Two Amazing People, Organizations, and Films

At Sundance, I attended an event sponsored by the Skoll Foundation and Sundance Institute called "Skoll Stories of Change." The Egyptian Theater was jam packed for the panel moderated by Skoll Foundation President and CEO Sally Osberg.  It featured two incredible social entrepreneurs who told us their stories.  We also got to see pre-release screeners of the two films highlighting their efforts.  The teasers left me feeling emotionally agitated and inspired, exactly what a good doc should do.

So what did these two great social entrepreneurs, Bunker Roy and Joia Mukherjee, have in common?  Well, many things, but one thing stood out in particular to me.  They both came from upper class backgrounds and drastically changed the course of their lives after visiting slums in India.

Just some food for thought.  Now, onto these amazing social entrepreneurs and their causes:

Dr. Joia Mukherjee (Partners in Health Medical Director) - I have been following PIH since reading the book about Dr. Paul Farmer's health project in Haiti, Mountains Beyond Mountains (Highly, highly recommended).  This organization provides free health care to 1.5 million Haitians, with similar projects all over the world now.   I love PIH's core philosophy represented by their motto, "Whatever it takes." Development organizations, and regular organizations, can all learn from this approach. Having Joia, a senior leader in the organization in the room was a special treat. She said one of her fears in working in the developing world is appearing as the "Great White Hope." She made sure to selflessly direct any praise for her efforts towards the people she calls the "real heroes," the local doctors and nurses who they partner with on the ground in these health care deficient countries.  They become the first line of defense when diseases break out.

Kief Davidson (Director, The Devil's Miner) is directing the film.  His cut looked amazing, with great access to Dr. Farmer and PIH employees.  The grisly scenes in Haiti post earthquake were hard to watch.  And the teaser ends with Dr. Farmer speaking in Creole Haitians crammed into a sweaty, desperate church that "We are here.  We are standing beside our people."  The scene sent chills down my spine.  I can't wait for the film.

Dr. Joia Mukherjee

Bunker Roy (Director, Barefoot College) is the pioneer of a brilliantly simple program. 30 grandmothers from 4 continents will get selected to go to India to become solar engineers at the Barefoot College.  Why grandmothers? According to Bunker, a man will give up too quickly and leave the village to find a job. A grandmother has no need to go find a job and leave the village behind.   Over the last 6 years, the Barefoot College has trained over 230 grandmothers from 27 countries.  Many of them become the first female solar engineers in their country.  As Bunker puts it, "They come as grandmothers and leave as tigers."An Afghan grandmother went on to power 100 villages with the skills she learned from Bunker.  What is the value of that? Huge.  It is a boon for both economics and education.  For the first time ever, people can be productive at night.

Jehane Noujaim (Control Room) will be directing the film.  The teaser has a great scene of Bunker showing up to a tiny village in the middle of nowhere in Jordan, trying to recruit a woman into his program.  The film will surely produce some comical, cross-cultural moments, and will tell an inspiring tale of how one man (and many grandmothers) can change the world.

Bunker Roy