A tale of two projects
Ric Rawlins, Multimedia Producer
Earlier this year I had the incredible experience of visiting Ripple Effect’s work in Ethiopia to produce two short films for them.
The first week was spent in the beautiful mountains of Gama Gofa. Here we met farmers at the end of their Ripple Effect journey: thriving, healthy and happy.
It made it all the more bracing when we spent the second week visiting farmers who had yet to start their training, in Dawuro. The families here were going through what you could describe (without hyperbole) as a low in their lives: the interviews, which were sometimes tearful, brought home the need for Ripple Effect’s work in this beautiful highland.
It was fascinating to meet and speak with Ripple Effect’s enthusiastic young staff here: they had a visceral passion to change their hometown, and the intellectual toughness to deliver it.
The Dawuro Project has an emphasis on delivering improved nutrition for children and young women, and it was particularly fascinating to meet Metekiya, the senior nutritionist of the project. Personally I don’t know the first thing about nutrition, but he made the case for its importance with clarity and intelligence: it’s worth seeing him talk in the film.
Since making the film I’ve heard that the families on The Dawuro Project have made great progress with their training. It’ll be fascinating, and I’m sure gratifying, to meet them again in a couple of years.
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