Kenya: Day 15

Pray for:
- Shooting a quick and dirty documentary about Filamujuani
- Looking for a small group

What happened:
- met Ken at Adam's Arcade
- went to Nairobi Chapel for church
- went shopping with Eva. she bought a new wallet, talked down from 950 to 500. bought a scarf, talked down from 250 to 200. bought a pair of boots, talked down from 2500 to 1200.
- went to Steve's thanksgiving. his daughter, Siva had been sick. her intestines and tubes hadn't fully developed, so she couldn't pee or poop. now, she's ok, and it was a thanksgiving for her. i took pictures for Ken.
- went to Prestige to meet with Gwatila and Ken to talk about Zuki
- dinner: beef briani
- went home

In this review: Normalcy, Seeing, Missing

Normalcy
==
As I settle into my second week in Nairobi, I settle into a sense of normalcy. I wake up, go to work, have lunch, and then go home, waiting for the cycle to repeat. It definitely helped that I started right away.

Normalcy and rythm is actually a very good thing. It sounds dull, and in some ways it is. Thus, my decision to stop blogging daily updates (http://www.ninjavspenguin.com/blog/2010/05/26/kenya-day-11/). Though I'm still blogging daily thus far.

What makes it a good thing is it allows you to plan the future. It allows you to make decisions about what's to come. Decisions about your life.

I'm starting to get familiar with the lay of the land. Prestige, Adam's, Junction, Nairobi Chapel, all along the same road.

Seeing
==
After Gwatila's shoot (http://www.ninjavspenguin.com/blog/2010/05/28/kenya-day-13-planning/), we sat around and got to the topic of the power of seeing.

Often times, we take for granted what we have seen, experienced, and learned and how that changes not only our perspective, but also our ability to project and envision.

Sometimes, people need to be shown exactly what's going on for them to understand. That is the power of video. It enables people to see things that they wouldn't necessarily be able to see.

So, this week, we're going to shoot a quick and dirty documentary about Filamujuani and what's going on here and the change that it is bringing to Kibera. We're hoping that it'll be shot and edited over the next 2 weeks.

Missing
==
Being here for 2 weeks, the thing I've missed most is the people that I left in the states. Family, friends, people I care about and care about me. The physical and temporal difference has really started getting to me.

I knew that I was going to miss people, but I didn't realize I would miss them this much and so quickly.

It's been nice receiving emails, even if they're breif. It's also been nice being able to text M, even if they're within very narrow windows of her being awake. It's an 11 hour time difference between the two of us.

Kenya: Day 13

What happened:
- went to Adam's Arcade at 9:30. had breakfast, journaled. Ken was supposed come pick me up for Gwatila's music video
- Ken shows up with Kim, the guitarist, at 11:20.
- get to Gwatila's at 12, start setting up lights, etc for Gwatila's music video.
- I shoot some set photographs
- by 4, we've only finished Kim's shots and he has to go.
- we consider shooting some scenes with Gwatila, but we don't really have the time and start packing stuff up at 5:40
- we sit around and chat about Filamujuani (http://filamujuani.org/) and decide to shoot a quick and dirty documentary this coming week so people can see what we're doing and the sort of impact we're having
- we go to Spice Roots, an Indian restaraunt for Tom and Deb's farewell dinner. we're supposed to get there at 8, but get there at 9. they order food, get some appetizers at 10, get the actual dinner at 11.
- we go to Havana at 12:30, a local bar/club and dance the night away
- i get home at 2

Gwatila (http://http://www.ngwatilo.com/) is an actress, poet, singer and has her first published book of poetry, "Blue Mothertongue" (http://www.ngwatilo.com/blue-mothertongue/). Ken is shooting a music video for a poem she wrote called, "Dear E", which was put to music.

While Ken was shooting with his 5Dmk2, Gwatila was coming up with a shot list. At the end of the 4 hour shoot, we had 6 of 32 shots done for a 2:18 music video.

This is one of the reasons why planning is such a crucial part of filmmaking. In fact, planning starts in the script. The script is a series of descriptions of what is and what isn't on screen. Pre-production takes that concept a step further and figures out, practically, how do we show what's in the script.

