurs>> BENJAMIN CHAMA [Camfed Zambia]: Lubwe is a rural community with no source of employment except for the fishing and maybe peasant farming. So I think that there isn't any money to go around. We would like to empower rural people through education, because I believe with all my heart that it is only through the giving of education that we can change the poverty cycle in our country.>> BARBARA CHILANGWA [Camfed Zambia]: Welcome all of you again, I know I welcomed you yesterday but I would also like to welcome you in a special way this morning because this now marks the beginning of this very precious course to all of us, because it is the first of its kind in Zambia. >> WOMAN 1: As you've heard already, they've introduced the Camfed program and our learning objective is to empower the young rural girls just like yourselves so that you don't have to struggle. Everyone, you are expected to write one expectation that you hope to achieve at the end of the three weeks. I want to learn how to start a business and to be a leader of different people. >> WOMAN 2: With the expectations you've given me I can predict you are ready to learn, isn't it? >> CATHERINE BOYCE [Course Leader]: The overarching theme of the course is leadership. People have to believe in themselves and their ability to affect change, to have the skills, to have the confidence, to have the vision to look around them and see opportunities where previously they had seen none. >> WOMAN 3: When choosing a leader, we have to see that this person has the qualities of a leader in them. >> WOMAN 4: Am I going to be a director? That is a leader who has a vision ahead of them. >> WOMAN 5: A leader must be honest, a leader must be with good behavior, and communicate. That's all. >> WOMAN 4: Why did you draw a picture of a man instead of a picture of a woman? Because we have taught you that we are leaders, I am also a leader, you are also leaders.>> BARBARA CHILANGWA: These young women will draw men as leaders because that is what they have known all their lives. At the family level, it is the father who is the leader. At school, it's mostly male teachers that are leaders and head teachers. So what this course will do is that it will break that perception. The communities will see for themselves that women can do the job and can do it well. >> MWANGALA MUKELABAI [Trainer]: Good morning ladies. >> WOMEN: Good morning. >> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: How are you? >> WOMEN: Fine. >> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: So, today we are going to talk about our rivers of life. Each one of you should be able to write your rivers of life, should indicate on your river of life the worst things that have happened in your lives, and also the good things that happened in your life. >> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: In one of the sessions that we had with the young women, we were talking about the river of life so that people can come out of their situations. They can be very free to express themselves and also to share with others what they are going through. >> WOMAN 1: My life was going very good and fantastic. My father was working, my mother was not working. In 1996, my father died and my river started going down. >> WOMAN 2: And he has no money to pay for my school fees and buy my school uniform and he was telling me, "It's better you get married than to go to grade 8, me I don't have money." >> WOMAN 3: And I passed but I couldn't manage to go to grade 8 because my parents, they only cultivate. >> BARBARA CHILANGWA: The women in our program, the 150 of them, come from very difficult backgrounds. Most of them, I can say almost 80 percent of these girls will have lost either one parent or both parents.>> FLORENCE [Student]: My name is Florence and this is the river of my life. I was born in 1990. And in 1997 my dad passed away. He died. In 1998, I started staying with my mom. We only survived by using the money that dad left. And in 2001, my mom died also.>> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: They think that when they are coming from poor families, that's the end of their lives. So my role here is just to empower girls to be able to believe in themselves and also to feel like they can do something about it. >> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: Then my river started going down in 2001. That's when my father passed away. And when he died -->> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: When my dad died life was so difficult for us because my mother couldn't support us. >> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: I'll always remember this year, when my river went down and the water was even too cold for me. >> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: When I was working with Camfed, I was able to go back to school again because education is the only key to success. My dream was to bring back the life we used to enjoy with my father. >> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: And then I managed to build by mother a very big house that she's so proud of. And I'm also happy. I managed to build my mother that house when I was 22 years old. >> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: Now I know that there are a lot of challenges that the young women are facing, that the rural people are facing, so I want to become a Member of Parliament one day, and I know I'm going to become one. >> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: You can also do it. Despite where you are coming from, the sky is not the limit. If you just believe in yourself that you can do it, you can do it. If you've got that zeal and the self-determination to believe in yourself, and you know that one day you are going to achieve whatever your dreams will be, you are going to excel, and you are going to achieve that, okay?