‘’Diamonds & Rich Culture: Why the violence?
Hello friends! Brothers and Sisters…thanks for stopping by and taking note of this compelling story of an African continent! We are the producers of a popular television drama called mareledi, in a diamond rich country of Botswana, Africa. The drama shows the hardships humans go through, despite the conscience they greatly poses. The drama depicts the African society as it is, through Botswana perspective. It shows the best positive behaviours to deal with the prevalent diseases in our country and indeed Africa as a whole. The stories in the drama intertwine both African natural heritage (landscapes, animals etc), tradition, culture and modernity to address social issues of all generations ranging from the young to the elderly. In a nut-shell, it brings you ‘nearer’ to Africa, especially Botswana. We are seeking support to finish shooting Season 2 of the drama which comprises of 52 episodes of 24 minutes each. This request is only for 26 episodes, to help to finish the season. We need $526,660 for 26 episodes. Season 1 aired on the 2nd of December 2013 until the 8th December, 2014 on our only national television station (Botswana Television). The television drama is one of the products of a non-profit making Behaviuor Change Communication Organisation called Makgabaneng. The organization has I4 years experience in producing an age appropriate behavior change radio serial drama & community reinforcement activities. As a medium of edutainment, just like the radio series which attracts more than 71% of the audience as per the 2011 evaluation, the television drama too has grown into a house hold brand and is enjoying a large following as evidenced through instant feedback from the social media platforms and reports from elsewhere. Preliminary results conducted by Sky Movement-which is a movement for Girls by Girls, indicates that the drama is the most watched drama by girls in Botswana. It has become the most viewed drama since its diverse audience can relate to the compelling story lines and familiar, attractive visuals. The drama is written using scientific proven methodology derived from Modeling & Reinforcement to Combat HIV/AIDS. To know more about Makgabaneng and Mareledi drama, please visit our website; www.makgabaneng.co.bw and our face book page.
The Impact
Mareledi Television television drama is a behaviour change communication tool to help people adopt safer and healthier behaviours. By contributing to this project you will be saving lives of many people targeted, as they will have knowledge and develop skills to avoid risky situations/ behaviours. By contributing, you will be imparting valuable knowledge to more than 1.7 million people viewing the drama in Botswana and other parts of Africa; Season 2, as like the previous one will help in preventing violence against women; thereby having its one of the story lines as “GENDER BASED VIOLENCE’. This Season will continue to bring to the forefront the issues of diseases found in the African continent, and provide public awareness and preventative measures for such diseases (Malaria, HIV&AIDS, Ebola e.t.c.)
Track Record
Our organisation has successful track record in television production & other Behaviour Change Communication commodities (radio & community reinforcement activities). Some of the projects we have carried out under television component include the following;
1) World Bank Funded Television Drama (Production & Airing of 52 Television drama episodes) — The deliverable involved creation, development and production of 52 episodes of television drama (Mareledi Season 1). It aired on Botswana Television for the whole year.
2) Ministry of Health (MoH) Television Drama Episodes — Developed, produced and infused 4 episodes on malaria disease issues into the Television drama.
3) Television advert on STI’s for Ministry of Health
4 ) Department of Environmental Affairs Television Drama Episodes — This included creation, production and infusion of 3 episodes on environmental issues into the television Drama.
What We Need & What You Get
Up to this point we have been funded on ad-hog basis. Season 1 was funded by the government of Botswana through World Bank funding and other local entities. Season 2 (part 1 of 13 episodes has been produced under tight budget with one local entity funding). The government has agreed to provide free airtime on its national television for this drama to air. In addition we will continue to seek funding from other entities, as we ultimately want to develop this into a soapie. Of paramount importance now is funds to buy equipment as we have been hiring and it is expensive. We will also subtitle Season 2 and take it to Africa & World market to attract more funding. Funding acquired through this will be used to sustain the drama. We also need funding for actors, actress allowances other logistics as stipulated in the budget template that cab be viewed here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/diamonds-rich-culture-why-the-violence/x/11412003#/story
JUSTIFICATIONS
Research, material development, scripting and actual shooting of Mareledi drama
This includes research, concept development, storyline development, script writing and the actual filming/shooting of the drama. Directing of actors to deliver the proper visual imagery of the intended purpose of the scenes (acts taking place to depict the objective of particular series of events arranged in a particular order), visual taking of scenes by the Director of Photography, actual snap/still shots for continuity purposes (proper arrangements of scenes during editing).
Equipment — This includes all equipment used to film mareledi (cameras, boom mic, monitors etc)
Logistics (transport & locations) — Identification and scouting for suitable locations for shooting/filming. It also includes transportation for actors & crew during shoot. It includes all the logistical arrangements needed to shoot/film the proposed episodes.
Wardrobe & Make-up — Purchasing of wardrobe suitable to depict the proposed episodes. It also includes the provision of wardrobe and make-up services during the actual shooting/filming of the scenes.
Catering — Provision of catering for the production crew and actors during the shoot.
Set Design Services & Props — Purchasing of props to use in sets to properly depict the episodes; It also includes the actual lay-out or preparation of sets before the actual shooting.
Online Editing and Music Purchasing — This involves purchasing proper music/sound tracks for the episodes and editing/ or infusing the music into the proposed episodes e.g. buying relevant soundtracks through the internet to use in the drama.
- FABULOUS PERKS
Lets talk. We know that beside saving humanity through this drama you want something as a reward for helping…THROUGH OUR COOL PERKS. Our perks are very GOOD.
’’
On behalf of Makgabaneng NGO, Public Relations Officer and the Team. Thank you a lot for tanking your time to read about this organ, and whatever choice you make, it will sure make a difference, somehow!
PEACE and LET LOVE!
