"Where the Water Meets the Sky"

Shaun and I recently watched an inspiring film about women in Samfya, Luapula Province, Zambia: "Where the Water Meets the Sky". There is a lake in this area, Lake Bangweulu which means "where the water meets the sky." I encourage all to try to see it. It was produced by Camfed aired on Sundance Channel.

We were able to see this film becasue of the generosity of our new friend Brittany. We met Brittany while we were passing through Lusaka on our Livingstone and Victoria Falls vacation over Easter 2011. We got to talking about our site in Luapula and Brittany's beginning her Third-Year Extension in Lusaka. Upon hearing we are posted in Luapula, she immediately offered to lend us her DVD of "Where the Water Meets the Sky." Fortunately, we were staying at a homestay in Lusaka where we had access to a DVD player, so we watched the video the next day.

The video calls together a group of undereducated, unempowered women and they are guided in creating a film telling their story, which turns out to be about being orphaned by HIV/AIDS and then going into prostitution to get by. Then, the women are given by Camfed the tools, guidance and license to create their own film about their story and then show it to their communities. It's a film about female empowerment and community education- and it's incredibly inspiring. Thank you, Brittany, for lending us your DVD!


We were so inpired by it that we have to pass along the recommendation to our family and friends. I noticed the Camfed website helps people host screenings of the film. If I could I'd host a screening to share these women's stories and success and (selfishly) to give our friends and family a clear window into the community we live with and work with. It was incredible to watch on film people who look, move, gesture and dress exactly like the community of Chebele Village, Mwense District, Luapula, Zambia- which has become our Home. It was so fun to hear on screen the Bemba that fills our ears everyday here in Zambia. The surroundings, the town, the village, the school depicted in the film- it's just like our everyday life! The film captured our community and our daily expereince in a more articulate way than I could ever attempt.



http://www.watermeetssky.com/assets/swf/trailer.swf