SEEN AND HEARD: VOICES FROM GHANA'S ORPHANAGES

In the past few decades, orphans in Africa have become defined by snapshots: snapshots of jutting ribs, ragged clothes, hopeless eyes. Those images have become the face of international charity work and have helped drive the idea that we should send resources to help. But there are things that can’t be captured in snapshots. In this story, Christine Chen travels to the West African country of Ghana, to talk with the people directly involved with orphan care there—the social workers, orphanage directors, families, and kids. There, she encounters narratives that put an unexpected twist on our understanding of orphanages—and push us to reconsider our assumptions about the children living inside them.

Producer: Christine Chen

Featuring: Samuel Anaglate, Helena Obeng-Asamoah, Akosua Marfo, Emmanuel, Richmond, Hannah

Special thanks: Christy Hartman

Music: A Smile for Timbuctu, Chris Zabriskie, Lee Rosevere

Image courtesy of Brandee Cooklin

2013

THE TANGLED KNOT

Birth is celebrated as one of the most profound and joyous moments in life. Yet in the nation of Uganda, delivering a child is an undertaking steeped in danger. The African country faces one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Why are so many Ugandan women dying in childbirth?

In this piece, Charlotte Sagan explores the issues surrounding maternal health in the Southeastern district of Iganga. Conversations with Ugandan mothers, fathers and health care practitioners reveal intimate narratives of health, perseverance and family. The delivery story of a young woman named Miriam, in particular, illustrates the perils and joys of childbirth.

Producer: Charlotte Sagan

Featuring: Nabalumba Miriam, Joshua Moangze, Dr. Charles Waiswa, Kaina Rita, Nampina Ruth

Special thanks: Christy Hartman, John Lee, Victoria Hurst Muirhead, Jacquie Cutts, Nakasango Evelyn, Mukalu Mohamed, Margreth Mpossi

Music: Kevin MacLeod, Jamal Wasswa, Mohr Productions, Jess, Eddy Kenzo

Image courtesy of Charlotte Sagan

Strawberry Blonde Forever

Some 76 million years ago an asteroid smashed into our planet, killing the dinosaurs and three-quarters of the Earth’s plants and animals. Once again our planet is facing a wave of extinctions, this one of man's making, and more than ever we need to know what it takes for a species to survive a cataclysm. Laura Cussen traces the improbable story of an ancient, venomous mammal of the Caribbean, and of the local people who have unearthed its secret to survival.

Producer: Laura Cussen

Featuring: César Abril, Nicolás Corona, Pedro Martínez, and Alexis Mychajliw

Special thanks: The Last Survivors, Natacha Ruck, Will Rogers, Graham Roth, Weston Gaylord, Professor Elizabeth Hadly, to all the people who have made this project possible, and to the Hispaniolan solenodon.

Music: Sunsearcher, Chris Zabriskie, Nicolás Corona 

Image via flickr

"E Ola Pono: Nana I Ke Kumu" (Live Righteously: Look to the Source)

This piece explores traditional healing in Native Hawaiian culture, examining the relevance of ancient values and traditions in today's society. Nicole details her journey throughout the Hawaiian Islands, presenting stories from Native healers who share their experiences in seeking truth, wisdom, and health. These stories delve into fundamental issues such as identity, balance, and nature, while showing how cultural complexity can be rooted in simple universal truths.

Producer: Nicole Marie Rodriguez

Featuring: Dane Silva, Puahi Chun, Kawika, Helen

Special thanks: Stanford School of Earth Sciences, Prof. Peter Vitousek, Dr. Noa Lincoln, University of Hawaii, Waianae Coast Community Health Center

Image courtesy of Nicole Marie Rodriguez

The Congress Radio Calling: Underground Broadcasts during the Quit India Movement

In Egypt, in Iran, and in Tunisia, we've heard a lot about the so-called Twitter and Facebook revolutions. But what about the radio revolution? Working from archives in New Delhi and London, Neel Thakkar resurrects the forgotten story of the Congress Radio --  the secret, underground radio station which, during the Quit India movement of 1942, helped keep the Indian nationalist movement alive during some of its darkest days.

