Brian Knight, from Bullseye Marketing, shares his experiences after visiting the Light of Hope Home and School, in Naivasha, Kenya. Brian worked with his team to give you an inside look into the school and girls who call it home. See the link below to be taken on an inspiring journey, where hope and love give these incredible girls a second chance.
First and foremost I have to thank Sandy and Boni for granting Nick and I the opportunity to visit and document Light of Hope. Nick wanted to be here tonight and he sends his thanks and hello.
This was an enlightening experience. The goal with most filmmaking it is achieve subjectivity through objectivity. You have to pull and mold a message without being attached to any particular view.
This was impossible.
There is the consistent stereotype of helping the African child and family. From the dirt and hardship they wait for us to reach out and help them—to lift them up and reveal their true potential. And after we have done so they are still hurt for life—scarred by their past and remorseful of who they are and where they came from.
This is what we are trained to believe—that we are simply feeding and housing these people.
That is where Light of Hope stands out. There are number of different schools for girls in Kenya and probably thousands around the world—but something different is happening at Light of Hope.
These girls do not hold onto their pain or resent those that have wronged them. They do not blame others for their mistakes or wish to get back at the system that hurt them so badly.
Instead they fight with love, compassion, understanding and knowledge. If you think about that for a minute it is pretty incredible. I get upset when I miss a green light or don’t get enough chicken in my chipotle burrito (which, by the way, they should make the scoops bigger).
Instead of feeling anger—they feel love. In the place of anguish they project happiness, even if they separated from their family. How on earth do you stay subjective against those odds? The only thing you can do is hide behind your camera and hope they don’t come over and ask to hold it (which they did every day).
What sets Light of Hope apart is it’s ability to take the worst possible scenario and turn it into a blessing. They don’t look at rain and dirt and say “that’s mud”, they look down, with dirt and grime up to their shins and say “this is the place to plant grow our future….this watered, fertile ground is where we will turn our parched seeds into beautiful flowers.”
I was forever changed by my visit to Light of Hope and that is something I will remember for the rest of my life. Thank you very much and enjoy the film.