Now, there are definitely instances where it takes a long time to even get 1 shot. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm also not advocating sticking so close to the plan that you don't allow for inspiration or serendipity, nor is getting the shot THE primary task.

What planning does, is it forces you to think through everything before actually doing it. It frees your mind so those moments of inspiration and serendipity are free to happen. Since your mind is no longer thinking about what HAS to be shot, it can be freed to wonder, explore, and play. You've already considered the possibilities and tossed out the ones you know won't work. All that's left, are the ones that will.

Planning also frees up time so getting the shot isn't what you're doing. I hate it when I get to the end of my day and I still have a ton of shots left to get, but I can't miss my day either. So I switch into functional mode. I get the shots I need in order to tell the story. But often times, those shots are devoid of life. They work, but they don't have that sense of magic that really connects.

Planning, it's your friend.

Kenya: Day 12

Pray for:
- a vision that transforms the community
- wisdom of how to implement that vision

What happened:
- went to prestige. did my devos. waited for ken, who didn't show up.
- met with Gwatila to talk about Zuki. plotted out episodes 3-4 and started talking about ep 1.
- went to Kibra Academy, taught pre-production: location lists, character lists, stripboards, prop lists, storyboarding, and shot lists. tom also came out and did an exercise with the kids, had 2 actors try to both get what they want
- Tom dropped me off at Adam's Arcade, walked home w/ my headlamp lighting the way
- had first power outage

Today, Tom came out to class. Most of it was pretty uneventful, but as we approached the end, it was time to say goodbye. Tom is moving to Rwanda after spending a year in Kenya. He's spent quite some time with the kids, teaching and helping them work on Zuki.

Zuki started out as a soap opera written, shot, acted, and produced by the kids. The goal was to produce this and sell it to local TV stations as a way to bring money into the community. But as the project went along, many of those goals got put on the back burner.

One of the problems, was that the kids aren't very experienced with writing or production. In fact, they don't have any experience. As much as we like to believe in gold coming out of the most unlikely places, the reality is that screenwriting, video production, and video editing are difficult. Each one is a craft that needs to be refined in its own right through failure, trial and error, and critical feedback from peers and audiences.

In the mean time, writing duties for Zuki have been mostly taken over by Gwatila and Ken.

Another problem is the lack of resources.

A few months ago, a small group of women pooled their resources and bought the school 8 laptops. Then, one day, they were stolen. This is Kibera. It's still a slum with all the things that come with slums: theft, murder, rape... lawlessness.

So what to do?

My recommendation to Ken was to set up a production company. He could start with 2 or 3 laptops, a consumer HD camera, and some Flip HD cameras. The Flips would be used for training and even shooting some low level programming. The consumer camera could be rented out so that they can shoot weddings, documentaries, or whatever other projects. The laptops could be taken in to Kibera as lesson platforms, but more often then not, it would stay at the office for work.

What this does, is it sets up a goal for the students. After they finish school, they have a place where they can actually envision themselves working. Even if they don't work at the production company, they can rent gear or time on the laptops to produce material and bring money into the community.

So, what then of Zuki? Our goal this summer is to write, shoot, and finish the first 42 minute episode and use it as a platform to sell the rest of the 4 part mini-series, potentially leading to a full 13 episode TV series.

I still need to have conversations about SlumTV.

Kenya: Day 11

Pray for:
- pastoring Ken
- those remaining in my classes, that they would learn a lot

What happened:
- went to teach Jah Army, only half the class showed up.
- went home. lunch: meatballs + fries
- went to prestige to journal. saw ken & tom
- went to Kibra Academy. half the class showed up. taught how to write a screenplay. homework: write a 4 pg screenplay
- went to Junction, met up with Ken & tom. they worked on Zuki. we were at doorman's, i ordered tomato soup
- went to Nairobi Java House for dinner, had a burger
- Tom went home
- sat around with Ken talking about life
- went home

From this point on, my blogging is going to become irregular. The only times I'm going to post are if I have a significant thought or comment. I will continue to do weekly reviews.

