Nerys Evans

In the Beginning

It all started in November 2008.

For some time I had felt an urge to put my experience into use: I had been working as a factual video Director for three years, worked in broadcast for ten, but still felt something was missing.

I wanted to produce a video that could make a difference, focusing on a forgotten or unseen world.

I went home, switched on my computer, and entered “Video, producer, volunteer, charity”. Up popped LearnAsOne.

I chose the charity for five reasons:

• - Africa
• - Children
• - Education
• - Innovation
• - Transparency

It is a charity that brings a 21st Century feasibility to the ’sponsor a child / project’ initiative by using new media technology.

It is a non-corporate charity.

It is a charity that will allow the donor to see exactly how their money is being used through stories, photographs and videos produced by both professional self-funded volunteers and aid workers working within a sister in-community charitable organization.

It is a charity that believes in sustainability, self preservation and education that tailors to the needs of its people. It is not a charity that is driven by what ‘we’ think is for the better.

The long term hope for LearnAsOne is to assist local NGOs who work in countries across Africa by providing donations from people across the world. In turn, will gain an understanding of how their money is being invested through transparent, new media communication.

Nerves, Bikes and 250 miles

A brief meeting with young founder Steve Heyes in London confirmed it was a project worth pursuing. LearnAsOne were heading to Zambia in May 2009 and I had to raise £700 to make the trip.

It was the first time for me to fund-raise. I was a little apprehensive.

A month later I met with Producer Sue Jeffries of “Cyfle”, a Welsh Training Company for the Creative Media Industries in Wales. Sue simply gave me the rocket fuel I needed to proceed:

“Right” she said, “you’re going to Zambia. That’s that. So, now, how are you going to raise the money?”.

I decided to challenge myself to the Lon Las Wales cycle. It is a route that will take cyclists from the very peak of Anglesey to the lowest point of Chepstow. It covers 250 miles over three mountain ranges. I decided to do the route in five days. I was kindly given a bike by Wheelies Cycles of Swansea

I was joined by six cyclists: Andrew Davies, Cennydd Richards, Harriet Buckland, Juliet Milne, Nick Tallis, Phil Ridland, and Steve Heyes.

We stayed at minimal cost accommodation and Nick Tallis provided transport. Each rider would take it in turn to drive the kit to the next stop off.

I did not drive and did the entire 250 miles.

Together we raised a massive £1,100; £400 above the target. All thanks to the willingness of the cyclists and the generosity of sponsors.

So, especially for the cyclists, here is a very cheesy slide show and accompanying sound track of our trip:

Getting the Right Kit

With the money raised, I was on my way to Zambia, but I was missing video equipment that was potentially needed.

I had invested in a HDV Sony Z1 video camera, a camera used by most broadcasters, but I needed a tripod and a camera light. I also needed production support to determine whether or not I was able to take this equipment into the country.

I turned to my employer, independent television company Tinopolis. The Producers had already shown an interest in what I was doing: I was interviewed live in the studio of S4C flagship series Wedi 3 to talk about the Lon Las ride.

I approached Development Producer Huw Marshall and he was very supportive of the cause. I offered the company a bilingual video diary of my journey in exchange of a tripod and camera light. The exchange was agreed.

I now found myself as a self-shoot director for LearnAsOne who also had to appear in front of the camera for the Tinopolis production.

Not only was I grateful for Tinopolis’ support but also the opportunity for LearnAsOne to appear on TV for much needed publicity.

Zambia

May 2009, I take flight from London to Livingstone.
I meet Brenda Veldtman and Adam Oxford at Joahnnesburg airport for the first time.
Brenda is a freelance photojournalist (www.brendaveldtman.marenco.co.za/home.html) and Adam a

freelance print journalist (www. adamoxford.co.uk): for the following two weeks it was their responsibility to provide daily updates on the LearnAsOne blog. It was not feasible for video to do the same.

Our plane lands on a narrow strip of tarmac surrounded by the iconic red earth of Africa. The long journey and the nerves of first time self shoot seems to disappear in a moment of gratitude. Six months since my meeting with Sue, here I was, in Zambia, about to fulfil a life time ambition: to film within a community of a developing country.

