Seed by theogeo

The Alzar las Voces (Raise the Voices) project in Nicaragua brings farmers in rural communities the possibility to speak out  through video telling of their concerns, their projects, their wishes and ideas.

There are six organizations in Matagalpa Honduras who are working on this project including women's collectives, Matagalpa Organization for the Blind,  farmer organizations and an information center for Sustainable Development with the aid of Simas.   The website is part of a project which will serve to showcase the work these organizations are doing with the members of the community by having members of the rural communities speak about their life, concerns and interests.

In this next video,  Marcial Gonzalez, a promoter of the Farmer to Farmer program, explains how the program has helped them: first, they learned they shouldn't burn their lands to clear them,  how to build or grow ditches and barriers to help control erosion. Another lesson they've learned is the importance of saving and keeping seeds from national varieties of plants, since they are ideal to grow in their environment and why trees should be kept and not cut down, since they provide oxygen, shade and maintain the water sources.

Juana Urrutia, in another video, explains what it means to be a community promoter. A Promoter is in charge of a group or community, protecting the community's interests, be it in fieldwork, production or socially. They also transmit knowledge which they received during workshops or activities, since it is their responsibility to put into practice what they have learned within their communities.

Martha Elena Montenegro is a beneficiary of the credits and programs to help women start their own businesses. She makes some products using materials she harvests from her farm, however, after all the effort, she now has to pay back her loans, and she uses the video medium to ask how she should best distribute her earnings in order to be able to pay back her loan.

Image by Hisham G., photo by Opus

Extramarital sex in Morocco is taboo, technically punishable by imprisonment, though the law is rarely enforced.  Unwed motherhood then, is the ultimate taboo, and women who get pregnant out of wedlock are often shunned from their communities.  That's where activist and social worker Aicha Ech Chenna comes in: In 1980, after witnessing an unmarried mother give up her child, Ech Chenna formed a social work practice with the sole purpose of helping unwed mothers.  Now, nearly 25 years after its official inception, Solidarité Féminine employs women at two restaurants, a bakery, four small shops, and a hammam (bath), and provides them with health care, child care, and job skills.  The organization also provides women with legal assistance, helping them to officialize surnames for their children (in Morocco, women lack authority to give their children a surname, and without a surname, it is nearly impossible to get an ID card).

And so, in Solidarité Féminine's 24th year, 68-year-old Aicha Ech Chenna has just been awarded the world's largest faith-based prize for entrepreneurship, the Opus Prize.  The prize will provide the organization with 1 million USD (over 750,000 MAD).  The Moroccan-American board, based in Washington DC, held an event for Ech Chenna, capturing the event on video and sharing it via YouTube:

Moroccan blogger Hisham of The Moroccan Mirror started his career as a doctor in Morocco, and has seen the plight of unwed mothers in Morocco firsthand. He writes of the experience, and lauds Ech Chenna for her efforts, saying:

We heard terrible stories about some unwed pregnant women being rejected from clinics by doctors or nurses, and about newborns being abandoned near the gates of hospitals and clinics, and we saw those same abandoned babies and infants (“ben X” they were called, or “son of X”) being brought to the maternity unit, malnurished and dehydrated.

To be fair, those women were reasonably well treated, though one could sense the coldheartedness with which their cases were addressed. It was then that I first heard of organizations like “Solidarité féminine,” “Association enfance espoir Maroc” or “Bayti,” and of wonderful people like Aicha Ech Chenna who took upon themselves the burden of helping those young mothers and abondened children, in a society that continues to put the responsibility of extra-marital relationship, mainly on women. A terrible stigma that only people like Ech Chenna might help erase.

While Sesame Street is seen in over 140 countries, each version addresses local issues and has different Muppets. Golden-yellow Kami made her debut on the South African Sesame Street co-production, called Takalani Sesame, in 2002 in response to the country's HIV/AIDS problem. The world's first HIV-positive Muppet, she helps educate kids about the disease and confronts issues related to being HIV-positive. The name Kami is derived from the Setswana word “Kamogelo,” meaning “acceptance.” Sunshinestar110, blogging on U Don't Like My Opinion…That's Fine! talks more about Kami:

“Kami is a healthy HIV Positive, affectionate 5 year old orphan who is a little shy but quickly joins when approached in a friendly way, She also knows a lot about HIV, she lost her mother to the disease. When Kami was unveiled, with her mop of brown hair and she also wore a vest, wandering onto Sesame Street and wondering nervously if the residents will want to play with her. She didn't have to worry because the other Muppets enthusiastically welcomed her.”

Kami was introduced to help the many children in South Africa who are dealing with the HIV/AIDS crisis. South Africa is believed to have the highest number of people infected with HIV in the world — an estimated 5.7 million people. Approximately 280,000 of those infected are children 14 and younger and there are 1.4 million orphans in the country due to AIDS. In addition to the physical complications of having HIV, there's also the stigma and taboo that comes with having the disease, which makes it harder for people to receive adequate treatment and support. Takalani Sesame, which incorporates all 11 of South Africa's official languages, tries to help children address some of these issues head on through Kami.