>> WINNIE FARAO [Social Entrepreneur]: The poverty that was haunting our families would just not allow us to go to school. We were not supposed to be educated and we were not supposed to look at ourselves as leaders, but as subordinate. The fact that we were not supposed to get any opportunities to go to school, but we got it, then we have to use it and use it to the maximum. >> WINNIE FARAO: As a social entrepreneur, this is what I think I can go and do in my community. This is how I think I can go and make an impact. >> WOMAN: For me, what I can do as a leader, I should first join the group like Cama (Camfed alumni group) and then support those people who are in need. >> WINNIE FARAO: I feel that it is very, very important for the young women to understand social entrepreneurship and to understand business entrepreneurship, because the world that we are living in today, the young women and the communities that they come from, they are the best persons to deal with the challenges that they are facing everyday. For a long time, communities were not able to deal with their own challenges because there were no energetic young people to lead that process. >> TITLE: To help students find solutions to challenges in the community, a group of international social entrepreneurs are assisting on a number of issues. One of these issues is overfishing. >> ANNA OURSLER [Global Footprint Network]: The numbers of fish in the lake are reducing because so many people are taking them. We are going to learn how to be a scientist, and really look through our own eyes at what is happening in the waters and with the fish at Lake Bangweulu. We're going to take three data points and measure all of these things because we are doing a study to see if we can put a fish cage, an aquaculture fish cage, in the middle of the lake where we can grow and harvest fish. They've gone through about ten different scientific experiments to measure the qualities of water, which is something that all of them learned and can now do perfectly. The results will actually be submitted to the government, to the Ministry of Natural Resources, as part of an environmental assessment. So I think in their confidence there has been a real change, but also their skills, their technical skills about how to be a scientist, how to take scientific measurements. >> PRECIOUS [Student]: I'm Precious. We used to live in Kitwe. In 2001, mom died, then after a few years dad also died. Then we started living with dad's older brother. After living there for about a year, he started treating us badly. We couldn't touch our books, we weren't allowed to. Instead we were told to start doing housework. We had to do all the housework while his children were in the bedroom reading. So that was a very big problem. I found that that problem just got bigger, so that's how we came here to live with grandma, dad's mom. My grandma is very old. Sometimes she is not able to work for very long. She can't go to the field and work for a long time. But we help her cultivate, when we go to the field we cultivate. Apparently, someone explained my problem to my headmaster. That's when I came under Camfed's support. After this, the teacher who was our mentor told me, "Precious, you should remain behind and attend this course that will teach you about social entrepreneurship." I couldn't believe it. I just started crying because I didn't expect that I could have such luck. >> ALAN JACKSON [Aptivate ICT Trainer]: What we'd like to talk about now is just to find out what experience you all have with IT. >> WOMAN: I don't know anything about computers. >> ALAN JACKSON: So the four of you have never used a computer before?>> ALAN JACKSON: We have to start sort of at the beginning. Here are some computers, here's how you put them together. Here's how they work, here's how you make your network of computers work, here's how you connect to the Internet, here's how you find out if something's wrong. There are a lot of cultural adjustments, a lot of things we take for granted that of course they will have had no experience of. >> PENELOPE [IT Teacher Trainee]: Before the beginning of this course I didn't have any experience with computers. We were just learning about computers, that they exist. But this is the first time I came across a computer, using it on my own. >> ALAN JACKSON: We're working with a small group, a group of four young women who will be running the resource center after this training course. >> PENELOPE: It is connected to the Internet. And that thing that you are seeing there, that's where the position of the satellite is. >> ALAN JACKSON: I think that they're getting the right flavor, or spirit, of IT, that they're going to be able to fix things themselves, they are going to be able to find out things for themselves. They are going to be quite empowered by this technology, and hopefully then empower a community with that same spirit. >> FLORENCE: I'm excited. Before, I never knew how to type anything on the computer, but today I've learned something I think. >> MATILDA [Student, 20 years old]:: You can also sell your goods through the computer. Me, I would love to know how they buy, like when they say, "I bought this through a computer." I would like to know how they buy things through a computer. >> NG'ANDWE [Student, Age 18]: Because