Be Careful ... Think

That's what the words in the picture mean.
It is from the Thimbukushu language and it
is the name of the movie we made this week.
We went from almost nine months to actually
make the first movie, to being on a schedule of
making bi-weekly productions. It's just how it
goes, to use 'famine to feast', would describe the
direction this is going. But if it follows the basic
pattern ... it will be ... famine ... feast ... disappear.
But until it disappears I am going to enjoy being
a part of it.
The name of the movie really has not much to do
with the story ... it just kind of does ... because it is
almost in everything that we could ... be careful,
think.
The story goes like this ... there is a guy who likes
the women. He has HIV and a little TB thrown in.
They are all in the shebeen (bar) and the wife
sees the girlfriend. There is some drama. They
did a really good job on that scene. Maybe they've
seen something like that before, yup.
Well, both women get TB, one gets HIV (the wife).
The wife does the right thing, gets tested and then
follows the ARV and TB medication schedule. She
goes along fine. The girlfriend has TB only but
doesn't follow the medication schedule. That is
a problem here as some people no matter how
many times they tell them, just don't come regularly.
Of course, the results are that the medication won't
work and she is in trouble.
But the guy who likes the girls, well, he doesn't want
to believe anything about TB or HIV. Doesn't want
to go for testing. Easy to see where he's headed.
He decides (when he is really sick) to go to the
traditional healer.
This was another great scene with a lot of wild action
and chaos. Again, those guys did a great job.
So, the guy gets kind of jived up and stands up and
dances like he got the spirit in him, then drops dead.
The women cry / wail and the wife (who brought him
to the traditional healer) then chases the healer around
with a hoe as the people try and break it up.
I was running the camera and I could see that it was
going to be an interesting scene.
In the end the lessons are ... don't be stupid, get tested,
don't have multiple partners and if you are taking
ARVs or TB medication, do it right.
Another huge part is the the group is growing and it
is a fun way to kill a Friday afternoon.
The next one I am thinking should be about teenage
pregnancy. It is really a problem here and with the
threat of HIV high, I guess that the youth just
aren't getting the message in a way that makes sense
to them.
To change the subject ... the Romanians and the guys
from the village played their soccer game last Thursday.
It was 10 to 8 with the Romanians winning. It was
a great activity for both sides. It helped create a little
connection and familiarity through sports. It also
gave the village youth something to think about. In
this area they are kind of the best. They never practice
and I guess they had the big fish in a small pond
frame of mind.
With the thumping they got, hopefully they will be at the
field a little more. The Romanians had a different style
of play than the village youth. The youth talked about
what they learned, a good thing.
A lot of benefits came out of that game.
Began to teach a young San girl (who is going to teach
some computer classes) some new things. Sustainable
in every way. Like I mentioned before, the only sustainable
thing I know is, knowledge.
Also a few young women are going to organize a valentine's
day event. In my opinion it is a good thing. We are
so far out in the bush and to have some (city type)
activity is well worth the effort.
Here we have some young kids who've gone to school
in cities. When they come back, they are dying of boredom.
So if this will help to keep them active, it is good.
Also, it is the initiate of a few youth, good to see in the
world of development.
Time to end this blog article so best way to end it is ...
with the words ... Tukoneke no Kughayara.