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<\/a><\/div>\nAs Ssewanja gets to the top of the mountain he raises his arms out and looks down, creating the same iconic pose as the O Cristo Redentor statue of Rio De Janeiro<\/a>. Christ the Redeemer<\/em> is considered to be the largest art deco statue on earth. It is 130 feet tall, weighs 700 tons, and has been voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World<\/a>.<\/p>\n I don’t think that the Ugandan cast and crew were aware of the giant statue in Brazil, but there is a correlation with The Revealed Truth.<\/strong> Christ the Redeemer sits atop Corcavodo hill looking down into the favelas below<\/a>. These slums are riddled with drugs and gangs and considered to be some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world. Both the Christ in Rio and the Messiah in The Revealed Truth<\/strong> are redeemers, not of sin, but of poverty.<\/p>\n From my experience in making this film, I’ve learned that Uganda has more than its fair share of destitution. Domestic violence, corruption, disease, vigilante law, and malnutrition make day to day life difficult. In an environment like that, one can only have hope that things will one day change.\u00a0 Christ’s transcendent qualities are often the only thing that keeps people going.\u00a0 Organized religion is the backbone of the community.<\/p>\n Closely linked to the church are the faith based charities that sponsor children<\/a>. Foreign intervention by itself is not a viable solution.<\/a> It fosters a culture of dependency that keeps things at status quo and often creates an environment vulnerable to corruption.\u00a0 Today Africa must struggle with an ill-fitting Western paradigm of development. It’s structured in a way that the region will be forever playing catch up to the rest of the world.\u00a0 The continent’s redemption must come from within. Africa is a wealth of natural resources and culture.\u00a0 Those who were fortunate enough to get out of Africa in search of better education and jobs must make the Christ-like sacrifice to return to their former life of poverty so that they can lead their people out. \u00a0 Africa needs to develop itself in a uniquely African way.<\/p>\n I’d like to conclude The Revealed Truth<\/strong> blog series with a shot from the end credits.\u00a0 I woke up the morning of the play to find the two donkeys<\/a> grazing in front of the school.\u00a0 As the day wore on it became clear that the the livestock needed to be transported to the performance area.\u00a0 The crew pulled up along side a tall hill.\u00a0 The donkeys were pulled on ropes up to the top.\u00a0 Someone took a few 2′ x 4′ planks from out of the truck bed and positioned them over the space between the hilltop and the pickup.<\/p>\n The donkeys were led single file over the gap.\u00a0 Led<\/em> is not the best description.\u00a0 A few guys pulled at ropes tied at the beasts’ necks.\u00a0 Another group pushed from behind.\u00a0 Some poked with sticks.\u00a0 I can’t stress how risky it is to guide two large animals over a narrow, flimsy board over a ten foot abyss.\u00a0 Luckily, the donkeys made it onto the truck.<\/p>\n Yet, that’s the way life works out in Kiwangala, Uganda.\u00a0 The people who live there are faced with seemingly impossible challenges.\u00a0 Often the only solutions are unpredictable and precarious, but everyday Ugandans take the chance anyway.<\/p>\n While working and living in the country I encountered a spirit of perseverance over adversity like no other.\u00a0 I mentioned in the introduction<\/a> that making this film was difficult.\u00a0 It took a year just to sync the audio and figure out the subtitles.\u00a0 My inspiration to finish the movie came from watching the cast and crew.\u00a0 Seeing them balance the burden of the world on their shoulders put my work in perspective.<\/p>\n I certainly can’t formulate a solution for all of Africa’s problems in this closing paragraph, but I believe that media has a part to play.\u00a0 Awareness and advocacy comes from good communication.\u00a0 Giving the voiceless a voice is the first step in creating equality on the planet.\u00a0 These are ideas that I’ve explored in past posts<\/a> and that I will continue to develop in future blog entries.<\/p>\n The Revealed Truth Blog Series<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/2\/2a\/Cristo_Redentor_Rio_de_Janeiro_2.jpg\")
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<\/a> It’s one way of creating redemption in rural villages, but is it beneficial for the community? Selected kids attend boarding schools in towns outside the village.\u00a0 When they go to University it’s hours away in the capital.\u00a0 Those fortunate enough to pursue higher education become professionals in their careers. Yet, they are often reluctant to return to their homes after finding a better life elsewhere.\u00a0 That’s redemption for the individual, but creates brain drain<\/a> on the country. The best and brightest Ugandans don’t even live in Uganda.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lh4.ggpht.com\/_1TlEAO6LHJc\/TBhFTi85GTI\/AAAAAAAAA8Y\/vfgoEQNr4u8\/s400\/Subtitles%20Part%20IV%20Donkey%27s%20in%20Truck.jpg\")
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<\/a>Sometimes, I’d question what I was achieving by making a movie about an African passion play.\u00a0 It seemed petty in light of the suffering these people are facing.\u00a0 What good is art if people are starving?\u00a0 Then one of the actors would see me working on my computer.\u00a0 I didn’t have electricity at my house, but I would bring my laptop down the road and sit in a dusty garage that had an intermittently working outlet.\u00a0 The actors would come in, stand behind me, and watch me work.\u00a0 When they saw themselves or a friend or neighbor on the screen, even if it was just for a moment, they would erupt with excitement.\u00a0 They may have never seen themselves on video before, but they were eager to share their talents with an audience.\u00a0 It gave them a feeling of importance, a feeling that they weren’t forgotten by the rest of the world, that they were more than just a third world statistic.\u00a0 The challenges that Sub-Saharan Africa faces doesn’t boil down to economics, education, or management, but of esteem.<\/a> When someone feels they are of worth they are capable of doing anything.<\/p>\n
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