my item is sugar, how can someone get their sugar from the computer? When we started learning, I'm telling you, it was interesting. And the studies were very different from what I was thinking so it was very interesting, and I even learned many things: how to be a social entrepreneur, how to help people, even this time I'm a role model in our community. I think I'll be teaching my fellow youths and the young ones and those who are in school. When I was in grade 2, in 1998, my father passed away. The way of living started changing, it was very difficult. When my dad passed away, it was very difficult for us to find books, pens, even the money to pay for our school fees. But my mom was a hardworking mother, so she was fighting for us. When the results come out and if I do well, I'm thinking of studying law. I'm thinking of studying law because a lot of people who have done law are men, so I want to be one of the few women lawyers so that I can fight for people's rights and women's rights. At least in law I will not be the way I am in this time, I think I'll be someone. >> LUNGOWE CHISHINGA [Human Rights Lawyer]: Why am I telling you these technical things? Because I want you to that if you are going to claim your rights, you need to know two things. One: where is that right guaranteed? Walia and Stephen have been married for three years, and they have two sons. So she's a 17-year-old girl who is a child and is a mother of two children. Is this strange? Do we find 17-year-olds in our communities that are mothers? >> BARBARA CHILANGWA: Most Zambian women grow up not knowing that they actually have rights. Most parents, especially when girls become of age at about the age of 15 for example, they already begin to consider them ready for marriage. >> LUNGOWE CHISHINGA: So you tell me, are any of Walia's rights violated? My lawyers, what rights are violated? >> FLORENCE: Choosing, a right of choice. >> BARBARA CHILANGWA: So we believe that ensuring that focus on a program that brings to their attention that they actually have rights about their own sexuality and their lives will change the way, first of all, that they now relate to members of the community, to their husbands, the members of their family, in the sense that they will go out there believing that they have rights and that no one should trample on their rights. >> WOMAN: My question is, for example, I'm a married woman and then my husband is committing adultery. I decide to consult the elders, and then the elders say, "A man's adultery does not ruin the home." Yet it is contributing to the risk of being exposed to many diseases. What step can I take? >> BENJAMIN CHAMA: There are a lot of myths surrounding women having sex, so I thought maybe I should speak about sexuality to the 150 women so they understand that they have the right to make choices about when they should have sex and who they should have sex with. >> BENJAMIN CHAMA: Especially for us parents, it's very difficult to talk about sexuality to you at your age. I want to tell you, I come from a very big family. There were 11: five girls in my family and six boys. Today, I don't have any sisters; they are all dead from the HIV/AIDS virus. Only three of my brothers are alive. Perhaps if there had been condoms, they would have used condoms and today I would be seeing them. >> ESNART [Student, 19 years old]: I was just shocked by what he said, it brought a shiver down my spine and I thought like, maybe if there was someone, someone like us today, young leaders who would have talked to those people, maybe if they knew them, it would have been possible for them to be alive this day. I think now that we are not vulnerable because we've got more information about HIV and AIDS, and we know our rights also. I have to tell the other people, letting them know how dangerous this disease is. I was born in 1990, I used to stay with my biological mom and when she died I came to stay with my mom's older sister. She's my mom now. Her husband died when I was still at school. I've got three brothers and four sisters. I love them so much. Such that when I complete I just want them to have a good future. Before my mom died, she took my real father to victim support, but he didn't respond still. He just stays in Mansa there, but he works, yes. But I don't know why he doesn't support me. I don't know why he just doesn't care for me. Sometimes when I'm sitting I just dream that I wish I could have a big house where we could all live together, just give my family the life that they've always wanted. >> WOMAN: How are we going to get the overall risk? We can get the overall risk by multiplying the likelihood of the event by the size of the effect of the event. >> MAN: You are managing your projects, and you need to understand the project lifecycle and the project chart, which is a tool that will help guide you through whether you are progressing in a particular project or not. >> CATHERINE BOYCE: Training in financial management is a key part of the program. Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge is one of our partners for designing and actually delivering this program. The MBAT actually drew on resources, on tools, and on models for learning that are actually used by MBA students all around the world. >> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: We are all business ladies here, isn't it? And we are fully empowered with the skills and knowledge to be able to run our businesses successfully. We've learnt a lot of things: advertising, we've learnt about marketing, we've learnt about record keeping and everything. So we are fully empowered as young women in Mpika district to be able to deliver and run our successful businesses. Okay, between now and next week we should be able to plan on which business we want to engage ourselves in as we go back to our communities. >> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: Today we are going to do market research in Mansa district. In my group they have identified to do communication business, which they are very excited about. >> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: On average, how many cards are you able to sell in a day? >> WOMAN 1: I make 2 million K (USD$400).>> WOMAN 2: You make a lot of profit, oh my goodness!>> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: She's the only woman we have interviewed so far out of 11 men, just one woman. One of the things that she said was that this business was being run by men mostly, so she's very much excited to see the girls actually coming up with this brilliant idea for them to be able to set up their own businesses. So she's actually very much inspired by the girls.>> TITLE: After carrying out market research, all 19 groups found gaps in the market for social and business enterprises. >> NG'ANDWE: This is our business plan. The total cash inflow will be 1,100,000 in month one. >> CATHERINE BOYCE: We're introducing them to the business planning side: how to do a cash flow, how to financially plan expenditure and income over the time period. And they're actually preparing those plans right now and presenting them tomorrow morning in a competition. >> MATILDA: Our mission statement is as follows: to make communication accessible to all -->> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: We're doing very fine. So far the girls are practicing their presentation for tomorrow and they are very, very excited with all the brilliant ideas they've come up with. I think they are going to be winners because they worked very hard for this and they are very excited. We can't wait, we are so excited!>> MATILDA: I know that the competition will be quite tough, but I think at least we will manage to do something, I'm thinking we'll be the first ones. >> FLORENCE: How are you feeling? >> WOMAN 2: I'm feeling a bit nervous because I'll be presenting the market research plan to a lot of people in the plenary. >> FLORENCE: I'm also feeling nervous. The reason why I'm feeling nervous is because there will be judges and there will be a lot of people that side. Tonight we are going to write the mission statement. >> TITLE: Competition Day. If successful, each group will receive funding to start their own business or social enterprise.>> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: Hi ladies! Are you ready for today? I just want to encourage you to feel confidence and believe in yourselves, and just know that you can do it, because all of us have different projects, and I believe your project is the best! So just show them that. >> BENJAMIN CHAMA: Okay, thank you very much everybody. This is a very special day. We have got our judges table there, and we are going to start immediately with group 12. >> WOMAN 1: And the name of our communication business is "Beyond Vision Communication" (BVC). >> MATILDA: This is our mission statement. We will be making sure that everyone access communication.>> ESNART: The current situation in Mpika is very worrying in the sense that there is an increase in child abuse, child labor, and street children. Our mission statement will be to provide vulnerable children age two to six years with basic education and good nutrition. >> WOMAN 2: We are going to open a restaurant by the name "Big Sisters." The restaurant will offer nshima, rice, chicken, beef, sausages, vegetables, kapenta, chips and bread with eggs. >> BENJAMIN CHAMA: Let's give them a big hand. >> WOMAN 3: Our goal is to raise awareness in young women against sexual exploitation. >> NG'ANDWE: Us, "Future Fighters," have decided to undertake two projects respectively. One group will take hardware as a business project and the other group will take advocacy for persons with disabilities. >> FLORENCE: This is our budget; this is the description, number of days, quantity, unit cost and amount. >> MWANGALA MUKELABAI: What inspired you to go into advocacy? >> WOMAN 5: It's through education that people will know about the dangers of HIV/AIDS. We will be able to eradicate ignorance in Zambia. >> BENJAMIN CHAMA: You've all done tremendously well, I think, in the various presentations. So we deserve a pat on the back ourselves, so we shall give ourselves a good hand for what we have done. >> NG'ANDWE: Before I presented I was feeling -- I even started shivering. But when I went to the stage I came up with that courage, I felt something. Then, it went just okay. >> TITLE: All 19 groups were successful in receiving funding to start their new enterprises. The 150 entrepreneurs will now return to their communities for four months. >> FLORENCE: I never imagined that I would be a business entrepreneur in my life at this tender age. When I start having my own money, first of all I'll start helping my family, I'll be buying food for my family, then clothes. I'll be helping other children in the community, I'll be a role model to them and people will be happy about it because maybe other people never used to think that I can do it but now I can.