A Thousand Voices for Hope

Nov 25th, 2009 11:52 AM UTC
By ONE Partners

Check out the post below from writer, director, actor Turk Pipkin. His new documentary One Peace at a Time—which mentions ONE Award winners SIDAREC (the Slums Information Development and Resources Centres) of Kenya, as well as ONE Board Member and President and CEO of Care Helene Gayle—opens Friday, December 4 in Austin, Texas.

Most of you reading the ONE blog are probably aware of the debate on whether aid over the past fifty years has been a positive or negative force in addressing extreme poverty. Mistakes have been made and money has gone missing. But you also likely know that all aid is not equal, and that those who care have grown much more adept at having a lasting impact on extreme poverty.

For the past three years, in 20 countries on 5 continents, I’ve been shooting my new documentary One Peace at a Time, which looks at the possibility of providing basic rights to every child. These rights include water, nutrition, healthcare, education, opportunity and a peaceful and sustainable world. If you sometimes despair for hope, I can only say you need to see the work that I’ve seen.

In Ethiopia, I witnessed life-changing results from thousands of water projects and schools built by A Glimmer of Hope. In Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus told me – and showed me – how microfinance, education and personal commitment have brought millions out of extreme poverty. In a Nairobi slum, I filmed with Rose Nitinyari, who’d expanded her hardware store and was providing a better life to her children through a loan from Kiva.org. I was one of Rose’s lenders, and now I’m one of her customers.

None of us can address all the problems of the world, but all of us can do something. In 2005, I was planting trees in rural Kenya at a primary school with serious challenges. Our nonprofit The Nobelity Project partnered with the local community to bring water, electricity, a computer lab and new classrooms to Mahiga Primary School. Our expenditures were modest but the community’s and the kids’ commitment was large. In four years, the school has gone from failing to the top-rated school in the district. I believe the primary reason is because the kids, parents and teachers knew someone cared.

Good progress, but education shouldn’t end after the 8th grade as it does here and in many schools across Africa. The Nobelity Project is now building Mahiga Hope High School, an innovative, sustainable facility with modern classrooms, a library, a computer library, science labs and the award-winning RainWater Court. We won’t change Kenya by the $250,000 cost of building this school, but we have an opportunity to provide hope for hundreds of kids in one community. Their hope gives me hope. Their hard work makes me work harder. And for me that’s enough. You can meet the kids of Mahiga and be one of 1000 Voices for Hope. I hope all of you will take a look and join the choir!

We’re excited about the national release of ONE Peace at a Time. Catch the movie in Austin December 4–10. Watch for future announcements for a ONE screening near you, or email us and ask how you can set up a screening in your town. No matter how we feel about the debate on reaching out to the world, we all know one thing. There is a better way.

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