Projecto Educação e Água - A Documentary about Water Advocacy
Projecto Educação e Água is a short documentary about the work that the Project WET Foundation is doing to improve health in some of Rio de Janeiro's poorest neighborhoods through water education and advocacy. This film follows Project WET, a U.S. nonprofit organization with a 20-year history of creating and implementing water education activities around the world, as they partner with local organizations and community leaders to create behavior change that will reduce disease, improve trash management, and maintain clean water sources. The film will explore the challenges facing these communities and improvements they have already made.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhs5aZ8zD_k&w=560&h=315]This film aims to help Project WET expand their programs through education and awareness. Support this documentary on Indiegogo.This spring, filmmaker Maureen Lee Maloney will be traveling to Rio for 3 weeks with Julia Nelson, Program Manager for Project WET. She has been working within Rio's slums, known as favelas, since 2012.In the past, these neighborhoods were ignored by the government. They completely lacked any kind of infrastructure, including garbage removal and water treatment. Since 2010 the government of Brazil has taken steps to incorporate these areas into the city and improve the lives of the people there. However, with so many years of neglect to overcome, progress has been slowWhen Project WET first began working with these communities they found high levels of dengue fever and diarrhea, both serious diseases that are closely linked to polluted water sources. Often children play in trash, and less than 40% of school children were washing their hands after using the toilet. Project WET has already collaborated with local partners to create customized educational materials focused on improving the hygiene and sanitation behaviors of children in favela communities.The next step for Project WET is to train local educators to use the hands-on methodology and activities in the newly customized educators guide. These educators will then become Project WET Trainers and will train other educators in their communities. The goal is to train at least 500 educators in Rio de Janeiro, reaching at least 10,000 children and their families.Access to clean water is critically important. What can you do today to ensure clean water for future generations?
What We Need & What You Get
With only $4500 we can afford to produce and distribute a 20-minute documentary about how Project WET's educational program is improving health in Rio de Janeiro, demonstrating the power of education in addressing serious water-related health threats. This total includes all pre-production (research & planning), production (travel, equipment, crew), and post-production (editing) costs.