Hi everyone,

I have the pleasure of writing to you from South Africa, where I have the privilege of meeting mineworkers and their families and connecting them to the healthcare they need and facilitating the compensation process. I am looking forward to updating you on the film - I don't want to fill up your inbox every time something changes or we have a success (or failure) with the project. Instead, I am taking a different approach in compiling quarterly(ish) project update packets.

Below you will find a link to a .pdf document that you may download that will tell about the incredible advances that the project has made, all supported by the kickstarter campaign. In the packet we describe the past, present, and future of the project, the advances on the issue of mining and TB, and a financial report, among other things. 

I am excited to send this update to you, and if you have any questions please contact us. Please feel free to pass this report on to your friends, colleagues, social media, etc that may be interested in the project. 

You may download the report here: http://theygotodie.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/TGTD-Project-update-v3-low_res.pdf

Onward,
Jonathan 

Free to share: An open letter of thanks to all who support the film 

Forty days. For the past forty days I have woken up wondering if this project would survive – or if I was crazy. Every day I woke up with the stress of wondering if this would work, if people would become engaged in something that is so personal to me and yet so foreign to them. But these past forty days have only been a fleeting moments of heightened nervousness. This project goes much deeper than you can imagine. 

Quite clearly, I particularly remember being in rural Swaziland when I found myself walking completely alone in the Swazi hills. I was trying to make my way to Mr. Nxumalo, the first miner who agreed to meet me and who was affected by this needless process of disease. I was in my 6th kilometer of walking since the rocky terrain would no longer allow my car to pass. 

“What the hell am I doing out here. What the hell am I doing out here.” This wasn’t part of my research. I knew Yale would probably kill me if they knew one of their students was going to live with - and film - a highly infectious TB patient. So needless to say, I hadn't told anyone what I was up to.

In this moment of hopeless contemplation, I suddenly tripped. Looking back it was quite comical - as you can assume, everything had immediately spewed out of the dusty equipment bags that I had been lugging for hours. Random pieces of camera gear instantly littered my immediate proximity. 

But it wasn't funny. I may not have know what the hell I was doing, but men were dying. Families were infected. Communities were being shattered right in front of me. And this was all so needless. A preventable loss. So I just needed a good scream. And there was no better time than this.

With bloodied shins, I cursed the ground. I threw whatever was near me towards no specific direction but in hopes to diffuse my anger. I screamed, over and over again. I screamed, literally, until my lungs gave out.

I realized no one could hear me. So I sat. I chuckled at the fact that I had absolutely no idea how to even use the equipment that peppered the ground. Again, “what the hell am I doing out here” reverberated in my head. Then I looked around, and at that point I realized something rather, well, stark.

I have never felt this alone in my life. And I felt that both physically and emotionally. I felt incredibly stupid for trying this; that I should go back. That I should just stick with research. But with a sense of foolishness, or stubbornness, I continued on to find Mr. Nxumalo.

Mr. Nxumalo is not in the film, and you will never see him. When I arrived, Mr. Nxumalo was in such a terminal state of illness that I didn’t film a single frame. I feel it appropriate to recognize him and his family here. I spoke with the family, and in just a few short hours realized the integral role that disease played in an organic and ever-changing structure of family. The bonds made were fluid, not rigid, and the family’s love for one another constantly and relentlessly shifted to support their ill father. I left promptly out of respect for the family. But I was broken, irreparably changed.

This project has brought me both tears of pain and tears of joy. An indescribable emotion that perfectly balances fear with hope. And though today is one of celebration, it will be short lived. Funding alone doesn’t change anything. The children caring for their sick father remain out of school and exposed to disease. The wife pleading for medication in the capital is still forced to explain why her husband is too incapacitated to make the trip. Men are still sent home to die from a treatable, curable disease.

Thank you does not do justice to my gratitude. Your personal support places accountability on me to make this as effective as possible. Money raised will be used diligently and transparently. Strategically and with surgical precision. Every decision will weigh on how to affect the most change possible within the ambit of the financial means raised today. It will be used to engage the relevant policymakers. To educate civil society. To spark future research. To make this an issue others can no longer ignore. 

Even though it may have taken two years and half the world away, you finally heard my scream. A scream that will never become faint. And with the support you have shown over the past 40 days, now the world will hear it too. 

Except in this roar, I am not alone. 

Onward,
Jonathan

Hi everyone,

I am continuously overwhelmed with the support that you have all shown. We are now at $11,610 - about 90% there! We are now in the 'home stretch' - with only 6 more days left, we must raise another ~$1,400 or we receive no funding. Kickstarter has an all-or-none policy... So although we are close, we will receive absolutely no funds for the project if we don't reach $13,000. I urge you all to reach out to those you know and try to help us squeak by with the last 10%!

There have been several interviews about the film that also shed light on the issue, the story of the film, and the miner's plight of TB and HIV: 

The IDSA's Center for Global Health Policy covered the story (click here), as well as SCOUT BANANA (click here). These are excellent organizations and their commitment to global health is longstanding and determined. I am truly honored to have the film be a part of their website.

Excitingly, "Mr. Epidemiology" (Atif Kukaswadia) is doing a three part blog post as well, click here for part 1, click here for part 2, and part 3 will be coming out tomorrow!

An interesting blog post about the film came up as well, which personally made me very happy. It is about the miners, not just the film, and their courage in letting me partake in this endeavor. The boldness and courage of these men can never be overstated. Click here to read.

Apparently I am in the business of assigning reading homework...

I urge you all to give one last push to your networks to try to get the last bit of funding. We have made it 90% of the way. I cannot do this without your help. 

Like always, please contact me with any questions!
Jonathan Smith

Hi everyone,

To update you on the progress, we've now reached the 50% mark!  - and it couldn't be at a better time, as I have some exciting news to share with you!

This Monday, October 3rd (tomorrow) at 1:30 PM EST I will be on Health Justice Radio discussing the intersection of health, law, and human rights in regards to mining and TB/HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. I will also be discussing the role my film will play in helping solve these epidemics. The link for the live streaming is: http://cfmu.msumcmaster.ca/, and I will also post the link to the film's TB/HIV/Human Rights blog. This is an excellent opportunity for you to listen and find out more about the project that you are directly helping make a reality! I invite you all to follow up with your own questions via email or a phone call.  

You can also check out a previous interview for the blog "Justice For All", here.

I am overwhelmed with the generosity and support that has been shown towards this project! It has literally brought tears to my eyes at times - these men were my friends, and they died of a preventable, curable disease. But they were by no means outliers. In fact, they were representative of tens of thousands of men each year - this is a grander problem of considerable dimension. 

This film can directly help change this cycle of disease (find out how here). However, per Kickstarter's policy, remember that unless we reach 100% of the goal, we get absolutely no funding. I urge all of you to continue to promote the Kickstarter campaign among your colleagues, friends, and family until we reach the goal - at 50%, if everyone finds someone to match their donation, we will reach 100% in no time! 

Please never hesitate to contact me!

Jonathan Smith
jpsmithuga@gmail.com