If we’re social media friends, you’ve probably heard us talking about this for a few months now… Alongside partners Wonderkind Studios and Life in Abundance, we are (finally) premiering our second documentary, “This is My Normal.” It will be Thursday night, April 7th at the historical and prestigoius Arcada Theater in St. Charles, IL. The screening is open to the public with a suggested minimum donation of $15 for entry. In addition, there will be a Q & A immediately following the screening with the directors, producers, and crew.

So, what is the film about?

“This is My Normal” explores two primary questions: “What is poverty?” and “What is normal?” These questions are explored through the stories and imagery of the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. In particular, the film focuses on the people of the Mathare Valley – a section of the Mathare slums, often referred to as the “Forgotten Valley.”

The Mathare Valley is a place where the local water supply (the river) has become the slum’s waste system, trash system, and playground for the young. The Valley is dependent upon the water; however, it is the slum’s most dangerous asset – threatening both children and homes with its ability to rise with an untimely rain. While the homes, unemployment, and health concerns are an embodiment of the (global) poverty issues, it is the “mindset” that is the gravest of concerns.

Reality is… that unclean water, (incredibly) low wages, and poor health are simply “normal” to the slums. Unfortunately, this way of life has become acceptable, and “acceptable” is the greatest hurdle to overcome.

Ironically, the presence of countless NGOs and sporadic visits from the West are often a big piece of the problem. “This is My Normal” explores the abundance of “quick fixes” out there and how they simply contribute to what is acceptable and normal. A reality, when discovered, uncovers the utter complexity of poverty – how we ALL play a role in its perpetual nature.

Fortunately, there are many who understand this historical reality and its connection to the “great divide” between the rich and the poor. And their proposing something so simple, yet so drastic and complex: change the way people think – the way Kenyan’s see the world.

Although it’s harder work and a longer process, those that have participated in helping Africa rethink their “normal”, have experienced hope midst the despair. It s an idea. An idea with results. And an idea “worth spreading.”

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This past April, both Justin Ahrens and myself, alongside our friends Brian MacDonald (Wonderkind Studios), Von Glitschka, Kelsey Timmerman, Bruce McEvoy and the Life in Abundance team, had a chance to shoot our second documentary project in Africa entitled “This is My Normal.” This film explores two primary questions: “What is poverty?” and “What is normal?” These questions are explored through the stories and imagery of the slums of Nairobi, Kenya.  In particular, the film focuses on the people of the Mathare Valley – a section of the Mathare slums, often referred to as the “Forgotten Valley.”

The Mathare Valley is a place where the local water supply (the river) has become the slum’s waste system, trash system, and playground for the young.  The Valley is dependent upon the water; however, it is the slum’s most dangerous asset – threatening both children and homes with its ability to rise with an untimely rain.  And while the homes, unemployment, and health concerns are an embodiment of the (global) poverty issues, it is the “mindset” that is the gravest of concerns.

Reality is… that unclean water, (incredibly) low wages, and poor health are simply “normal” to the slums.  Unfortunately, this way of life has become acceptable.  And “acceptable” is the greatest hurdle to overcome. Read the rest of the entry >

Last year we filmed our first documentary with @liaint and @macdonaldphoto called This Is My Home. It was a challenging, heartbreaking and beautiful journey. Our combined efforts helped raise over $300,000 for LIA’s project with the street kids in Ethiopia’s capital. This year the bar has been raised. We have been asked to go to one of the most challenging slum areas in the world and will be spending 8-10 days telling the story of a poverty that shouldn’t exist anywhere (here are some thoughts from my first trip to these slums Mathare and Kibera two years ago). This year the Life In Abundance USA director has gone before us to help line up the access and various items needing coordination. He recently sent me a note to share with the team, from which I’m sharing an excerpt with you. I couldn’t write for you what is ahead as well as he could, please read and keep the team in your thoughts from April 25-May 5.

/// Real and Raw ///
by Justin Narducci, Director of Life In Abundance

To be honest, it is easy to say that the poor will always be poor and there is nothing that can be done about it. This is especially true, if you see the tremendous needs that are present in Africa in light of and the tremendous amount of resources that have been poured into the continent over the last twenty years. At the very same time, this disposition also comforts those of us who are looking for a self-justifying way of not being involved with the plight of the poor, though few of us would probably admit to it.

Even me, as I walk the streets of Nairobi with my wife and children over the past few days, my gut reaction is indifference and apathy rather than compassion and grace. Naturally, I want to walk as fast as I can through these ‘uncomfortable’ alleyways with the implied purpose of ‘getting my family out of there as fast as possible’. ‘These streets are dangerous,’ I further reason, ‘these cars could easily hit and kill my toddlers’, or ‘these men could easily abduct my wife and do who knows what to her’ are the thoughts raging through my head. My body sweats, my heart pounds, my alertness seemingly suffocates any form of rationalization. This still happens to me and I have been working among the world’s poor for the past five years!

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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!

We greatly admire anyone or any organization that serves to change the human condition for the better. Our next guest is doing both in a way that literally empowers communities and saves lives. Dr. Florence Muindi, President and Founder of one of our favorite organizations, Life In Abundance, is a highly educated doctor and missionary serving the poorest of the poor in the most marginalized communities in eastern Africa. I’m humbled when I’m around her, and the whole team at Rule29 is honored to be a part of the work she started in the rural and urban slums of Africa. Please enjoy this interview and come back soon to see the LIA documentary trailer we created for the film we shot in Ethiopia this past spring.

1: When did you know that you wanted to be a doctor?
My interest started in elementary school, but I made the decision in high school.

2: Where did you go to medical school?
University of Nairobi, Kenya.

3: Have you done any other schooling?
Yes; a Master in Public Health, Disaster Management, Disaster Preparedness and Humanitarian Response, Health Provision to large populations and program design, Community-based health care facilitation, Professional Counseling, Urban Poor Theology, Pastoral Care.

4: Why did you decide to practice something other than curative medicine?
I wanted to take the preventive approach.

5: Where do you live?
Each year has been different for the last 15 years. It’s been many different locations in Kenya, the USA, and in Ethiopia. Home has been where the children are going to school. That is tricky now since the children are split – college in PA for Jay and Boarding High School for Kyalo in Kenya. Festus and I move around quite a bit and most of the time in separate trips. For 30% of the time, home is Kenya; the other 70% is made up of travel times in the other LIA Africa countries, the USA, and other various places.

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