Kenya: Day 10

Pray for:
- kids have motivation and focus
- against the enemy's tactics of discouragement and distractions

What happened:
- went to Kibera; Kigan and I miscommunicated and he went to wait for me at Kibera Academy; reviewed their loglines; taught about character development; homework: write biography for main character
- some local people heard about what I was doing and came to interview me
- did my devos
- went home for lunch
- went to Pristige Plaza, met with Gwatila and Ken to talk about Zuki. Started getting the overall arc down.
- went to Kibera Academy. Looked at the students' book to see how they were progressing. A lot of them didn't do the homework right. Or others had missed class. So class turned into a makeup session. Ended class early.
- went home

It was pretty discouraging today to see a good portion of the kids not doing their work. This is not to say that all of them are guilty, there were those who did try, and those need to be rewarded.

I just need to remind myself that I can only teach the material, they have to learn on their own.

Kenya: Day 9

Pray for:
- pastoral mentor
- opportunities for God to show up

What happened:
- woke up at 7:10 to travel into Kibera
- Kigan met me at Nairobi Kibera Academy and walked me into the heart of Kibera
- met some of Jah Army; have 6 in this post-high school class; had them share their stories; taught loglines; homework: write 5 loglines
- took the mutatu back to prestige
- did my devos
- went home
- went out to lunch with Ken; went to Westlands mall; had mutton masala
- went to Kibera to teach afternoon class
- continuing to learn Swahili
- went home

Today, I went into the heart of Kibera.

The ground I walked on was covered in garbage trampled by thousands of people. As I climbed the steep slope and crested the hill on to a pair of train tracks, I saw a whole nother world.

I saw the rest of Kibera.

If you've seen Slumdog Millionaire, you'll have an idea of what Kibera looks like.

Kigan, one of the Jah Army, led me to their home, to their HQ. In the midst of the garbage, of the forgotten, of the refuse, there was this group of friends who group up together, who are trying to make it together, who are trying to give back to the community together. Jah Army.

They are artists. Singers, rappers, musicians, illustrators, painters, filmmakers, and photographers.

They use their skill and talent to make statements.

"Burn the rapist"
"Rape is wrong"
etc.

What kind of place is this where signs need to be made to remind people that rape is not a good thing. How does something like that even happen?

Do they embrace their status as disenfranchised? Do they buy into the fact that they are forgotten by the rest of society? Do they accept their lack of dignity as truth?

Whatever the rational responses are, I know that the kingdom of darkness is there. The enemy created the situation and the enemy continues to oppress God's people, keeping them in bondage.

No amount of NGO work is going to "fix" Kibera or even poverty. Not to say that they shouldn't try. But there is tremendous arrogance in any individual or any organization who says that they know how to solve poverty.

Kenya: Day 8

What happened:
- went to Nairobi Java House at adam's arcade; got coffee, chatted w/ Ken
- went to Nairobi Chapel; Oscar Miuri's, of Urbana fame, church
- went to Ken's parent's home
- lunch: rice + beef stew + fresh banana
- Ken loses his car keys for 20 min
- go to Gwatila's place; met her parents
- went to Junction to watch Robin Hood, but we were already 30 min late
- went to Ken's place to drop off his Redrock Micro rail kit
- sat around and talked about Zuki, film marketing, Nairobi televesion, and the Nairobi audience
- went home

It was interesting seeing Oscar outside of the Urbana context. So far, both times I've seen him speak (the first in class, the second, in person at Urbana 09), he was wearing what I would consider traditional African garb. This Sunday, as he got up to preach, he was dressed in a suit.

I don't know what I was expecting, but that was definitely not it. In retrospect, it shouldn't be all that surprising. You look around the crowd, you look at the people on the street, the majority of people are in dress shirts, suits, or the like. For him to wear traditional African dress would NOT be contextual.

That got me to thinking. Urbana, and Intervarsity as a whole, is really big on diversity. I don't doubt that there are people who still wear traditional African garb, or Japanese people who wear kimonos, but by playing off those stereotypes, perhaps we are perpetuating this idea of differences when, in reality, a lot of these differences have disappeared.

In one of my previous posts, I talk about how Westernized Nairobi(http://www.ninjavspenguin.com/blog/2010/05/21/kenya-day-6-week-1-in-review/) is.

Diversity tends to be a hot issue in American churches. Understandable considering how churches tend to be monocultural. Even the "diverse" churches, still have a predominant culture. Aside from ethnic churches, I would say they are "Amercian". What these "diverse" churches are really talking about when they talk about diversity, is skin color.

