Have you seen the First World Problems video? Well, the developing world gets their chance to retort here in the First World Problems Anthem. It's actually a commercial sponsored by WATERisLIFE.com.
MEXICO: Baja Smugglers
Daredevil outlaws. The Mexican drug war. All night trips on small fishing boats called "pangas" that smuggle migrant workers & marijuana into the United States. This is Baja Smugglers. A new documentary created by Jesse Aizenstat, author of Surfing the Middle East.
Read MoreGIRL RISING
GIRL RISING—the innovative feature film about the power of education to change a girl —and the world. The film spotlights unforgettable girls like Sokha, an orphan who rises from the dumps of Cambodia to become a star student and an accomplished dancer; Suma, who composes music to help her endure forced servitude in Nepal and today crusades to free others; and Ruksana, an Indian "pavement-dweller" whose father sacrifices his own basic needs for his daughter's dreams. Each girl is paired with a renowned writer from her native country. Edwidge Danticat, Sooni Taraporevala Aminatta Forna and others tell the girls' stories, each in it's style, and all with profound resonance. These girls are each unique, but the obstacles they faced are ubiquitous. Like the 66 million girls around the world who dream of going to school, what Sokha, Suma, Ruksana and the rest want most is to be students: to learn. And now, And now, by sharing their personal journeys, they have become teachers. Watch Girl Rising, and you will see: One girl with courage is a revolution.
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TANZANIA: Give Your Love Away
Healthcare is neither easily accessible nor affordable for many Tanzanians living in rural villages and poor urban areas. Anika Jeppesen traveled to Arusha, Tanzania to work as a medical volunteer through International Volunteer HQ’s medical placement program. Here is her experience.
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Frame By Frame (2015) Documentary On The Afghan Press
In 1996 the Taliban banned photography in Afghanistan. In 2014 as foreign troops pull out, international media will follow and the future of local afghan journalism is unknown. Frame by Frame is a documentary that explores the revolution of local photojournalism in Afghanistan.
IT'S A GIRL
In India, China and many other parts of the world today, girls are killed, aborted and abandoned simply because they are girls. The United Nations estimates as many as 200 million girls are missing in the world today because of this so-called gendercide" Add your voice to raise awareness of this and bring It's A Girl film to an area near you.
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Strictly Beza: Combating HIV Through Dance in Ethiopia
In a country where more than half of the younger population was born during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Ethiopia is in dire need of education for its youth on practicing safe sex. To address this issue, a young dance troupe by the name of Addis Beza are utilizing their talents and passion for music and dance to educate community members about HIV prevention. During their public performances, the 15-20 member crew hands out informational pamphlets about HIV and encourages their spectators to get tested.
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CHANGE HEROES: The Trip that Changed the Way to Give
Back in 2009, Taylor Conroy took a trip to Kenya and Uganda in pursuit of a vacation and means of getting himself involved. Little did he know that this decision would cause for him to start a movement; Change Heroes -a friend-funding platform which gives anyone the tools they need to raise $10,000 and build a school, library, or water well anywhere in the developing world. In this video, Taylor talks about that initial, innocent trip, which caused his life, and the lives of thousands of others, to change for the better, forever.
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What's Wrong with Volunteer Travel?
Listen to Daniela Papi in her TEDx talk, she spent six years living in Cambodia and founded her own travel organization, PEPY TOURS, originally "voluntourism" and now shifted to learning travel. She brings to light the flaws in the efforts to do good on the international front, such as in Cambodia where the popularity of orphanage volunteering has led to the phenomenon that 3 out of 4 Cambodian "orphans" have 1 or more live parents. Here's her story.
SOUTH AFRICA: Dear Mandela
It has been close to 20 years since South Africa abolished its oppressive regime of apartheid. With this came a new constitution and a promise to provide all citizens living in squatter towns, and townships with adequate housing and equal rights. Unfortunately, in the eyes of many South Africans, this promise has not yet been fulfilled. This award-winnng documentary depicts the story of the first post-apartheid generation and their struggle towards attaining what they were promised two decades ago.
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MILLENNIAL TRAINS PROJECT: The Uncharted Territories
This past summer, The Millennial Trains Project (MTP) embarked on its inaugural cross-country journey - visiting six cities in ten days; traveling by train the entire way. With a mission to awaken the entrepreneurial amongst a group of 25 crowdfunded Millennials, the trip exposed them to the uncharted territories of America; showing the promise, and room for growth the country has. This video - narrated by Keith Bellows, Editor-in-Chief of National Geograhpic Traveler and MTP on-train mentor shares his insights on the Millennial Generation, travel, and the need for all of us to fight complacency in order to break the status-quo.
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Living on One Dollar: 2013 Documentary On Poverty
We have all heard about the more than 1 billion people that live on less than $1/day. But could you do it? Four friends set out to do so for 56 days in Guatemala and this film, Living on One Dollar, is the result. "Living on One Dollar is a must-watch film that provides a unique look into the hardship and hope of life in extreme poverty." — Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Laureate.
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VIDEO: Expedition to The End of The World Explores Greenland
The film, The Expedition to the End of World, is a snapshot of the participating artists and scientists or their projects on the schooner Activ in northeast Greenland. A snapshot representing the filmmakers’ use of this unusual opportunity, the film explores what life is like in the arctic Greenland. Artists and activists were involved in the film. No obligations or performance contracts, the film shows just pure exploration of the worlds of nature, science and art.
