By Paul Holze | Project Director
The first trip to South Africa will be made in January 2011, led by University of Illinois community educator Jan Brooks who has been traveling to South Africa for the past six years working with community organizations in Cape Town and surrounding townships that provide education and support for women and care for children. This will be the first opportunity to personally meet and establish further relationships with women interested in sharing their story, one of whom is Mama Thope from the township of Khayelitsha. Growing up in the apartheid era, when her family struggled with poverty and forced relocation, she has rebuilt her life with a new freedom and has empowered others in doing the same.
Further travel plans to film the interviews in May 2011 will then be made based on the schedule and commitments established during the first trip. In the meantime, funds are being raised, further relationships with contacts in South Africa are being developed, and the project team continues to grow. Stephanie Stean, who has professional experience with human rights, social justice, cultural survival and has worked and traveled internationally, has come on as an advisor for the project with a growing role as potential director for the films. Victor Udoewa, who recently moved from South Africa where he was a lecturer at the University of Cape Town and an HIV/AIDS and crisis pregnancy counselor, has also joined the team in an advisory role. Jennifer Hanson, a freelance graphic artist, is creating the logo and building the website, and commitments for post-production have come from Chicago musician Adam Hitchell and Blue Sky Studios animator Isaac Holze.
Thank you for reading, and as a reminder, there are three ways to help and be a part of The Story:
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With gratitude, Paul, Stephanie, and The Project Team The Story of Happiness
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