We meet Steve at the Jollyboys backpackers in Livingstone; he arrived a week early in preparation of the two weeks

ahead, dealing with in country logistics and politics.  A quick bite to eat, a meeting of things to come, and we’re on our way to Kalomo.

We travel 120km north-east in a compact 4×4. A few hours travelling on a pothole covered dirt track and we enter the crossroad town of Kalomo, its architecture suggesting a colonial past.

Quickly leaving our luggage at Hotel Kalomo and make our way to Simakakata for our first meeting with the resident committee and our sister charity in Kalomo.

I cannot put into words how happy I was at that moment. This is when I met the residence for the first time and it felt good; it was as if all the jigsaw pieces fitted neatly together and I understood that one of my lifelong ambitions to film in an environment where it is needed was being fulfilled.

Over the two weeks at Simakakata:

• - I meet teachers who go three years before payment is provided, they depend on  food donations given by an already starving locals and live in small brick huts with minimum resources.
• - I meet girls like Saviour. Saviour lost her parents to AIDS when she was just still learning how to walk. She now walks 7km to school and 7km from school. That’s three hours in an average 30C heat with no food, no water, and no shelter. All because she wants to be able to read English and one day become a teacher.
• - I meet the ‘blind’ community: a community of physically impaired families who live in exile. In some families, both parents are affected. In Zambia it is difficult to find work when physically challenged and there is no benefits system in place. Instead they are left to defend for themselves and live in poverty. The blind community is a neighbor to the Simakata school and has the only water pump that can be seen for miles. The community kindly shares its resource with the school.
• - I meet a community of people who have made bricks by hand in an attempt to build a school. So far they’ve managed to make 60,000. It is their wish to build a school that caters to their needs as a community and the educational needs of their children.

For me, it was the children that made the trip so special; they were curious, honest, playful and unscathed by their circumstance. They did not grow tired of the video camera, were amazed by the ability of an iPod, and were fascinated by Adam’s computer.

I do not pity the people of Simakakata, but I do believe they deserve the benefit of a formal education that is so often taken for granted in the UK. In return, we have so much to learn from the people of Simakakatam skills that cannot be taught from a text book: generosity, community and hope.

During my trip I bathed in brown water (we were fortunate to have a bath at Hotel Kalomo), ate chicken with the local residents (a privileged gift from a struggling community), danced with the local villagers (I have no idea what the song was about but it had a lot of “Zambia” in it), and ate Caterpillars with a Welsh south African.

More so, I met friends that I will never forget. It was an opportunity that I hope to experience once again.

A Shock Return

I return, armed with twelve video tapes at hand but I also returned to some sad news.

With a heavy heart I heard the economic downfall was having an effect on my department and they were unable to keep me as permanent staff. Tinopolis were supportive but there was nothing they could do.

It meant returning to freelance, a common practise with media professionals, but there was no denying that my circumstance had dramatically changed in light of the Zambia project.

No equipment. No facilities. No editor.

I looked towards other production companies but their schedules were too tight, budgets too small and resources limited. I was having technical problems with my camera and computer and editing software was expensive.

I had to put the Zambia project to one side while I looked for work. I needed money to buy the appropriate equipment to proceed and I needed to earn a living.

I eventually found a contract working on a documentary feature with a company in London, though staying in south Wales. It wasn’t permanent but enough to keep me going and to buy the necessary equipment to continue.

And that’s what I did. I bought the equipment.

Now I needed time.

I found out about the Vodafone World of Difference scheme, a contract that started as my other contract came to an end. It was perfect: an opportunity to continue my work with LearnAsOne. I could now focus on the production rather than worry about my next play slip.

Today

And so, here I am, writing a blog in between working on the edit for LearnAsOne at home.

I’ve now ingested 12 hours worth of tapes and I’ve started cutting sequences for Day In the Life of Saviour, a video that gives us a glimpse of what life is like for a young child living in Simakakata.

I am still depending on the generosity of independent companies and was delighted when Plastic Buddha agreed to help me with the voice over recording: www.plasticbuddha.co.uk.

I also have the kind assistance of professional editor Alun Morris Jones to help me out with the grammar of editing and any technical alterations that need doing.

I still have a lot to learn. I’m nervous and excited at the same time.

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.
George Bernard Shaw