Bongodox premiere - a dream coming true

Kibisi, Saturday evening:
150 smiling faces, all looking deeply fascinated at the same screen. I can’t stop smiling; this is what I’ve been waiting for, a dream coming true. I admit that there have been times where everything seemed impossible and days where I just wanted to give up and throw the computer out of the window. This Saturday evening at the Bongodox premiere, all these things are forgotten. I close my eyes, trying to capture this epic moment. Against all odds the team managed to create something special, which will set an example and be an important step on the way to a better future. “And now ladies and gentlemen…” today’s master of ceremony is shouting in the microphone “it’s time for food, drinks and dancing to celebrate the fantastic work of Bongodox…” Half an hour later the dance floor is bouncing and full of happy feet... Pamoja tunaweza - together we can!

Learning by doing

LearningIt has been weeks since I have updated the website and first half of the Bongodox project is about to end. We still have two weeks to finish up the documentary before I’ll be heading to Denmark and by now three people from the team are working hard on the editing. Film editing is all about learning by doing and every little step counts. We started from scratch with the most simple computer skills such as how to double click and how to open a file. After two weeks they’re now able to control the editing program by them selves. That’s more than impressive, especially if we consider under which circumstances the group is working. Daily power cuts and a computer which shuts down the editing program at least once an hour. The solution is a huge patience and constantly Ctrl + S (save). If everything goes as planned we’ll have a big premiere next week at Bongo Camping, at the big screen… Tupo pamoja (we are together) - Ctrl + S…

A team to be proud of!

Wednesday 12th of May; afternoon:

It was one of those days where I doubted if I ever would be able to leave this place. The sky was blue in blue and the sun was about to turn my nose into a sun dried tomato. I was sitting in the shadow of a palm tree in a shamba (garden) near Katumba, trying my best to be as invisible as possible. Around me the members of Bongodox were getting ready for shooting; moving chairs, checking lightning and preparing the last questions for their interviews with Mr. Bosco, an HIV affected man. If I didn’t know, I wouldn’t believe that just 3 months ago these people couldn’t tell the difference between zoom, frame and focus. Now they were acting as they had been doing this for years, confidentially and concentrated, working as a team. A team fighting for the future lives of the Tanzanians, and definitely a team I am more than proud to be a member of.

With only one month left to finish our film there is no time to waist. The computer finally seems to cooperate which means that from now on it’s all about editing. Indeed a challenge to kill a lot of darlings since we have footage enough for several documentaries.

Building trust to make a difference

How to tell a story about the deep impact of HIV in Tanzania? It is not an easy task, but none the less it is what the Bongodox group is trying to figure out these days. After weeks of research they have chosen three important characters/families for their film: An orphan who lost her parents to HIV, a HIV-affected family and a not affected family. Unfortunately the HIV-affected family just bailed out, but the group works hard to find another affected family, who is willing to take part in the film. We are definitely not in lack of HIV-affected families in the area, but it is troublesome to make people talk openly about their life with HIV. It is a process of building trust and making these people realize that they can make a difference by telling us their stories.

The next couple of weeks the group will follow the three families and learn the basics of filmediting. At the same time the local mucicgroup, "Kisamakibo", will be working hard on getting ready for recording the song "In the village" for our film.

Ready for the next step

The last couple of weeks the group has been doing research and interviews about HIV in the nearby HTA’s (High Transmitted Areas). The members have been on their own, getting familiar with the video cameras and meeting people in the streets and at the local bars. We have had several screenings (at our fantastic new tv!) and there is no doubt that we are ready to move on to the next step of the filmmaking process. Everybody is confident with the video cameras, so now we can go on to choose our main characters and plan the most important elements of our film. Hopefully we will be able to start recording next week.

Bongodox party
After spending my Easter at the beautiful beaches of Zanzibar with my mother, I returned to Kibisi to have a great party at the campsite for the members of Bongodox and their families. It was African slow cooking from the early afternoon, preparing delicious local dishes at the fireplace, and enough food to leave even the most hungry men full for days. Some said it was the

best meal they have had for years.

And of course, no party without dancing! As soon as people finished eating, everybody was at the dance floor. Fifty people, old and young, dancing as if this was

the most important thing in their lives. An incredible and wonderful experience!

This was definitely not the last Bongodox party.

Pamoja tunaweza (together we can)

The Bongodox team!












