About this project

ABOUT LA SOURCE:

In La Source, water does not come easily. For the past two hundred years, villagers of this remote Haitian village have had to choose either to endure a dangerous and physically taxing walk to fetch clean water or drink contaminated water from a nearby river. For over 30 years the people in the village have attempted to address this problem by constructing a means to channel the water from a natural spring in the mountains but with limited funding and an unsupportive government their attempts were to no avail. For the Lajeunesse Brothers the time had come to finish the work their father and their community had started. As a young man Josue moved from La Source to New Jersey where he found employment as a custodian at Princeton University. His custodial work and second job as a taxi driver, which total close to 20 hours a day, allows him to send money home to La Source so that he and his brother Chrismedonne, who remained in La Source and found work as a carpenter, could properly channel the water from the mountain into their village.

Our journey to La Source takes us on an adventure as the Lajeunesse Brothers work together to rally the support of a group of Princeton students, a Los Angeles-based charity called Generosity Water, and the people of La Source to fulfill their late father’s dream to improve the conditions of their impoverished village. “La Source” is not just a movie about the transformation that occurs in a community when provided with the most basic commodity of all, but the story of two brothers empowered by a vision and how they were able to ignite the passion of people thousands of miles away to change the lives of the people in La Source forever. Where water runs, life flows.

PARTNERSHIP WITH GENEROSITY WATER:

Generosity Water is a Los Angeles-based charitable organization whose mission is to bring solutions to the global water crisis. Through innovative awareness campaigns, strategic implementation and in depth accountability they inspire people to think globally and live generously. They have funded 130 water projects in 16 countries, serving over 65,000 people with clean and safe drinking water. By the end of 2010, Generosity Water expects to have funded nearly 200 water projects which will serve over 100,000 people with clean water. They have taken the lead in fundraising for and implementing the water project being documented in the village of La Source, Haiti.

Since June 2009, fans, friends, followers, family, Princeton University students, everyone who believed in the water project began to donate funds and resources. Together we raised over $30,000 in six months for the planning and construction of the cisterns. Construction on the cisterns started in La Source in March 2010, was completed in July of 2010, and we were there every step of the way documenting the whole process.

FUNDING:

A movement to support this small village in Haiti had begun to spread all over the country and if we wanted to capture what was happening we had to get the cameras rolling right away. Because of the expedited time line for this project we were forced to self-finance the majority of all production costs up to this point. We're tapped out of funds and need your help to finish this important film. We simply can't do it alone. To help us complete a solid rough cut to submit to Sundance (deadline is September 24) we're looking to raise $5,000 to $10,000 via this crowdfunding model (i.e. Kickstarter.com) immediately. If you're interested in supporting the project beyond the $2,000 donation limit here, please get in touch with us (info@transcendfilms.com) about investment opportunities.

MORE THAN A MOVIE:

Our hope is to not only tell this heartfelt story of two brothers fulfilling the dream of their late father to bring clean water into La Source, but to also use the film as a tool to continue raising awareness about Haiti and the struggle worldwide to gain access to clean water. We are in the middle of a water crisis and many of us don't even know it. Nearly 1 billion people around the world do not have access to clean drinking water. That is one in six of us. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease, and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable to the consequences of unsafe water. Of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water, and a lack of basic sanitation, 90% are children under five years old. *We believe that providing clean water is the first step to bringing any village out of extreme poverty.

We are working with Generosity Water to put together an action campaign that will be launched with the film to raise more awareness for Haiti and educate others about the precious resource of water and lack thereof. We are already starting to reach out to organizations and groups across the country that believe in rebuilding Haiti and educating others about the world water crisis.