Producer: Neel Thakkar

Featuring: Usha Mehta, C.K. Narayanswami, K.A. Abbas, Anant Kanekar, and J.N. Sahini

Special thanks: Kevin Greenbank at the Cambridge Centre for South Asia, and Kamlesh and Naina Ramani

Image via wikimedia

Reimagining the 2002 Gujarat Riots

On February 22nd, 2002 a train carrying 58 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya was attacked by a group of Muslims, resulting in the death of all of its passengers. What followed was a series of violent, retaliatory attacks against Muslims in the state and the death of over 1,000 people.

In this piece, Stanford students Claire Colberg 14’ and Ravi Patel 13’ travel to Anand, India, to understand how these riots have affected Gujarat’s youth. Despite deep-rooted challenges, their conversations with both Hindu and Muslim students reveal the future vision of communal unity shared by Gujarat’s youth.

Producers: Claire Colberg and Ravi Patel

Featuring: The students of D.Z. Patel High School, D.N High School, the Hanifa School, and the Chaortar Institute of Technology - Changa.

Special Thanks: Andrew Todhunter, Kiran Patel, and all the students who shared their stories with us in Gujarat.

Image courtesy of Claire Colberg

Improv in the Real World

There’s something special about theatrical improvisation.  There’s a trust, a confidence, and a sense of risk that can help individuals grow and bring groups together.  But what happens when you graduate and your source of improv (mainly, your college improv group) goes away?

In this piece, Mona Thompson, Stanford class of 2013, explores the concept of improvisation in the “real world.”  Would it be possible to create a whole life centered around improv?  And if so, would it be meaningful?

Producer: Mona Thompson

Featuring: William Hall, Dr. Nika Quirk, & Patricia Ryan Madson

Special Thanks: Charlie Mintz, John Lee, and everyone at Stanford Storytelling Project

Image via Flickr

Travel: An Australian Anthem

What makes young Australians such eager globe-trotters? Aliza Gazek and Kelly Vicars swung on their packs and set off “down under” to find out. The travelers they met along the way shared stories of their adventures and offered surprising insight into Australia’s history as a nation, providing a trail of clues to why it’s so easy to find an Aussie backpacker in any hostel in the world.

Producers: Aliza Gazek and Kelly Vicars

Featuring: John Grant, Prashan Paramanathan, Ashley Carruthers, Theo Ell, Mel Ronca, Sandra Ronca, Aileen “Nan” Grant

Special Thanks: Andrew Todhunter and Jeanne Snider for their guidance, our generous Aussie hosts, and everyone else who shared their stories: Alex Dumbrell, Murray and Rosie Fisher, Robin Grant, and Paul Rowley.

Music: Rusted Root, Men at Work, Grizzly Bear, Norah Jones,

Sydney Children's Choir, Slightly Stoopid, River Ran, Enya, Lucius

Image via flickr

The Blind Leading the Blind

Understanding someone who experiences the world differently than you can be hard. In fact, it can be downright scary.

In this piece, Austin Meyer, a senior from Stanford University, visits the Earle Baum Center for People With Vision Loss to tell his story of what it's like to navigate the intimidating space between two opposite ways of experiencing the world... one with vision and one without.

Producer: Austin Meyer

Featuring: Denise Vancil, Scott Murray, and Sharon Brown

Special thanks: Dan Needham and The Earle Baum Center

Image via flickr

Greenlands

Rachel Kelley interviewed over two dozen activists, artists, and their friends as part of her effort to capture an oral history of Greenlands, an intentional community in Nashville, Tennessee. Their reflections ranged from the ethics of air conditioning to Occupy antics to the moral quandaries of gentrification. Here is a snapshot of Rachel's experience and some of the Greenlanders' stories.

Producer: Rachel Kelley

Featuring: Karl Meyer, DJ Hudson, Kate Savage, Tristan Call, Jena Robinson, Matt Christy, Keith Caldwell, Trevor Bradshaw, Megan Gilbreth, Rachel Kelley, and the Greenlands community

Special thanks: community members and friends of Nashville Greenlands, Charlie Mintz

Music links: "Bluegrass Banjo," "Insomnie", "Slide Cowboy,"  "Cerises," "Quasi Motion," "Hip-Hop 4," "La Toupie,” "Rae & Christian Remix dub 'Testify'," "We Shall Overcome,” Broke for Free

Image courtesy of Matt Christy