"A Small Act"

Today, the International Studies Association were showing the film 'A Small Act'.  I went along to watch because i've been getting involved in this club, as I mentioned in my previous post, with the cultural survey that the ISA is forming. Regardless, the film was really moving. It told the story of a Swedish foundation which supports Kenyan children in their High School education. The foundation was started by a guy, who himself had been supported by a Swedish lady.
From this he had gone onto Harvard Law and now worked for the United Nations in Human Rights (my dream). Anyway, it was really interesting and really sad because only some of the children were to be supported by this fund. The Primary School children had to achieve a 380 on their tests to gain a scholarship, these tests seemed literally so hard for someone so young. There was a lot of pressure on these children to perform, as they were dirt poor. One girl didn't have a house and the other boy had a very sick mother. The focus of the film was on these three children, none managed to get the desired 380. So, it was decided by the foundation they would lower the grade boundaries, because the national average was that much lower. Even so, the foundation only supported one of the boys mentioned, the two other girls were left without a scholarship. This would mean that they would leave school, and in a few years be married, and with children, struggling to eat. Luckily, the production team of the family decided to fund these two girls' education. It makes you realize how much you take education for granted. Even in a relatively well developed African nation, the disparities between rich and poor are so huge. For me, everytime I watch a documentary on anything like this, it only reinforces that I want to work in this field.

On a side note, if you want to spruce up your room with drawings/paintings of celebrities, my very talented housemate just launched a website. This is her brilliant drawing of Cara Delevingne..if you are interested in acquiring a print, this is the link: http://sunshinegirldraws.bigcartel.com/products