15-year old orphaned girl

Yesterday the policemen took us to another village up the mountain called “Second Village”. We met a family with a beautiful old deaf grandma and her granddaughter who has lost both her parents. How cool would it be if there were college students inspired enough to go out and seek these kids out to help them with whatever needs they might have. Really, this is our hope.  — http://kck.st/9aS1y8

KICKSTARTER!!

I’m pleased to announce there is now an easy way for you to get involved in the documentary project I am working on.

Find out more here:

http://kck.st/9aS1y8

thanks, Roger

Dude, where are all the boys?

Last night and today we have been visiting villages within the city that are mostly occupied by trash pickers. These are families that literally dig through the trash cans of the city everyday looking for materials they can sell. In doing this we have discovered a huge problem.

Last night we came across a family who had 6 girls and they lived in 1 small room. That’s grandma, grandpa, mom, dad and 6 girls in a room about the size of my bedroom in America. I can’t even begin to describe the situation they were living in (we filmed it and interviewed them). The lady and her husband have basically put themselves in this situation all because they want a son. Their first child was a boy but he was stolen as a baby (another huge problem in poor parts of China).

The kids all go to school but this generational poverty is very hard to break. This morning in another area we met the same situation and heard of countless other stories of the same vein. Families with too many kids (all girls) putting them deeper and deeper into poverty.

How do you change something like that?

Dolphins vs. Children

I’m sitting here in a van outside a village on a rainy day in Kunming writing to you. Our documentary subjects are currently in the village looking for a kid they can help this summer. Had a couple of thoughts I wanted to share…

The documentary that won the academy award last year was called ‘The Cove’. It was an amazing story about the dolphin massacre that happens in Japan. I absolutely loved it and I wanted to join the cause right away. Most people respond to injustice and sometimes it is easier to respond to the injustice brought upon animals than to the injustices brought on people. It’s too close to home and we simply don’t know what to do. If we save a dolphin they can go swim their own way and we generally don’t need to deal with them anymore. A person who needs rescuing, on the other hand, might have mental issues or handicaps or parents that have left them socially inept. It’s messy, painful, and there are probably going to be more tears than smiles. There will be no swimming off into the sunset at the end of the day. Also, we can see in other people our own faults and that is no fun.

They spent 2.5 million US dollars to make ‘The Cove’ and save dolphins from injustice. We are spending less than $20,000 to make a comparable documentary and spread the word about our own injustice to the children of the world. (in this case China)

Here’s the problem, most of us have never hurt a dolphin but all of us have probably hurt a person and that makes it all too close to home to process. These are just some thoughts I’m having as we continue our journey here. Would love to hear your comments on this…

The Documentary…

I’d like to give you the scoop on the upcoming documentary I will be producing here in Kunming. I will be partnering with Bring Me Hope, an organization that cares for orphans and marginalized children here in China.

Last year, David Bolt, the director of the organization, shot an award-winning documentary about a little girl named Hannah (David was my “chance encounter” from the previous post). I helped David produce a 37-minute Chinese version of Hannah’s Story which I encourage you to watch (just press play at the bottom of this post).

The 90-minute documentary which I will be producing and co-directing will be similar in concept to Hannah’s Story except that it will be entirely in Chinese. Appreciate your questions and comments. Enjoy watching!

Bring Me Hope: Hannah’s Story – Chinese Edition