Wazi. Open. Exposed. Village Life in Kilimanjaro. AIDS. Stigma. Living With Hope. Simplicity. Solidarity. Strength in Community. Human. A Documentary Film.

About

This project began as a casual conversation with a friend living in Tanzania working for the Peace Corps. As details surfaced about the situation, plans to travel were made. After visiting and returning, it was not long before the hearts of the entire team were seeking a window to assist.

    The first email I had received was regarding a church service attended soon after arriving in the village, now called home. The local pastor gave a sermon speaking out against the use of condoms, citing condoms is what gives one AIDS. I was shocked.

    Three hours and a thirty three hour journey later, I had arrived in the Rombo District of Tanzania, for a first hand experience. I was quickly awakened by the haunting realities of this culture. Watching countless numbers of orphaned children carry folders containing their life stories, in need of desperate help. Having mothers, aunts, or grandmothers, trying to pass these folders off to me to give to the orphan support center. Thinking that if I give it, they won’t be rejected. How very, very few people are open about having HIV/AIDS. How silent the village and country is about a global epidemic. How, because of this epidemic, millions of children are orphaned and suffer every year. I soon realized I was ignorant about the entire issue, just as most people I knew back home.

    I have always known silence is deadly; I’m not one to talk openly either. But, when silence is the cause of millions of deaths every year, and with no cure near in sight, this global epidemic must be confronted on a personal level, where silence must be broken.


We believe we can help and we believe this film can amplify the voices of those willing to speak.