From left: Luka, Eddie, Katrine, Maulidi, Inganile, Michael, Francis, William, Godfrey and Imani

Our first fieldtrip

Few weeks ago no one from Bongodox had ever used a video camera. Now I hear discussions about framing, zooming and locations all over Bongo Camping. Many mistakes are made, but I also see huge smiles when they suddenly realize they have made a well working scene. So far they have worked on their basic skills of filming and how to make a proper video interview. The first challenge of shooting was in the nearby village of Katumba. They made a couple of small interviews with villagers, asking them questions about their experience and opinions about HIV. This went much better than I had expected, and the following screening brought good reflections on learning. But one thing is to meet people in the neighbourhood, where everybody is familiar with each other, the real challenge was this Monday - our first fieldtrip.

We visited a group of HIV affected people and our most important lesson this day was to be well prepared for shooting film in pouring rain. My appearance created a lot of attention and many discussions of whether we had to pay for filming people. I tried to be as invisible as possible, but it is quite difficult to hide a “mzungu” with blue eyes in Africa.

We have fantastic news about our budget since we had the oportunity to go shopping for a tv, a computer and Bongodox t-shirts this week. As soon as possible I will uploade a picture of the group in our new uniform. Until then you can enjoy the pictures of our videoexercises at the campsite.

Workshops with plenty of talent

The Bongodox group is finally a fact! At first I want to assure you that it wasn’t at all an easy task to choose the nine people, who are now joining the team. For a short while I felt like the evil judge in a talent audition, leaving some people disappointed and sad. But hopefully this project is only the beginning of future video experiences at Bongo Camping.

Saturday morning was something special. To wake up and realize that what I had been dreaming of and waiting for was now coming true. I was pretty nervous since until now Bongodox had only been ideas on paper and I suddenly had my doubts – Is this really going to work? Everything was ready and even the weather was perfect. As the members arrived to the campsite one by one I realized that there was no need to be nervous. The nine members were full of curiosity and enthusiasm and more than ready to make it work.

So far the program has been about introduction, exchanging ideas about HIV/AIDS and filmmaking and of course the first hands on the video cameras. The teaching part is a huge challenge for me, but it’s even more challenging to use a mixture of English, Swahili and an unknown kind of sign language. Surprisingly enough the members seem to get my points and all I have to do to see nine smiling faces in the classroom is to hand out the video cameras with the simple message: Try! And one thing is for sure, I don’t need to worry about if we are in lack of creativity or visual skillsamong the members. There is plenty of talent, and I can't wait to go on.

Video footage from Bongo Camping

We are together in this

I met Maulid for the first time few weeks ago on the main road between Kibisi and Tukuyu. It was a late afternoon and I was on my way home from the market with my bag full of mangoes and avocados. I was caught up by the beautiful sight of the green mountains, when a guy on a bike suddenly came right at me. He sent me a huge smile and jumped of the bike. I wondered if I had seen this guy before. By this time I had already met so many people and I still couldn’t distinguish all of them. After the usual Tanzanian handshaking and greetings, he introduced himself as Maulid and said: “Dada (sister) Katherine, Bongodox is my dream. It will change people’s way of thinking. We are together in this, the fight against HIV/AIDS”. From that very moment I knew that Bongodox was going to make a difference, a difference which is deeply needed in this area. People feel the consequences of HIV/AIDS everyday; family, friends, colleagues, the disease is everywhere and funerals seem to be part of the daily life. It is the killer that everyone knows, but no one wants to talk about. Fortunately the last couple of weeks have convinced me that there is a will to change this. Maulid is just one out of many, who wants to take action and make a difference.

Bongodox is ready for takeoff

So far my experience with Tanzanian bureaucracy has been a confusing and tiresome affair. But let’s skip the boring part and focus on the main thing – there is light at the end of the tunnel. After several meetings with governmental directors we finally got permission to start our planning and the camera workshops. We still need the official signature, but hopefully that will only be a matter of days. It is a huge step on the way! A chair meeting is scheduled for Saturday and if everything goes our way we will announce the Bongodox group members next week and start our work right away. The video cameras are now fully recharged and Bongodox is ready for takeoff…

A short update

P-a-t-i-e-n-c-e… A must in Tanzania. By now we are still waiting for
the green light from the District Coordinator to begin Bongodox. None
the less, I presented the Bongodox idea for the members of Kumbe (the
local NGO at Bongo Camping) this weekend. A moment I had been waiting
for since I arrived. And what a reveal – everyone was happy about the
idea and wanted to take part in the project. Some important questions
came up, such as: “How’s the budget?” and “What do we do, if people in
the villages ask us for medicine for the HIV-infected?” Questions that
we need to find the answers for along the way.

