For the past ten months I have dedicated countless hours of my time researching the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that has been shaking up the country (especially its women) for over a decade now. I was first drawn to this subject through this year’s campaign of VDay, an organization that works to end the violence against women around the globe. It was founded by Eve Ensler, who wrote the “Vagina Monogogues” and I participated in this year’s events by directing another one of Mrs. Ensler’s plays entitled “Any One Of Us: Words from Prison” that talks about the violence female prisoners have to encounter. Ten percent of the money we raised was given to the women in the DRC and we screened a short video about the DRC before every performance. During that time I decided to write one of my last research papers for my master’s degree about the Congo. The wheel has kept turning ever since.
One Friday evening in September I was talking to my good friend Zein about my job hunting experiences and what I wanted to do with my life – or better – what I didn’t know I wanted to do. She told me that I really needed to start to put my work out there and that I simply had to start my own website. That night and the following one I couldn’t sleep. I had seen that the “Run for Congo Women”, a 5k run on Roosevelt Island organized by Women for Women International, was taking place on September 26 – two weeks away. I looked at my calendar and realized that the following day I was scheduled to meet with my other great friend Rachel to play around with a new camera…
Long story short. The outcome of two sleepless nights and one short day of shooting and editing is – tada - this video. I posted it that night on Facebook and since then have raised $430. I also have to add that all contributions made to the organization by October 31 will be matched by one of their sponsors. So the $430 that we raised turns out to be $860!
I have to say that I am amazed what a little two minute video can achieve in such a little amount of time and with so little effort. I knew that media is powerful but I didn’t know it was that powerful. Now I wonder what I could accomplish if my name was Weinstein!
If you are interested in joining the cause please follow this link.
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