This may say more about race and racism than anything else. It is affirmative action as an ethos. But this isn't meant to start a discussion on affirmative action.

I think we like to believe that we are a post-racial culture. The reality is that race has come back into the forefront.

Before I continue, I want to make it clear that this pursuit of "diversity" is not a bad thing. And the intentions are often very good. So this isn't meant as an attack on those churches or their pursuit of "diversity".

I can't help but think that if we truly were post-racial, there would be no such thing as race. And genetically, biologically, there is no such thing as race. And just as in the Kingdom of God there is no Jew, there is no Gentile, wouldn't putting an emphasis on "diversity" bring those differences back?

As I said before, these churches are mono-culturally Amercian. They also tend to be homogenenous in terms of socio-economics as well. Of course, this is often a function of the church's location. If it's in an affluent neighborhood, affluent people are going to go. If it's in a poor area, you'll have more poor people. Of course, this is a sweeping generalization, but it paints a stark picture.

In fact, you see the same thing in the African churches that I've been to. You look around and they're middle, upper-middle class people of Nairobi. They have the same misconceptions and prejudices of Kibera as a random person from America.

"They're lazy."
"It's disease stricken."
"It's dirty."
"They're empoverished."
etc.

Some of those things may be true, but it's not the complete picture.

There is beauty. People work hard. There is education. There is life.

The thing that stands out is the community's poverty. Just like there are 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation rich. There are 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation poor. These are people who, all they have seen and experienced is poverty. They know nothing else. They have no concept of anything else. Therefore, they can't envision a life or even a way to get out of their situation. The very definition of poverty.

Across the street from Nairobi Chapel is a slum. Right there, on their doorstep. And the thousands of people who attend Nairobi Chapel, Nairobi Chapel it self could do some real change.

I think diversity is a noble goal. I believe it's a "biblical" goal. If it were true diversity and not just multi-colored mono-cultural "diversity".

Kenya: Day 7

What happened:
- went to Kibera; kids had an exam so only half came to class; watched Up; cried 3 times
- went home, watched a bunch of CSI

Kenya: Day 6 - Week 1 in review

Thus ends my first week in Kenya.

In this review: Westernized, Kibera, NGO City, Looking Forward.

Westernized
==
One of the things that I've noticed is in how many respects Kenya is like the states.

When I went to church last Sunday, the sermon that was preached could've just as easily been preached in virtually any church in the states. The main thing that was different was the worship. It was a bit more lively with a bit more dancing than most churches I've been a part of.

I've been spending a lot of time at Pristige Plaza. At the ground floor is Nakumatt, the Walmart of Nairobi. There's a food court on the first floor with different cuisines: Swahilian, Chinese, fried chicken, Italian, etc. There's also free public wifi. And people will come, set up their laptops, have some tea, and get stuff done or go on Facebook. This one place, Zinc, has a TV playing MTV and music videos. So far, I've gotten a block of Avril, I got some Lady GaGa, some Christ Brown, and then other stuff that I'm less familiar with.

Kibera
==
My first foray into Kibera wasn't what I had expected either. Granted, I was on the outskirts of Kibera, so there's still a lot of it that I haven't seen. I don't know why, but I had in my mind something like refugee camps. A lot of people packed into a small space. Yes, there was a lot of people, but a lot of them were going about their business. There were vendors on the side of the road selling food, groceries, or other wears. It's just that their store fronts are either hole in the walls or just stations at the side of the road.

I think of Kibera as ravaged by poverty, but the reality is that there are people living their lives here as well. Without asking more questions and listening more, I won't get a clear idea of what it's actually like living in Kibera.

That's the imbalance that so much media paints of "problems". People and their lives become problems become problems to be fixed. Yes there are problems, but life is happening too. There are people who are sick and dying, there are also others who are healthy and living. There are people who are poor, there are others who are doing what they can to get by. It's a complicated system that can't fit neatly or easily into a 30 second spot.

And I think that can be translated to every socio-economic "problem" we see around the world. It's easy to focus on the negative because that's what pulls on the heart. That's what gets our sense of justice riled up. And there's definitely injustice out there. I don't want to minimize that. But it's also not that simple. Nothing ever is.

