YouTubeing East Africa

Internet video is changing the world. As developing nations leapfrog old communication technology in favor of new, digital Internet based forms of telling the story, a window of opportunity opens. In the fall of 2006 I was in Kitgum, Northern Uganda shooting footage for a documentary about forgiveness in the aftermath of war. During our visit, we shot, edited and uploaded short video clips from a tiny, phone line connected Internet café on the dusty streets of Kitgum.

My Kenyan friend George Arende and I got to thinking… “If we can upload video clips from this rural outpost, why not share the technology and allow East African’s to upload their own stories?”

Later conversations with staff from ELCA Global Mission and the ELCA World Hunger Appeal led to a grant, which allowed me to purchase four high-powered laptop computers, video cameras and software.

In March 2008, George, a web developer friend Len Mason, myself and five East Africans from Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Madagascar will meet in Nairobi. We will spend four days at the Methodist Guest House, shooting, editing and uploading video clips to the Internet. When the workshop is over, the team will return home with their equipment, charged with the mission of teaching others how to use it.

Originally we planned the workshop for January 2008. However, the post election violence in Kenya forced a postponement. The chaos underscores the need for clear communication. By March, we trust things will have calmed down and our project will move forward.

The East Africans I have met are smart and technologically savvy - they just don't have the right tools. Equipped with proper technology, perhaps African can begin to solve problems on its own.
www.frakesproductions.com