If the stereotype of documentarians is that they leave the suffering behind and move on to their next assignment, Elspeth Duncan, and project assistant Katie Zulak, don't live up to it. After creating a documentary about Veronica (not her real name) - an HIV positive woman with two young children, including an HIV positive daughter, Elspeth and Katie were not content with merely telling her story.
‘Invisible', as the eleven minute film is called, is the real story of a woman and her family, told in her own words. To protect the identity of the family, the film is illustrated using children's drawings. The Trinidad and Tobago Coalition on the Rights of the Child (TTCRC) had commissioned Duncan's Happy Hippy production company to make the film, with the intention of drawing attention to the situation of children infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS.
Child taking medicine. Still from the documentary ‘Invisible’ filmed by Elspeth Duncan.
The result is so powerfully honest that it provoked a strong response almost immediately after being launched on February 15th of this year. Here was a mother dealing with the normal demands of parenting, plus the challenges of raising an HIV positive child - giving large doses of medication daily, shielding her daughter from discrimination and wondering how she would eventually tell her about the disease.
During the time that the film was being shot, Veronica and her family happened to be on the verge of tragedy. "Everything was about to erupt like a volcano," says Elspeth, and a week later it did.
Veronica's employer found out she was HIV positive and she was fired. Her landlord found out she was HIV positive and she was evicted. And her daughter's pre-school teacher made her withdraw her child from school. Veronica had told the teacher about the child's HIV status in case any emergencies ever came up. The teacher claimed to be putting the little girl out because of concern for the other students.
Still from the documentary ‘Invisible’ filmed by Elspeth Duncan.
The family was homeless - bad news for anyone - but especially tragic for Veronica, since the physical health of an HIV positive person is very much linked to his or her psychological health. Stress can wreak havoc on an already fragile immune system. Elspeth and Katie decided they could not just leave her. They had to get the family a place to live. Elspeth says they were not daunted by the difficulty of the situation. "We had never built a house or anything before but that didn't matter." The family got a temporary place to stay while Elspeth and Katie got to work.
One of the first major things to come out of the endeavour was Dream House, Elspeth's interactive art project. She utilised her beautiful artwork, along with the film, to draw attention to the plight of Veronica's family. "Different people started getting involved because it was in the media or they saw the video. It was really like the hand of the divine was moving around chess pieces. All the right people came together." Friends and acquaintances with different skills all pitched in to do what they could. One friend who was a lawyer helped with the paperwork, another who was a contractor helped with the estimate for the house. "You know that Beatles song ‘I get by with a little help from my friends', it was like that," says Elspeth.
Volunteers managed to raise close to $10,000 in public donations plus construction materials. As for the labour, a major milestone happened when the US based charity Habitat for Humanity came on board. The organisation provides housing for those most in need worldwide by sourcing labour and donations. Beneficiaries have to pay an affordable mortgage and donate a certain amount of "sweat equity" - time spent working with Habitat to build their own house and the houses of others.
Right now, the initiative to build a house for Veronica and her family is awaiting approval from Town and Country Planning before it can go ahead. Additional funds to offset the cost of mortgage payments will be raised in the near future. The family has a temporary place to stay but Veronica is still out of a job. Nonetheless, Elspeth thinks that her life has changed for the better. "To have out of the blue so many people she never met giving their time and effort...it impacted her...and benefited her health."
If two people can take on the massive task of getting a house built for a family in need, how is that everyone does not act to solve the problems faced by their community or by the larger society? "There's a pattern of thinking that the authorities are supposed to do everything," says Elspeth, "that everything is somebody else's job. Also, problems seem larger than life." She believes that people tend to follow rather than lead. "It's a matter of finding someone who is brave enough to be proactive and hoping others will join in."
People might also be so frustrated with the state of things that they have just given up. But Elspeth, who in the past has lent her time and talent to aid orphans, animals and the environment, believes that we need to understand that although we may be small, our combined efforts can accomplish great things. "It's like ants," she says.
To help build a house for Veronica, please contact Elspeth Duncan at 786-2539 or e-mail nowiswowisnow@yahoo.com
Watch Invisible on YouTube: