CARE: SWEEP Project
Water for Food Security, Women’s Empowerment and Environmental Protection: Documenting a 3-year journey of women’s empowerment and improved food security and resiliency in East and West Belesa, Gondar
When FIRMA set out to document SWEEP’s achievements and lessons learned through its three years of implementation, our focus was on creating a contrast between the goals the project set out to meet, and the reality on the ground— which far exceeded the targets— through engaging storytelling.
The storytelling aspect of this assignment was at the forefront of the subjects we chose and the final products we delivered. We did this to bring the numbers and the targets to life, and to dignify the many beneficiaries whom we interviewed and documented.
Photography
For the photography portion of this assignment (executed by Genaye Eshetu), we chose portraiture and reportage style photography to convey both the emotion of the moment and the impact of the work. Subjects are often pictured up close in their natural environment in a portrait style, or they are pictured engaged in relevant activities. The pictures were powerful especially paired with the success stories that were written about the subjects.
Stories
At FIRMA, we relish opportunities to deep-dive into the stories of our subjects to create rich and engaging stories. The success stories for SWEEP were written and edited by Diana Yohannes, and each one was carefully selected after hours of interviews with subjects. Our storywriting begins long before we meet our subjects; we identify plot points necessary to tell our clients’ story combined with identified subjects who are not only willing to tell their stories, but are enthusiastic to do so.
Water Supply System Reignites Hope for the Future
Degib kebele is deep into East Belesa woreda, far removed from paved roads and supply lines for water and electricity. The kebele, much like the
Serving Up Growth: Water Access Creates Opportunities for Women of Belesa
Mulunesh ‘Naniye’ Tsegaye is a proud owner of a cafe in East Belesa woreda, and her establishment is growing in popularity. The cafe, which she
Fresh Water Supply Makes a Splash at a School
Degib Gula Middle School sprawls across an open piece of land in Degib kebele, East Belesa woreda in the Central Gondar zone. It’s the only
Clean Water Brings Generational Resiliency and Productivity
Listening to Aster describing her plans for the future, speaking of diversifying her means of income with palpable ambition in her tone, it is almost
Able to Live and Grow: Income Generation Schemes Create Means for Disabled People
Right in the heart of downtown West Belesa, Central Gondar zone, between a cafe and a shop, sits Fenta’s shop where her sewing machine is
Walking the Talk
Capacity Development for Local Government Creates Exemplary Forces of Women Empowerment Working for the Women and Children’s Affairs Bureau for the West Belesa Woreda Administration, Atala
Videos
The cinematography team takes hours-long footage to compile the perfect 3-minute or 5-minute snippet that tells our clients’ story well while keeping the dignity of our subjects intact. For this particular assignment, we dispatched a director (Fitsum Admasu), a cinematographer (Andualem Deressa), and an audio-visual assistant (Zerubabel Regassa) to direct, film, edit, and produce the short and long documentaries we submitted to the client.
Client Testimonial
Team
Director:
Fitsum Admasu
Photography:
Genaye Eshetu
Human Interest Story:
Diana Yohannes
Cinematography:
Andualem Deressa
Assistant:
Zeruabel Regassa
Script Development and Editing:
Ayantu Duki
Editing:
Mikyas Belay
Translation and Subtitles:
Meti Ketema