>> TITLE: Four months later. The entrepreneurs are returning to Lubwe for the final stage of their training. >> CATHERINE BOYCE: We weren't quite sure how far the young women would get with their projects, and what we found was that every single project team created a brilliant business plan, they set up a bank account, they managed their funds, and they all achieved impact, which was going to be one of the themes of the course, the impact that they achieved. >> BENJAMIN CHAMA: This is a very beautiful morning and a very important day, just like any other day. Now, today we are going to display what we were doing in Phase Two. We are going to set up stalls, all those skills that we learned to persuade. The first half of the team will be going around and will be sticking stars to what they think is the value. >> FLORENCE: As you can see, this is our group name and number on that side. That?s the Kakabalika group 13, and the profit that we made was K200 thousand (USD$40). This is our financial records book. We are planning to continue this project because we've actually made profit. >> ESNART: I think everyone is doing a great job and everyone is putting in effort because it takes a lot of guts for someone to come up with something like this. I'm really impressed with everyone, I think they are all doing great. >> CATHERINE BOYCE: We actually have 19 separate enterprises: we have a preschool for vulnerable children, a loan scheme, we have three different groups communicating about the importance of education to young girls. We have several retail enterprises selling secondhand clothes, selling groceries, and selling mobile phone talk time. Huge diversity of enterprises. >> WOMAN 1: What are some of the impacts?>> WOMAN 2: You are going a long distance to buy talk time. For instance, here we have brought talk time very near, you are buying talk-time within the school. >> WOMAN 3: I think the group is so good and they've got pride and confidence. I think they are making a lot of profit since they are girls selling talk time. >> WOMAN 4: What we wish to achieve, especially in the rural community in Mpika, we want people to have big businesses. We want them to have big businesses, we want their businesses to grow, we don't want people to be staying home, and we want them to take their children to school. >> BENJAMIN CHAMA: I've been going around to look at their projects, and I feel great about the achievement that they've made. I'm simply bowled over. I don't even have words to describe what I have seen, the amazing things that they were able to do: the financial records they were able to keep, and also the products, the impact that it has had on this society I think is indelible. I think it's fantastic. >> TITLE: One month earlier, back in their communities. Mpika Microfinance Scheme. >> PETRONELLA [Managing Director]: Our business is a business where we give loans on low rates so that everyone is able to afford to pay back. We decided to embark on this venture because we saw that most women were really vulnerable in Mpika, they couldn't manage. So we wanted to upgrade their standards of living. Some of them wanted to upgrade their businesses because we saw that some people had the passion for business. At the moment we are supporting eight women. We have eight clients. Each woman had a K200 thousand (USD$40) loan. >> PETRONELLA: Hello, how is work going? >> WOMAN 2: It's all right. >> WOMAN 1: How are you? >> WOMAN 2: I'm fine. >> PETRONELLA: We've come to see how your business is going, what you are doing, how far you've come, and how you've used the money we gave you towards your business? >> WOMAN 2: I feel very good about the loan you gave me. There is a difference in that in the past I didn't have a business, I wasn't selling anything. Now I am selling goods and I am making money. I am able to solve a lot of my problems on my own. >> PETRONELLA: Would you like to receive another loan? If so, how much more would you like to receive? >> WOMAN 2: I would like much more. Make it big; make it K1.5 million (USD$300). >> PETRONELLA: K1.5 million (USD$300)!>> WOMAN 2: Yes. >> WOMAN 1: Will you manage to pay us back quickly, with interest? >> WOMAN 2: I will do so very well! Very quickly! Easily with interest on top!>> PETRONELLA: And if you fail to pay back, what should we do to you? >> WOMAN 2: We will agree on what should be done. >> PETRONELLA: All right. >> WOMAN 2: I wouldn't fail to pay you back. >> PETRONELLA: How do you feel about all this? >> WOMAN 2: I feel joyful. >> WOMAN 1: Thank you. >> WOMAN 2: I thank you too. >> PETRONELLA: Our plan is that we'll get a loan from Microbankers Trust. We are planning to get a loan of maybe K5 million (USD$1,000) so we support fifteen women. And from that I think our business will keep on growing and the profits that we'll be making, we'll be giving to more women. >> WOMAN: I decided to use the loan you gave me together with my profit to buy my own sewing machine. So I bought a sewing machine. Also, that profit is helping me because I'm now able to pay my children's school fees. >> PETRONELLA: I feel very proud and I'm very happy that I'm able to solve big people's problems, women's problems. >> BARBARA CHILANGWA: They have had hands on practice, I think, by designing their projects, which they did. They have tried them out; they went and launched them themselves in the communities, in communities, where, before this program, they were looked down upon. >> PRECIOUS [Company Secretary, BVC]: As of now, I am in a position to take care of my grandmother because of our business we are doing, I'm not even nervous about my future, I'm just looking forward to it so that I can have my own bright future now. >> BARBARA CHILANGWA: They'll be received very well; they'll be accepted back in their communities