NGO City
==
Another thing that I noticed was how many NGOs were operating near Kibera. As we were driving into Kibera on that first day, we passed an area where every building was an NGO office. Development has become an industry in itself. Ken is operating an NGO. And on Thursday, I met Vincent who's also doing an NGO. His focuses on soccer with the kids. Last Saturday, I grabbed dinner with a few people, and both Rachel and Debra were in development. Even I'm doing development.

I knew that it was something that was done. And I knew that there was a lot of interest in it, but seeing all those offices clustered together was eye opening.

In many respects, development is almost like entrepreneurship. Not that this is a bad thing. But a lot of the principles are the same. Both start with an idea. Both require money. Both require labor. Both require a market. Both require a way to become sustainable.

And it may be the Gen-X cynicism in me, but I question if the answer is another NGO. I know that development is slow. I know it takes time and resources for real change to happen. But there are already so many and new ones sprouting up everyday. I wonder if the answer isn't more NGOs, but better NGOs. Of course, this is said without actually looking into what the different NGOs are doing. I also don't want to discredit the work that the NGOs are doing.

So what's the point of all this? This is just a long way of saying that development is a very viable career path, one that I hadn't really considered. Not that it makes my deliberations about what career to pursue any easier.

Looking Forward
==
Next week, I should begin to settle into my normal schedule. I'll be starting a new class in the mornings, doing a more intensive workshop with 6 students, 3 days a week, 2 hrs a day.

I'm also going to start doing Bible study and see how that goes.

And within a few weeks, I'll have settled in and this'll all have become "work". I'll have my daily commute, my daily schedule and routine. And just like that, life will become "normal" again.

What happened:
- shoot for Gwatila's music video got pushed back to Wednesday
- drank too much tea and had to deal with the caffein crash for the rest of the day
- guy came to measure the bed frame; he cut a board to fit to give the mattress duly needed support
- did laundry
- worked on the treatment of the screenplay. Got to sequence 3 and realized that sequence 3 is a mess
- watched a whole bunch of CSI

It was a good day off.

Kenya: Day 5

Pray for:
- Widsom and discernement w/ those who beg from me
- Boldness in the Spirit

What happened:
- Alarm went off at 6, was still tired so went back to sleep, woke again at 8:30
- Went to Nairobi Baptist with Ken to do Gwatila's sound recording
- went to prestige and had lunch with Vincent
- lunch: chipati & beans
- went home to relax
- went to Kibera; took the mutatu on my own; had the kids share their character bios with each other; taught a little bit of structure; homework: plot out their stories
- on the walk home, a man interupted me asking for money; gave him KSE 20 (~$.25)
- went home

I was walking down the street from Prestige Plaza on my way home. The man stopped me to shake my hand and said something about seeing me earlier. He said that we had crossed paths at a different intersection. I had no recollection of this because I look at the area just a few feet in front of me.

In any case, he engaged me in conversation. Actually, it was more like he said his peace. He told me that he was hungry, how he hadn't eaten since the morning, and asked that I would have mercy on him. All this, while still holding my hand.

So I ended up giving him KSE 20. I know that it's not a lot of money. But I restle with the whole issue of charity.

There are times when people need charity. There's also verses that explicitly say to give to those who beg of you. But then, why this man and not the many others that have approached me on the street.

The bigger question is, how can I use these opportunities better?

As the man and I parted ways, the thought came to have prayed for him. Or even to have presented the gospel to him. This wasn't the first time that something like this has happened. Yet, I still do the same thing.

Kenya: Day 4

Day 4
----
Pray for:
- Wisdom in how to do Bible study
- Confidence for shooting the Mt Kenya trip

What happened:
- breakfast: kenyan sausage and host
- spent the morning journaling, and just spending time w/ God
- lunch at home: kenyan sausage, fresh cut home made french fries, and cabbage
- went to Pristige Plaza to pray and enjoy some MTV music videos
- went to Kibera with Ken; had the class split into two groups, they shared their loglines with each other, deciding on 1 that they would shoot; taught about character and character development; homework: what does the character want? what is the character's wound, character bio
- talked to Ken about the second class and the issue of equipment
- went home

It turns out that my morning class is going to be morning morning. We're going to run class from 7-10. And I am NOT a morning person. I have the rest of the week to adjust my schedule again so I can wake at 6 and get to Kibera by 7.

