Ben Please

Background
Aims
Production Process
The Films
Collaborators
Outcomes
Thanks

The main film was completed in November 2004. It was aimed at primary school children in the Ruaha area and is presented in Kiswahili but with English subtitles. As a result of feedback from our Madagascar project and earlier research conducted by the Brock Initiative, the film was intentionally quite long, at 45 minutes. Emphasis was placed on children's perspective of water, as mostly it is the children who work with water in the local environment. The film is music rich, all written and performed for the film by local school children. The entries from a local drawing competition about the importance of water were also used, as well as a short animation.The film was narrated by a well known and respected Tanzanian called Godwin Gondwe . He is a radio presenter and news reader on national networks and is currently studying in Iringa.

The VHS cassette will come with a short booklet linking the content of the film to the educational pack produced by FORS. It will contain some practical lesson plan ideas for teachers to use in conjunction with the film.

Overview of the main film:

Introduction: the presenter introduces the film, explaining what it is about and what is going to be covered Talking about water: children discuss the importance of water (early primary syllabus).
The Water Cycle: a mixture of archive footage, animation and local examples (later primary syllabus).
The Great Ruaha River: putting the water cycle into context locally through the eyes of a local child.
The large scale problems: using the problems to reinforce educational goals about the water cycle - looking at what happens when you disrupt aspects of the natural water cycle.
The local problems: children discuss the local effects and causes of water shortage
Children's solutions: positive ideas that young people are putting into practise to address these issues
Summing up: a positive message from the presenter and children, with music written especially for the film.

In addition to this, a number of other versions have been produced. Some look at particular topics within the larger film, for example: trees' importance in the water cycle, whilst others have been designed to provide variety for FORS when
it comes to a screening, looking at animals or "a view from the air". Another has been produced as a short film for the delegates and decision-makers who attend the up-coming conferences focussed on the problems surrounding the Ruaha.

Other versions:

Trees in the Water Cycle: Asks and tackles the question "Why are trees important?".
The Ruaha Problem: Aimed at decision makers. Short and to the point. Also giving visual evidence of current situation.
The Great Ruaha River: As above but aimed at general audience, with more background.
Talking about Water: Children talking about water. Lower primary syllabus.
The Water Cycle: Upper primary syllabus material..
Animals of Ruaha: Fun film looking at some of the animals.
Flying over the Ruaha: Fun film going on a plane journey over the Ruaha
Website clips: for the FORS website
Music Video: One of the songs recorded for the film made into a music video.
Evidence footage: Footage from the flights made available to WCS