You might be, without even knowing it…

Can apathy toward injustice hold a person as a captive, unable to make a difference? Or maybe it’s not the apathy, but the lack of information of how to truly help those facing harsh realities of poverty-stricken lands. Well, we’re about to find out.

Our good pal, author Kelsey Timmerman, has been taken hostage by his publisher, because of his indifference to injustice in Kenya. Since being “detained” to raise money to go serve in Africa, Kelsey has learned about Kibera, the largest slum south of the Sahara. Over 1 million people live on the outskirts of Nairobi in a slum where the average person lives without clean drinking water (read: mixed with sewage as there is only one latrine for every 100 people), without education (especially girls), and subject to gang tyranny, among other sad factors.

It’s time to do something.

Kelsey is hoping to raise enough money to partner with LIA, MacDonald Photography, and yours truly, to film a documentary about what can really change the situation: holistic community development through micro-enterprise. By giving people at the grass-roots level not only the dignity but also the practical necessity of having a stable, respected occupation, communities can change tremendously for the good of all. Together, we are hoping that this documentary will make the everyday American not only aware of the situation in African slums, but also of how to realistically help that situation change.

Want to escape apathy and help now? You can donate to the cause, learn more, help decide Kelsey’s fate by voting, or tweet this:
“Don’t be Held Hostage by Apathy! http://bit.ly/ae2XCA #apathyhostage”

Plus, all donors’ names will appear in the film credits. If you can’t wait for the release this fall, check out This is My Home, our first documentary about the street children of Ethiopia, and how LIA is working to bring hope into a desperate situation there.

Oh, and big props to our friends at Wiley and Relevant for helping us get the word out!

It’s finally here: the trailer from our first documentary film. We started this journey just about a year ago. This film, which was made for Life In Abundance and produced by Rule29 and MacDonald Productions, shares the stories and struggles of the street children of the Merkato Slums and shows what LIA is doing to bring hope to the approximately 50,000 children that live on the streets of Ethiopia’s capital. To purchase a copy of the film, go to the LIA store. All money that is raised goes to support the program and the continued work being done by Life In Abundance. For some of the behind the scene photos, check here.

Tell us what you think of the trailer, ask us any questions, or let us know if you want to host a screening.

Here is our Day 4 recap of some fun and interesting adventures!

Day 4: Waking up to our second day in the country town of Debre Berhan was exciting. We had a great long drive out the night before and shot late into the night at Dereje’s, but the team was ready for another day with him and his family. After grabbing a quick breakfast, we wanted to capture Dereje and his family during their normal Sunday activities, which were going to church and spending the day together as a family. We loaded our faithful bus with gear and began traveling the couple miles or so to Dereje’s house.

As we unloaded, we caught his family walking the dusty road to the paved road where they would rent a horse drawn carriage for the rest of the way. Although we drew lots of looks as we followed the family, I could tell they just loved being together. As we turned from the main road onto smaller neighborhood streets, we were amazed by the variety of materials used to construct the homes (or shelters) in which people lived…corrugated metal, sticks, mud, blocks, scrap pieces of wood, and the list goes on. Arriving at Dereje’s church, I soon realized it was the same church we had visited the year before to interview the men and women who were in LIA HIV programs.

Read the rest of the entry >

As some of you may remember, Rule29 ventured to Africa last year to learn about the work that LIA is doing in Sub-Saharan Africa. (For a recap go here.)

Rule29 has since adopted Life in Abundance as one of the organizations we support through giving of our talents and advocate it as much as possible. To see an organization that trains and empowers Africans to become the catalyst of change in their communities is not only inspiring but, most importantly, sustainable. To highlight this great work we went to shoot a video documentary that focuses on one of their programs, showing the need and potential change that can develop through LIA.

Although we’d hoped to blog daily, sadly we had no internet connection and were only able to twitter once we figured out how to get our phones working in Ethiopia. So we have decided to dedicate one day a week for the next few weeks to tell the story of our trip. Stay tuned for bits on the progress of the documentary, some funny stories and a couple of heart-wrenching stories. We’ll take you on this adventure as much as we can, building up to the release of the documentary this fall. In the meantime, check out our initial Flickr set that we may be adding to over time.

OUR FIRST UPDATE:

Day 1-2 was pretty uneventful. Hooked up with the LIA team in Detroit, and after two more connections we finally arrived in Addis. No luggage or equipment lost; we were just excited as a team what the next day had in store for us. We had a quick production meeting and knew that tomorrow had us interviewing some trainers & the hardcore street kids, filming some of the programs and doing an interview with Dereje, our main character for this project. As jet lag started to creep in, we all applied some deet and went off to bed with the excitement of tomorrow in our minds.

For additional recaps check out J.J. Peterson’s or LIA’s blogs. J.J. always has kernels of wit and wisdom. And he also provided much comic relief as can be witnessed in the video embedded below. After a long day and three flats, eventually to be four, JJ lost it a bit.

We still have the credit cause on facebook. If you are interested in supporting this film and want to appear in the credits, please sign up and give here. Please let us know any questions you may have as we go through this, and please share your thoughts or any projects you’re working on for the greater good.

PS: Don’t forget to check out the coffee table book form last year, or the newly created limited edition letterpress poster.