Over more than 20 years I’ve talked to rocket scientists, AIDS researchers, community activists, Ebola survivors and Haitian teenagers who have never surfed the Internet. I love a good story.
The camera.
Once, I found myself in front of the camera after traveling for 24 hours with almost no sleep. Thankfully, I'm usually behind the lens.
Slice of Life: Four Inspiring Women
Azzure, singer and musician.
2020 was laden with fear and anxiety from COVID19, and my heart was angry as I stood with George Floyd and countless other slain African Americans, and my soul was tired and heavy from the hate that emanated from the White House.
Late in 2020, I was introduced to the staff at Friends of Guest House, an organization that helps women successfully reenter the community from incarceration. I subsequently met four inspiring women, and I told their stories. My idea of a strong woman, has forever changed.
This project put so many things in perspective for me in 2020. I shot and edited the story. Pretty damn proud of this one.
Get to know Kathy, Azzure, Amber, and the tireless Kari Gallaway, who has unwavering faith in these women. Here’s their story.
Electricity for Maji, Ethiopia
THE CROWDED MARKET IN MAJI. PHOTO BY NOAH FRIEDMAN-RUDOVSKY
In November 2019, I visited Maji, a small isolated and rural community in the Northwestern part of Ethiopia. This time, to produce a story on the creation of Ethiopia’s first electric cooperative. After two days of travel by road and air my team arrived at dusk, parting a large crowd in a busy market with our two vehicles. Visitors are rare in this remote location. We were not welcomed by all. During my 5-day stay, I witnessed the formation of an electric co-op, and also saw hope emerging among women who wanted more than just brewing and selling liquor at the market. And farmers, who wanted to tell their children that they will have better lives.
It was the hardest story to produce, yet the easiest one to tell. It all came fast. Writing the video script, developing the digital content, and creating the package of multimedia stories. Take a look here. My favorite director of photography Noah Friedman-Rudovsky came along for another adventure, and the patient and magically talented Denny Gainer edited the video. This story won a gold award in the 2020 Hermes Creative Awards.
DRUMMERS AND singers give thanks to caroline kurtz for her life-long support for the people of maji. watch this award-winning video about bringing electricity to the area.
A woman in her kitchen in maji, brewing liquor to sell at the market. It is her only source of income.
The Secret for Success: Bangladesh
a 70-year old man in a village near tangail, 12 years since electricity arrived to his home.
In October 2018, I traveled to Bangladesh and spent three days visiting rural communities and electric co-ops. Forty years ago, virtually no electricity was available in the rural villages when NRECA International began helping the government. Today more than 100 million people have access to electricity and the plan is for everyone to have power by 2021.
I traveled photojournalist Mahmud Hossain Opu, who captured the beauty of the people and the essence of the story I wanted to tell. Using the NRECA International website as a platform, I produced a multimedia story package to strengthen the organization’s long legacy as a leader in rural electrification.
The electric co-op model + the people’s tenacity = The (not so ) secret for success.
the secret for success
a saree is born. check out other photos in the gallery by mahmud hossain opu
Five Years of Power: Las Cuevas
THE FAMILY MATrIARCH CARMELLA VILLATORO TOLD US ELECTRICITY IS GOOD BECAUSE HER GRANDCHILDREN CAN ENJOY CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AT NIGHT.
Right before Christmas in 2017 I flew in to Guatemala City, and spent the next 24 hours getting to Las Cuevas, an isolated village in the mountains of Guatemala. There, I talked to the families and coffee growers, and learned how their lives have changed with five years of power. In 2012 NRECA International and volunteer linemen from Indiana electric cooperatives brought electricity to this village. They built new distribution lines and connected electricity to more than 175 households and businesses for the very first time.
I was the director, producer and writer. Denny Gainer was the director photography, and together we traversed dirt roads to reach the mountains. In Las Cuevas the Villatoro family opened their home to us. We met and spent much of the day with them. Women from four generations shared many stories. In two short days we we managed to collect enough material to tell multiple stories over various platforms.
This was the first house we saw when we arrived in Las Cuevas. Power lines and clouds made a perfect backdrop. I got out of the car and luck was on my side. The Villatoro family was home. And what a fantastic day it was. Photo: denny gainer
Merly Villatoro talked to me about her shop, what she sells and what's popular. Business is good. photo: denny gainer
Liberia
interviewing a woman in bong county, liberia.
In 2017 I traveled to Liberia to capture the stories of resiliency and hope. The people I met were just emerging from decades of civil unrest, and were hit by Ebola, a pandemic that stunned the world. Those who survived through the Ebola crisis needed more kept promises.
I was the director, producer and writer. Noah Friedman-Rudovsky was the director of photography, and we traveled to remote parts of the country where I interviewed community leaders, community members, and government officials on camera. I discovered many stories during this trip. Moving quickly behind the scenes, and having a great team helping me with logistics, I had enough material to produce multiple stories for different audiences. Terrance Green of Truxton Creative provided masterful editing services.
After the Ebola crisis, troubled Liberian communities got some help with the arrival of electricity. I saw first hand how the people would benefit.
Living in America, many of us take electricity for granted. Watch this short video I produced for a young audience from rural America, who were keen to understand how communities live without electricity.
It Starts With Power
this father told me that when electricity comes, he wishes for all his girls to go to university.
The second time I traveled to Haiti, it was to a coastal town eight hours by road from Port au Prince that had a c'est la vie vibe. For good reason. People in Coteaux and the surrounding area were going to receive electricity, and the possibilities were endless. As power lines were going up, people felt hope from the promise of more businesses, medicine, and street lights at night. And for a father, dreams for his girls to go to university seemed reachable. Perfect stories for NRECA International's 2015 It Starts With Power fundraising campaign that I launched across all media channels.
I was the producer and writer. Garrett Hubbard was the director of photography, and together we traveled to many towns and interviewed business owners, doctors, teachers, families and community leaders. Four videos were produced for the campaign, all edited beautifully by Garrett. Multiple articles were written and published on various channels.
I PRODUCED FOUR VIDEOS TELLING STORIES OF HOW POWER IS THE FOUNDATION FOR IMPROVED LIVES. BETTER HEALTHCARE, EDUCATION, SAFER STREETS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH. ALL START WITH POWER.
young haitians saying hello.
on my first day on the bus the linemen were quiet and subdued during the 20 minute ride to the work site. by the second day, they decided i could handle some “language.” i made life-long friends on this trip. photo: jim mccarty
Powering Bolivia
When Isabel's story was launched, the story continued later that year when 15 linemen volunteers traveled to her village to construct power lines and connect homes with electricity. This time, it was the linemen's story. They traveled from rural parts of Missouri and Oklahoma, to help a rural community near the Amazon in Bolivia. Many were leaving the country for the first time, some had never left their home state. Helping this Bolivian community was a reminder of what it was like to live without power on rural farms decades ago. It was a life-changing experience for them.
I was the director, producer and writer. Noah Friedman-Rudovsky was the director of photography and we traveled to Riberalta, Bolivia, to spend a week with the working linemen volunteers. We ate every meal with them, traveled on buses and trucks with them to the work sites, and after getting to know many of them, selected a few to feature in my story.
Denny Gainer skillfully edited the video, and it was used widely by electric co-ops around the country.
volunteer linemen worked for two weeks to string power lines and connect homes with power. many spoke with me about their experiences, and all agreed they would come back to help again. photo: noah friedman rudovsky
Heath Martin of Northfork Electric, Oklahoma. He spoke with me what it was like to help bring first time electricity access to 360 families in the Amazon Basin. Photo: Noah Friedman-Rudovsky