The Role of a Lifetime

Steve
New Jersey
helping

Steve, very early on in his life, always had this desire to help people in need. The arts has been a passion of his, too, particularly with film and theatre, and he has always dreamed of dedicating his life in the service of those needing assistance the most, preferably if it could involve something with media. Little did he know that one day, after a long, hard road, he would get to forge both of these passions and truly make the kind of difference in this world that he’s always envisioned.

Like most people though, Steve set aside his dreams for a bit and took the safe route. After garnering an MBA in Harvard in the 90s, Steve set out to advance his career in Marketing with American Express. At the same time, he was enjoying life with his partner of 15 years who was a social worker for an AIDS-based Nonprofit Organization. Steve felt that albeit he was not directly working in Nonprofit, his partner’s involvement in one kept Steve’s dream of helping others alive.

Sadly, his partner passed away some time later in the decade, and not only was it a painful loss, his partner’s death also made Steve feel that his family unit that saved the world perished as well. After a while, Steve finally realized that it was high time to make those dreams happen. He left his promising career in the leading financial institution in search of one that would grant him the opportunity to harness his potential and really help those in need.

The journey to reaching that one dream job took quite awhile for Steve to reach. Nonetheless, it was a stimulating and valuable journey that took him to several companies that heavily dealt with media, and a couple of them engaged in the nonprofit sector, likewise. He was able to discover the power of film and what it could do to help the less fortunate throughout those years, which eventually led him to the ultimate designation…

Whenever the words “genocide” and “calamities” come to mind, it’s but natural to imagine assistance going to the affected areas in the guise of the Red Cross, UNICEF, and the United Nations. After all, these are the same organizations that provide the refugees with food, clothing, shelter, and all the other necessities that they need to rebuild their lives once again.

However, there is one organization that works toward helping the refugees of war-torn countries in Africa such as Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda, and Uganda deal with something more unquenchable than physical nourishment, and that is where Film Aid International comes in.

Steve got on board Film Aid as its Executive Director since last year and it has been one amazing experience for him ever since. Film Aid lives by its mission: Projecting Hope and Changing Lives Through the Power of Film, a statement of such substantial value for an organization that is empowering the displaced and the desperate, one film at a time.

Steve explains that Film Aid basically screens films at refugee camps in Africa for the purposes of inspiring the refugees and giving them some form of solace in their distressful situations. These films are not just solely intended for its entertainment value, more importantly they educate the refugees with matters that need the most attention – HIV prevention, malaria detection and cure, ending the exploitation of women, and so much more.

The films greatly brighten the refugees’ lives, giving them a chance to mingle with one another in a communal setting. Film Aid takes the service ten notches higher by instilling a program that grants refugees the opportunity to make and shoot the films themselves, with the training and equipment provided by Film Aid, of course.

Steve could not have defined it any better as he said, “The common thread is the impact that film can have on people and how it can improve their lives whether it be their psychosocial well-being, to the entertaining aspects of seeing a film together, to their creation of films that gives them information that saves their lives like how to prevent HIV or how to avoid getting malaria. When they make the film themselves, it makes everyone else appreciate it more because it’s not like someone from the US with a film degree is talking about these malaria nets. Rather it’s someone among their fellow refugees, in their language who respects their culture, talking to them about the need or impact about what a malaria net can do to help.”

In the near future, it is Steve’s biggest hope that Film Aid will expand beyond refugee camps and work with people in other dire situations around the world using film and video. For now, his focus is to gather more awareness for the work that Film Aid does and let people realize that film is indeed a very mighty tool in bringing about hope and change in this world.

The refugees may not get the ultimate theatre experience like most movie going audiences — leather-cushioned seats, airconditioning, free-flowing popcorn — but each scene that projects onto the wide screen is enough to give them assurance that life does go on after war and disaster, and with people like Steve around, happy endings are not just for the movies.

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notes from *the storyteller:
1. If you wish to make a donation or help Film Aid in any other way, please feel free to visit: Film Aid donor page
2. To hear Steve’s full length interview, you can click on this link: Story by Steve Enjoy!