Three Bowdoin graduates flew to Ghana last summer to film "Under the Mango Tree," a documentary about the life and activities of the Maine-Ghana Youth Network (MGYN).
Steven Bartus '08 (editor), Anna Karass '08 (writer), and Aisha Woodward '08 (editor and writer) received the Davis Project for Peace Grant to undertake the project, which lasted three weeks. Woodward first volunteered for the MGYN when she studied abroad the spring of her junior year in Ghana. The same spring, the MGYN visited Bowdoin, and Karass met two of its leaders: Co-Director and Co-Founder Mollishmael Kwame Gabah and President Erin Rhoda.
"We wanted to use the Davis Project for Peace Grant to benefit the Maine-Ghana Youth Network, and decided that a film would represent what the organization wants and the needs of Kissehman," said Karass, referring to the community where the MGYN was founded.
"When we went to Kissehman, I didn't know what to expect either from the place or from the project. It's difficult to know when the news here in the United States is mostly dismal. While hunger and health are acute problems in Kissehman, the people themselves were extremely welcoming and friendly. It was a lot of fun," she said.
"The project taught me a lot about how people portray others, especially in the developing world," Woodward said. Although Woodward had been to Ghana before, filming the country was a new experience for her.
"Seeing a country and population through a different lens is entirely a new experience for me," she said.
The film opens a window into the daily life of the organization from scenes of cultural drumming and dancing, reflections of community members and organization staff, and a classroom where students sit at desks under the eponymous mango tree.
The trio spent the first week getting to know the children in the organization and different people in Kissehman.
"We wanted to make sure everyone new us before we began working on the film with them," Karass said.
The film was made as a fundraising and publicity tool. It has been online since late September and has helped raise money in the United States for the MCYN.
Gabah began the organization as a youth group in the Kissehman community in Accra, Ghana. The aims of the organization are to provide food, drum and dance coaching and academic tutoring.
"The majority of the kids don't have food to eat when they wake up in the morning," said Frank Frimpong, an instructor for the organization, during the film. "The only thing to do is to come to Mollishmael's house, because that is the best way they can survive. Their parents can't support them because they don't have a job. They don't have anything, so the kids don't even approach their parents."
The motivation to help the youth is the driving force of the organization. "This is my life. I love it. I love doing this, because I want to be there for them," Gabah said. "I want them to feel loved. I don't want them to feel left out. Ever."
The film also incorporates voices from students in Kissehman.
"If I was not in the group, my life would have been miserable," said Joshua Abalo, 15. "Mollishmael is like dad and mom for me or other kids. He helps us for food and everything that we need. He has been doing this for us."
Godfred Agbonu, 16, has been a part of the group since it began in 2003.
"Culture is this thing: culture is how people behave in a society. We are doing this group for people outside to know that culture in Africa is not just a stupid thing, but rather a good thing in Africa," he said.
"I love my family. I also thank God for blessing me with a happy family," said Aaron Chorbor, 11. "Mollishmael has been helping us a lot. Even though when our parents can't afford our needs, he tries his best to afford our needs for us. This group has helped us a lot. Not even only me, but other kids in the group."
The Maine-Ghana Youth Network provides a venue for recreation and education for children in the Kissehman community in an organized manner that was not available before.
"Most people from other communities see them and think maybe they are nothing, that they are hopeless or something," Ernestina Owusu-Attah, an instructor, said. "We try to bring out, to help them see the good that is in them."
The film can be viewed at mgyndavisproject.wordpress.com. To learn more about the Maine-Ghana Youth Network or to make a donation, visit maineghanayouth.org.