The financial situation is even more important than I thought it would be.
Even though the project group will work as volunteers, there are plenty of
things to be taken care of. Equipment, food, transport… No one here can
afford extra spending, that’s for sure. So we cross our fingers for the fundraising going on in Denmark.

It’s obvious that our project can’t save Africa from HIV/AIDS, but as they say in Tanzania: “Hapa na hapa, hujaza kibaba” (Little strokes fell great oaks). If this can make just a minor change, it’s worth all the blood, sweat and tears.

News from Bongodox and Tanzania

Finally, news from Africa!

One week in Tanzania and still I get amazed, confused and overwhelmed every other minute. My head is exploding with things to be mentioned in this blog, but I’ll try to give you a short impression of my experiences.

I’ve spent my first week around Bongo Camping, trying to get familiar with the people and the area. The campsite was pretty quite when I arrived, but fortunately a couple of guests stopping by this week have brought the place back to life. I already made friends with all the local children; all it took was 10 minutes and a football.

Saturday we had our first meeting about Bongodox and it felt fantastic! All though I only understood half of what was said, I felt the amazing energy and will to do this project. Yesterday we had a meeting with the HIV/AIDS Coordinator in our district and hopefully we’ll soon get permission to start our research about HIV/AIDS in the local villages. I’m full of optimism!

I must admit that it’s big challenge to be a white girl living in Africa. I feel like a total stranger, but at the same time I feel more than welcome in this colourful country. People stare at me or laugh at me as if I was an alien and or joke, and sometimes I wonder what the hell I’m doing here... I’m so fare from everything I know. I’ve shaked hands with hundreds of Tanzanians and one of the first things, my colleague Eddie told me, was: “You are part of our family now”. Overwhelming and definitely not like Denmark!

That became even more evident to me, when one of my colleagues asked me: “Are you a Christian?” No. “Muslim then?” No. “So what do you believe in?” Eehh, nothing, I’m ateist. “Arhhjj… Aaha ha ha ha, but why?!” … And this is just one out of many experiences that illustrate the funny and interesting differences between my life in Denmark and in Tanzania. Another one is my morning run. So fare the most crazy and overwhelming I’ve tried here. I ran through villages and along the mainroad in a beautiful scenery with green hills and women on their way to the market. Everywhere people shouted at me, greeted me and tried to touch me. In their eyes this sight was unbelieveable: a running woman, a “mzungu” (white), and she’s wearing SHORTS… ! I can’t complain, it feels like running for the Olympix and it’s probably the best support I will ever get.

Well, I’m hungry now, so I better end this and drop by the market for some mangoes and pineapple for breakfast...

Next stop Africa...
”Are you ready for Africa?” A question people keep asking me these days, and still I don’t know the answer.

I‘m almost done with my endless to-do-lists and in my head Swahili words keep popping up… “Asante”… “Habari?”… My mind is set on Africa, but I’m still living on European time, trying to do too many things in too little time. So how do I figure out, if I’m ready for my Tanzanian adventure with Bongodox? Maybe the following can give me a clue:

• I look in the mirror just to realize that the colour of my skin is turning grey and I’m freezing no matter how much clothes I put on. I desperately miss the sun!


• 07.28: Eating breakfast while reading newspaper headlines. 07.29: Biiip, checking my mobile. 07.30: Checking my time planner. 07.33: Oops, need to be at work in exactly 27 minutes and I still haven’t found my shoes. Time’s up for more “Hakuna Matata” living!

• At the bus-stop. Everybody is busy trying NOT to look at each other, including myself. I wonder; how would this situation look in Tanzania?
  

• Running in the forest. Thinking of which video camera to bring for the project. Suddenly it strikes me that I don’t even know the Swahili word for camera, but it doesn’t matter; I know we’ll make it work anyway.

I think I get the clue… I’m ready! I’m ready to take action and make Bongodox flying. Right now it feels like thousands of butterflies are having a great party in my stomach. It’s awful and totally wonderful at the same time.

Next stop Africa… I can’t wait!

Hello world

Bongodox is starting up...

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