I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that we got funding for our
movie project. That ment I got to go to South Africa AGAIN and visit our friendship school. I was so happy because our
first visit there was so amazing and I had cherished it in my heart. I didn't imagine I could go there ever again. On the first trip we spent too little time in Arethabeng school in my opinion so I was even happier when I realized that this time I would be working with the children in a movie project and spend a lot of time at school.
Another new thing was that we were able to take two of my pupils to South Africa. Most of my pupils wanted to go so it was hard to decide who to take with us. We had funding for only two and it also would have been too risky to take more children with us. We decided to take a boy and a girl and drew lots among them. So Eeva and Vili came with us.
Eeva and Vili got lot of attention at once they got to the school yard. They spent most of their time with the learners who were making the films for the project. They had had their own films already made in Finland.
They both really enjoyed being at the school and told after the trip that times spent at school were the best in trip. They also told that it was rather demanding to have so much attention. Everyone wanted to talk with them, play with them, have them take pictures of them etc. I was happy to see that children from different sides from the globe could get along so easily and enjoy each other's company.
As for me I enjoyed the morning assemblies the most. The songs, the dances, the prayers - everything. This time we had prepared ourselves better for the assemblies. We had learned some Finnish folk songs and brought Finnish national instrument,
kantele, with us. We taught some songs and just performed some with Tuuli, another teacher from Mikkola. It is so amazing to hear South African children sing Finnish songs!
Helping Hanna in movie making workshop was interesting. The workshop was held in English because we can't talk Sotho. Children understood us very well but we couldn't understand them when they talked together in Sotho. If they talked about yesterdays football match we wouldn't have known. We didn't hear if they had misunderstandings etc. All in all kids concentrated very well and were amazing. Once in a while I saw them writing letters or talking with Eeva and Vili but they got the work done.
Here you can see one example of difference in resources in Finnish schools and in South African schools. When my pupils told their three-picture-stories they showed their pictures on a screen with video projector which we have in every classroom. In Arethabeng electricity was off that day as in many days. Life isn't fair.
Here are pictures of the pupils of Arethabeng. Many of the children live in very poor conditions nevertheless you can see them smile. I used to think that poor means sad but I've learned that when you are rich you can be poor in you heart. Money can't buy happiness and joy.
I feel priviledged that I've had the opportunity to get to know the Arethabeng school, its learners and its staff. It's been an eyeopening experience to me. I've got so much love and care from the people there that I can never give back. I've fell in love with South Africa because of those people.
I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that we got funding for our movie project. That ment I got to go to South Africa AGAIN and visit our friendship school. I was so happy because our first visit there was so amazing and I had cherished it in my heart. I didn't imagine I could go there ever again. On the first trip we spent too little time in Arethabeng school in my opinion so I was even happier when I realized that this time I would be working with the children in a movie project and spend a lot of time at school.
In the project children in our school (
The workshops started by making three-picture-stories of available pictures. At first it was little hard for pupils to make the stories only with three pictures and to have three main things in it: Interesting beginning, the middle and the surprising end. I think that the rehearsal gave the idea how to tell stories with pictures. In the workshops children also learned about different picture sizes, shooting angles and how to use the camera and the stand.
After that theory based learning children started writing their stories. Hanna Toiviainen, the project director who held the workshops, helped each group to make scripts of those writings. The real work started when children had to make story boards of their scripts. It demanded perseverance and a new way of thinking. How to tell the written story by film? How can the viewer know that a child is depressed or how to show that mother is favoring another child? Those kind of questions rose in making of story board.
Story boards looked like this. You had a screen where you drew what happens in the picture. Beside every picture you wrote the picture size and shooting angle, place of shooting, actors and description of what happens. Some groups had very hard time making the story board but some got hold of the idea very quickly.
When the story board were made the group had a final production discussion with Hanna. In that discussion the group had to show that everything was ready for shooting: Shooting places had been chosen, properties had been searched, scenes were practised etc. Then it was time for Action!
I wasn't in South Africa at the end of the workshop so I didn't see the shootings that were made there. Shooting the film was very exciting. Every group amazed me how well they had been prepared for the shooting. The beginning of shooting was always slow but at the end children acted like professionals as if they've done this thousands of times. For me it was a little hard to be just an observer. Many times I wanted to quide the group but soon I realized that the kids do actually better job without my advice. Healthy experience for me!
Here are some pictures of camera practise in Arethabeng. As you can see surroundings are very different from Mikkola school. We had snow, they had blooming trees. 