because they will have proved the point that women are capable of leading programs, they're capable of solving problems, and they're capable of playing a role in the development of their communities. >> TITLE: The Great Ones Preschool>> ESNART: Our social enterprise is opening up a preschool for vulnerable children and our objectives are to teach 30 to 60 children in the first term. And when we teach them we aim at letting them know why basic education is important. >> ESNART: What's a preschool? >> CHILD: A preschool is a place where children are taken to be taught how to read, how to write, and how to count numbers, how to be disciplined. >> CHILDREN: Well done, well done, such a good girl. >> ESNART: It's also very good for a child to go to a preschool because it builds up a foundation. When that child goes to grade 1, that child will be able to count, write numbers, and that child will be very active. It's very interesting to explore a child's mind, just how they develop, how they learn, you just start remembering your childhood and it was very interesting and so inspiring and it made be proud. The children that we've enrolled here mainly are from vulnerable backgrounds, backgrounds where we find that their parents are dead; we find that they don't have all that much to sustain themselves. That's why if this preschool didn't exist these children would just be roaming around. >> WOMAN: Preschools that are here are private, but us here, we provide them with books, pencils, crayons and uniforms. Then they should just pay a certain amount, maybe if that parent can't afford to bring money and then that parent is a farmer or something like that, they can bring anything in terms of crops like maize, millet, cassava, or groundnuts. >> ESNART: And it's not always that all the children pay, it's not everyone who pays, and we don't chase those children away who don't pay. We allow them to learn because we are giving them an opportunity to shape up their future. >> WOMAN: I didn't know I could run a preschool for vulnerable children, helping vulnerable children and maybe in the future I could do more than we are doing to develop my country and maybe develop my community. A lot of people say that, "If you are poor, there is nothing you can do in the future." What I have learned is that even if you are poor, you can do something in your life. At least in the future, you can learn and you can become somebody one day. >> TITLE: Graduation>> BENJAMIN CHAMA: My prayer is that these 150 women will continue with the social enterprise, with the business skills that they have acquired. I know that we cannot just leave them like this. They will need support from all of us because this is a big thing that we have built, we have given them hope and the belief that they are able to do something on their own. >> BARBARA CHILANGWA: Good afternoon leaders. I overheard one of you talking, I don't think they knew that I was listening: "Now that this thing is finishing, what am I going to do?" There is no reason for any of you to despair. Camfed is committed to assisting you to get into that college of your choice.>> BARBARA CHILANGWA: We will support them if they decide to carry on with the projects that they have established, we will support them if they decide to go to college, we will support them in many ways to ensure that they have the independence that we want for all of them. >> ESNART: Yes, I feel that I'm a leader and I'm an entrepreneur. Firstly, I'll start by saying that I'm a leader because I know that leadership is not about leading everybody, like maybe in front, telling them, giving them orders, no. Leadership is about being who you are, being passionate about what you do, and also making others feel important, also knowing that you depend on other people for your success. And leadership is about working hard with others, being committed, and teamwork. I also believe that I'm an entrepreneur because I'm able to start up my own business, I'm able to run it smoothly, know whether I'm succeeding or I'm failing in my business. I think my future really holds so many things for me. I just feel that I will really achieve so many things. >> TITLE: Ng'andwe is working as an assistant IT trainer in the new IT Resource Center in Samfy. Next year she plans to study Social Work. Precious continues to grow Beyond Vision Communications. She uses the money she earns from her business to help support her family. Florence is studying Gender and Development Studies at the Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts. She is proud to be one of the youngest female Managing Directors in her community. Esnart is now studying to become an accountant at the Zambian Institute of Management, Lusaka. "The Great Ones Preschool" is currently educating 68 vulnerable children. Since graduation, Camfed has supported the entrepreneurs with business mentoring and bursaries for Higher Education. In December, another 150 young women from rural Zambia will embark on the next Leadership and Enterprise course. Camfed International and the University of Cambridge - particularly the Cambridge Assessment Group and Judge Business School - collaborated to design this Leadership and Enterprise Training Program, which is implemented in Zambia by Camfed. The Goldman Sachs Charitable Fund and The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative made this program possible through their generous sponsorship. Camfed supports the education of girls and young women's empowerment in Africa. For more information about Camfed please visit www.camfed.org. >> TITLE: [End credits]