However, there was much controversy when Kami was introduced, particularly in the U.S., as many were outraged that a children's show would feature an HIV-positive character. Haven on Earth elaborates on the debate:

“Although it was reported that Kami's arrival on Sesame Street in South Africa was welcomed (I have a hard time accepting this as fact because of the still high level of denial still there), there was definite controversy here in United States. I remember reading about this (which is why I was so pleased to actually encounter a show airing while in South Africa - it would have never occurred to me to look for it). Apparently a group of Republican congressmen sent a letter to the President of PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) that airs Sesame Street. The letter protested that plans to introduce a similar HIV-positive character in the United States in due course were inappropriate, given the age of the audience. They suggested that such a move might threaten public funding of PBS [Public Broadcasting Service].”

Kami has never appeared on the American Sesame Street, though she has proven to be a very successful character on Takalani Sesame and beyond. In 2003, UNICEF appointed her as a global “Champion for Children.” In this video, she joins former U.S. president Bill Clinton to deliver a message about HIV/AIDS. Jamie, blogging on No day but today…, discusses Kami's other successes.

“Since most South African children know someone who has AIDS, the character has become a national hero, beloved by the country's people. Kami has appeared at the United Nations and the World Bank and was interviewed by Katie Couric. She has also been named a UNICEF ambassador for children and has appeared in Takalani segments alongside Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela.”

Despite Kami's success, some bloggers still believe that she's not an appropriate character for the American version of Sesame Street. Emily Meyer, blogging for her honors class, says:

“Although it is important for Americans to know about HIV/AIDS and the seriousness of the diseases, I think teaching kids at the ages of two and three is a little extreme. Children this young would most likely not understand about HIV and would not understand its consequences. If Kami was to be introduced in the United States as a way to spread knowledge and combat AIDS, I do not think the intended results would occur…Kids in America are not forced to deal with the issue of HIV/AIDS at that young of an age. I think the appropriate time for kids in America to learn about the seriousness of HIV is when they are older, about ten or eleven years old or when the student becomes sexually active”

Still, many bloggers, such as this one writing on Muppets and History, see Kami has another example of how Sesame Street has pushed the boundaries. Others profess their love for the Muppet and the message she brings to children. And still others think she should be introduced on other versions of Sesame Street. On her personal blog, Steisha Pintado says:

“She shows children that it is okay to hug someone who is HIV positive, and she explains what to do when she has a cut on her finger or if you have a cut yours. She teachers her young audience about coping with illness and loss…Even though sex is never mentioned when talking about Kami’s condition, some people have said that having an HIV positive character would be inappropriate for a young viewing audience. One legislature even claimed that the Sesame Workshop would lose its government funding if it aired a program with such a character in our country. It is so shocking to hear these words. Parents spend less and less time with their children, and allow the television to educate them more and more. So obviously many parents aren’t teaching their children how to handle delicate subjects of awareness and acceptance. Parents have already allowed the Sesame Workshop to introduce acceptance with those who have disabilities and illnesses, and also with those who are a different race or religion. How is this any different?”

One of the initiatives is Sadaka Reut, and this is what they say about their program:

With the majority of Palestinian and Jewish youth physically segregated from one another (in separate communities and schools) and fears, racism and prejudice the result, we look to build alternative models for interaction between the two groups. The ‘Building a Culture of Peace’ program seeks to create a space in which both Palestinian and Jewish youth may feel equal, respected and recognized as individuals and as national collectives.

The members of their program have also been participating in the One Minute Video Project, where they learn about video activism during a one-week workshop. Here are some of the results, and you can see the rest by clicking through to their site:

Arab:

AM/FM:

Few Love Singing:

Another initiative is the Windows for Peace project, which started back in 1991 as an effort to produce a bilingual and bicultural magazine for youth as a way for them to connect and learn about the conflict, promote equality and empower youth. However, it hasn't been easy, as they explain on their site:

It is no simple task for Israeli and Palestinian youth to overcome the vast amount of misinformation and stereotypes they are taught about one another. The limited availability for interaction, a result of living in mostly segregated communities and exacerbated by the ongoing violent political conflict, perpetuates the historical fears, prejudice, and hatred that divide the two peoples. Windows is therefore dedicated to fostering large scale change in the way Israeli and Palestinian youth see themselves, “the other” and the conflict. Participants in Windows programs go through experiences that promote conflict transformation among both peoples, towards a peaceful reality with which both sides can live. We believe that a just and lasting peace must be based on democratic values, human rights, and mutual knowledge and acceptance of “the other.”

They are also working on a new initiative called Through the Lens, where 15 to 17 year old youth who “graduate” from the magazine continue developing skills to create short films, news pieces and other video productions to further “productive, peace-building dialogue and positive interaction”.

Here is a video where the participants of Windows speak about their experience in the group and how they have dealt with the challenges it represents to get out of their comfort zone and speak about difficult topics such as the conflict between Israel and Palestine:

As the children in the video state in so many words: they may have a hard time dealing with many of the opinions and perceptions other children express, but having the space to discuss issues in a safe and secure manner helps them understand the world they live in with a possibility to interact, learn and share with other children and youth and even change these perceptions.