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VIDEO: SolarAid Gives Light to Millions of Africans
Throughout Africa, hundreds of millions live without access to electricity. For light, many use toxic and expensive kerosene lamps; simultaneously harming the environment while keeping families within the grips of poverty. SolarAid is aiming to disrupt this market by providing those in need with cheaper and safer solar lights. Solar lights are more safe for the environment as well, which is important when combating climate change. With more than one million lights sold, that change is becoming tangible.
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VIDEO: Change Heroes and Free The Children Help the World in 3 Hours
Watch what 22-year-old Evan Mula, from Boston, did with just a bit of time. He and 32 of his friends raised $10,000 in three hours to build a school in Kenya through Change Heroes and Free The Children. This is his trip to see that vision emerge in reality. Evan is able to demonstrate that anyone can change the world with just a bit of hard work. He now sets a standard for activists who work in Kenya.
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VIDEO: Can You Live on Just £1 a Day?
Can you live off just £1 a day? For millions of people around the world, this is a reality. These people lived on £1 per day for five days and shifted below the poverty line. Shift UK was created to stand with those who live like that every day and raise money to support life-changing projects.
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VIDEO: The Kula Project Invests in Farmers to Help the People of Rwanda
The majority of farmers in developing nations like Rwanda are unable to generate enough income to feed and sustain their families. This is due to the lack of basic needs for success. The Kula Project invests in small-scale farmers in Rwanda to create sustainable communities.
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VIDEO: Changing Girls’s Lives at The More Than Me Academy in Liberia
The More Than Me Academy is on a mission to make sure education and opportunity, not exploitation and poverty, define the lives of the most vulnerable girls from the West Point Slum of Liberia. When she graduates, she will decide what comes next for her life.
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Turning Tables: A Voice for the Voiceless
Turning Tables is an international NGO committed to establishing, and maintaining permanent musical production facilities for DJ’ing, rap, and beat making for marginalized youth in the Developing World. “The aim is to start a process of reflection and self-empowerment by giving youth a space where they can express their travesties, hopes, and dreams in a non-violent manner,” says Turning Tables Founder and Director Martin F. Jakobson.
In 2009, Martin was living in Beirut, and began working in several Palestinian refugee camps across Lebanon. Since then, Turning Tables has expanded its work across the Middle East to Tunisia, Jordan, Libya and Cairo, alongside establishing a presence in Haiti and Cambodia.
Beyond merely conducting workshops to educate youth about musical production, the organization has branched into workshops video production and has collaborated with local music festivals to further enhance the youth’s experience, and empowerment. Turning Tables also commits itself to the training of local staff, to ensure their facilities remain operational with the intention of self-sufficiency down the road.
Currently, Turning Tables is conducting an international online fundraising campaign for Cambodian street youth, many of whom are former child prostitutes. “Our expectation is that, with the fundraising campaign, will be able to train about 800 vulnerable Cambodian kids for a year, and create a strong outreach program to reach more at-risk youth.” — Martin Jakobson (Founder + Director)
This photo essay takes you to Turning Tables on site locations of Tunisia, Haiti, Libya, Cambodia and Egypt, displaying the many areas, and countless youth who have been powered through their inspired mission. Connect with Turning Tables here, and check out their crowd funded effort for the Cambodian youth on indiegogo.
ANDREW BRIDGE is a global enthusiast with a passion for the road less traveled. As a frequent collaborator with World Hip Hop Market and Nomadic Wax, Andrew has worked with numerous socially conscious artists from around the world in the pursuit of inspiring cultural understanding and exchange through entertainment. This fascination with the world at large has taken him to over 20 countries (so far) through studying, volunteering, and writing about his travels, with no signs of slowing his globetrotting nature down. Connect with Andrew at @Bridgin_TheGap
100cameras
100cameras is an NGO that empowers marginalized children around the world to document their lives through photography, and thereby create positive change in their communities. 100% of the photography sales go back to the children’s communities. Here’s how it works: 100cameras gives a camera to Jackson in South Sudan. Jackson snaps a photo. Then you buy his photo on the 100cameras website. 100% goes back to Jackson and Jackson is empowered.
In 2008, 100cameras launched its first project at St. Bartholomew’s Orphanage in Kajo Keji, South Sudan that serves as a home to 80 children who lost their families during the brutal 21-year civil war. The orphanage was founded by IWASSRU (International Widows Association for Southern Sudanese Refugees in Uganda), a group of Sudanese war widows that banded together to care for refugee orphans. 100cameras funds lifeline supplies, such as protection and access to food, water, and medicine.
To date, the sale of the children’s photography has raised $17,000 that was used to build a fence around the campus, protecting them from the rebel forces in Sudan, and has provided critical maintenance for the truck that transports all food and medicine for the children. $17,000 is four times the average annual income in Sudan!
You can purchase a child's photograph on the 100cameras website and 100% of your purchase will go directly to IWASSRU to provide lifeline supplies and shelter.
This photo essay is a small selection of the more than 200 photographs of South Sudan taken by South Sudanese kids, as well as projects in other countries around the world.
Connect with 100cameras and purchase images of their kid photographers here. Check out their crowdfunding campaign going on now here at WEDIDIT.