The last few weeks have been a nightmare with lives at stake.  Dramatic but it’s true.  Our award winning documentary series THE RWENZORI RAINMAKERS has already had the blight of Trump putting 100% tariff on “foreign films,”  but that didn’t beat us.  “Forget sales for the moment,” we thought. “Let’s go for what we consider the most important part of all this - IMPACT.”  

 

We want our films to be seen by those most effected by its positive messages.  Scream their messages from the rooftops: How one person CAN make a difference as demonstrated by Ugandans telling their authentic, personal stories;  how an indigenous tree, cared for its first six months is 89% more likely to survive;  how cutting trees for firewood and charcoal has a price to pay;  how cutting bark for medicines can kill trees if not done sustainably;  the tremendous good tree planting can do, returning biodiversity, cooling the earth, making the land fertile, shoring up against floods and landslides and the list goes on.

 

With deep joy and great ambition we planned an Impact Campaign in Uganda with the help of Elsie Kariuki, in Impact Producer at DoccieSphere in Nairobi, Kenya.  We were sponsored by some wonderful people who contributed to events planned and also a solar cinema company called Sunshine Cinema, funded by The Storyboard Collective, who would enable us to get to places without electricity to show the films. 

 

The Rain Starts With Us – is the name of our impact campaign and our website lists the events planned.  But we hadn’t bargained on an outbreak of Ebola.  Very quickly we had really important decisions to make.   Everything we do is sponsored and fund raised.  We don’t make a profit and won’t even pay ourselves until sales.  Everything we have, time and energy, goes into spreading this wonderful, community story of positive change in the hope that it changes lives for the better.

 

Now we were facing 8 screenings in marquees in 8 different parts of Uganda – mainly around the Rwenzoris, bordering The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  Ebola is horrific and this strain has no vaccine. We couldn’t go.  The risk was too great for the wonderful people taking part, for those isolated in small mountain villages and for our crew then travelling back to Kenya and the UK with a 21 day incubation period.  Just imagine if we had been the cause of any infection spreading.  It really didn’t bear thinking about.

 

So events are POSTPONED dear friends in Uganda.  There are some losses we can’t recoup but we will raise more if we possibly can and try to come back in October when we can show the film, hold workshops and distribute more trees to plant.

 

We want to thank all of our sponsors and donors and reassure you that we are already making plans.  We wish you all well with all our hearts.  Take care.