Wednesday,
April 19 at 7:00pm
Reelblack
presents
Orphans
of Nkandla
dir.
Brian Woods and Deborah Shipley, UK, 2003, video, 80 mins,
color
 The
village of Nkandla lies approximately 120 kilometers from
the
South African city of Durban in the middle of a beautiful landscape.
Its inhabitants from the Zulu tribe live in primitive clay huts
where electricity and running water, as in much of Africa, are
things that can only be dreamed of. And, like many other African
villages, the local community is infected with the HIV virus.
In
a powerful documentary film produced by the BBC, we become acquainted
with several children whose parents are suffering from AIDS.
Until they become orphans, as are three-quarters of a million
South African children, they must take care of their parents.
"The worst is always the morning, when I am afraid to go
see if my father is still alive," says 13-year-old Mbali,
who spends all her time caring for the household and her siblings.
One of the few bright spots in her life is Sister Hedwig, a
nun who helps them get some of their most basic needs. Unless
South Africa begins to fight AIDS more effectively, by the end
of the decade over two million children here will become orphans.
Ticket
proceeds will help a Philadelphia delegation of high school
students going to Cape Town in July through Learning Circle
Network. Please visit www.learningcirclenetwork.org
for more information.
Visit www.reelblack.com
for more information and other Reelblack screenings.
|