We also started talking about the issue of doing Bible Study with the kids. Both groups have some Muslims in them. I've been considering doing Life Exegesis with them, but we'll see how it goes.

Kenya: Day 3

What happened:
- went to Prestige Plaza; class doesn't start until Thursday
- helped Ken set up Wordpress
- went home for lunch
- went to Tom's place with Ken and Gwatila; talked about her music video; did some recording
- went to Kibera; taught loglines
- it started to rain, a lot
- went home

I thought I was supposed to teach a group of post-high school kids this morning, but it turned out that the class wasn't approved yet. The thing they were waiting on were how many students were interested in the class. Originally, 20 kids signed up, which is great! But by no means do I have the capacity nor the equipment to support that many kids. If everything goes well, I'll be starting this other class on Thursday.

I may also have a chance to climb Mount Kenya and shoot something for them. I still need to meet with the people who are organizing it, but that should be pretty fun.

Kenya: Day 2 (5/17)

Pray for:
- building relationships/report with the kids
- that these kids will gain the skills and the vision to stand up from their situation

What happened:
- meeting with ken to talk about the curriculum and the next 3 months
- meeting with Tom, Effy, and Ken about Rwanda
- Lunch with Ken; talked about curriculum
- went to Nakumatt to buy new power strip and journals for the students
- went to Kibera to teach my first class
- rode my first matuta (bus)
- asked the kids (9 students) to tell stories; then asked them which story they liked best and why; if they could make the story better, what would they change
- went home

I'll be running 3 classes simultaneously. 1 group is college aged students. 2nd group is high school aged students. 3rd group is Ken and Gwatala so they can continue the work after I leave. These classes are going to run Monday through Thursday, and then another class that I'm not teaching on Saturdays. Each class runs for about 2 hours.

Kenya: Week 0 - Day 0

Pray for:
- Building relationships
- Planning the time I'll be in Kenya

What happened:
- 7 hr flight from Newark to London Heathrow Terminal 3 (the sucky one)
- 12 hr layover
- 9 hr flight from London to Nairobi
- total travel time: 28 hrs
- arrived in Kenya around 7am
- met Ken's GF, Eva
- went shopping for some essentials
- went to Java House, the Starbucks of Kenya
- went to Kibera; the Nairobi Kibera Academy
- watched August Rush
- went home and met host family
- watched new friend in TV commercial (she's the girl at the end)

- went to high school rugby game
- went to dinner, had ethiopian food; met Rachel, Tom, and his wife Debra
- home, showered, blew out voltage converter + charger
- sleep

Kenya 2010

Last summer, I went to Wisconsin to work with InterVarsity’s 2100 Productions. During my 3 month internship, I produced 2 videos (http://www.vimeo.com/8324397) for the Urbana 09 Missions Conference which were viewed by over 18,000 people. I also met my fellow intern, Ken.

This summer, I will spend 3 months with Ken and Filamu Juani (http://filamujuani.org/) in Nairobi, Kenya. I will be working with high school and college aged kids out of the garbage slum of Kibera; teaching screenwriting, video production, and video editing.

Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi and the second largest slum in all of Africa. It has a population of 600,000-1.2 million occupying an area about the size of Central Park.

One of the visions is to develop “Slum TV”. Projectors and screens would be set up in different parts of Kibera showing programming produced by and for the community. It’s a way to build community within the slums by gathering people together.

My role is to empower and equip these students with skills, experience, and guidance. My purpose is to use this opportunity to build relationships with the students to share the Gospel with my life, words, and deeds.

Key Info
Dates: May 13 – Aug 30
Cost: $3,300

Checks to:
Filamujuani
1325 Glacier Hill Dr, Unit 4
Madison, WI 53704

** Memo: Wey Wang

Pray for:

• Power and boldness in the Spirit to advance the Kingdom of God
• Protection from the Enemy (physical, spiritual, emotional attacks)
• Compassion and Love
• Wisdom and discernment
• Fresh inpartation of the Spirit

Thank you for your support!