So... this month of book reviews was interesting. This is really my first month of doing the monthly round up of what I review (I may go back and do others) because I am reading so many different kids of books. Thrillers. Kids books. Autobiographies. Inspriational. Spiritual. And so forth.
When I review books, I come at the angle of trying to love the book but at the same time being a critic of it. I especially become critical of certain books and I know that.
So this month... I reviewed 13 books!
So far this year, that makes a total of 72 book reviews!
My crystal ball foresees 100+ book reviews by the end of the year!
Usually there is at least one book every month I would like to toss out the door-- if I haven't already come up with a creative solution to make it into a craft before I have finished reading it. Haha. No joke-- I can think of one book specifically I did this with. Let's say, I really did not like it... Especially if it is a close minded religious book, like the one I am thinking of right now, which really was! I don't do religious. It is different than spiritual!
I might be in the end, once my shelves get too full that I would donate a few.
Which ones do you like or not like from this list? Share with me below...
One of the scariest things on Halloween, is worrying about the safety of your children online. Period. This Halloween, I get to review the Family Plan from Accountable2You.
In this day and age, it is super important to make sure we are doing our best as parents to not only protect our children but to give them free range of their choices at the same time.
How many times have you worried about your kids are doing on the Internet? Are they really doing research for their history project or are they playing video games online?
I have to be honest and say that the thought of monitoring my kids' devices or phones irks me to no end. I would absolutely hate it happening to me. That is, if it is done in the spirit in which a lot of parents undoubtedly do it. Without the permission of the child.
While we think that we should have a know-at-all-about-everything-about-them-at-all-times attitude, it is a) extremely exhausting and b) disrespectful to the child. They are another human being after all.
In teaching accountability to our children, we must make them part of the process. I know many parents may feel different on it. but I know it is something I feel extremely strong about. It is like their faith. I can't force them. It is like them eating dinner. I can't force them. Just like no one can force you.
If they haven't given you a reason, you have no business going into their business without permission. I am sorry if that pisses some readers or parents off. I just don't see why.
Now, if they are explicitly breaking rules in the house all the time, sleeping around or you notice behaviours that deserve the questioning, I think you need to have a one-two punch combo way to approach it. In that case, it may warrant stepping in with something like this.
My son, for example, when doing school, will go off course all the time and watch the latest American Ninja Warrior competition on YouTube or a Marble Race on Youtube. While watching those things aren't bad things, because they are inspirational, especially for my son, there is a time to watch them. It certainly isn't while he is suppose to be doing work.
That is a no fly zone right there. Nope.
Don't pass go. Don't Collect $200.
So, I sat down and talked to my children and told them that they will have this program on their computers and it will tell me what sites they have been to.
So, why after the spiel above am I putting this on my kids' school computers?
They need to be apart of the accountability process in staying on track for school. No marble race or ANW while doing school work. I told them I completely trust them but this is just a reminder that they are accountable to the choices they make when they are online. It is a powerful lesson.
The inner voice doesn't come overnight for responsibility and this is a great way to gently remind them that the choices they have made are theirs to make- I won't judge them if they visit ANW while they are suppose to be doing their work. We will just go over it and talk about time management together.
The biggest difference is the transparency I am having with my kids. They were very open and receptive to it.
About the Program:
* You can download this program on your PC, MAC, iPhone, android phones, and tablets.
* I was even impressed they have something for different operating programs including Linux. While not popular, it is definitely growing in popularity.
* You can get daily or weekly reports
* You can nickname devices
* You can set up different accountability partners-- aka, the person who gets the emails with the activity for the week
* You can get text alerts with the activity as well
* For phones, you can do GPS activity as well as more detailed activity such as emails and such (this is not something I am comfortable with at all-- I would not do the emails at all unless there was something that called for it).
* Works instantly
* You can choose how detailed you watch your child (I choose less to give them more freedom)
Overall, this program is great but can be a great weapon as well. PLEASE PARENTS, I urge you to use this with caution and consider how you would feel when you are signing your child up for this. Talk about it with them so they don't grow resentful and becoming un-trusting when they find out. This can be a powerful tool for you and your children!
Be careful and use wisely and it can be a great family tool!
I am going to start call in Separation Songs Sundays too. Just because... Actually, no I won't but it is catchy.
This week was really hard for me on the separation front.
When we have our expectations shattered, when there are promises broken, when you don't want to be mad, but you are. These are all things that have happened this week.
Let's put it this way, I had to send my son off to boy scout camp where I am a leader without me and stay home with my two younger children. I love all three my children but to me this was not okay. It hurt... a lot. This was my (volunteer) job. When agreements and promises are made, you keep them. Sadly, not everyone feels this way.
To top it off, we found out that there was a passing of my children's Great Grandmother as well. We knew it was coming and she lived a good life. However, it doesn't make the hurt any less. Especially when you have to explain it to three young children.
It has been a hard week... Needless to say, you can either wallow in it or rise from it. So here is my music list this week for my separation series and it has proven to be helpful.
Fighter, by Christina, used to be somewhat of an anthem for me growing up, so I am proud to add that one here as well! Definitely one I have belted out this weekend.
Enjoy (and do me a favour and share if you like this series!)
1. Burn by Usher
"It's burning me to hold onto this.."
"I know this is something I gotta do, but it doesn't mean I want to"
"What I'm trying to say is, I love you, I just feel like this is coming to an end"
"It's better for me to let go now than hold on and hurt you"
"I think that you should just let it burn"
"Even though this might bruise you, you gotta let it burn"
"I'm twisted cuz one side is tellin me I need to move on: On the other side, I just want to break down and cry"
2. Just Like Fire by Pink
"I know that I am running out of time, I want it all"
"I'm walking on a wire, trying to go higher"
"Feels like I am surrounded by clowns and liars"
"Just like fire, burning out the way"
"Watch this madness colourful charade"
"No body can be like me anyway"
"Just like magic, I will be flying free"
"See I would rather we go a different way then to play the game"
"Y'all don't think I can run, but look, I've been here I've done it!"
3. F*cking Perfect by Pink
"Made a wrong turn, once or twice; Dug my way out blood and fire"
"Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood, Miss no way it's all good"
"Pretty pretty please don't you ever ever feel like you're less than f*cking perfect"
"You're so mean, when you talk about yourself. You were wrong"
"Change the voices in your head, make them like you instead"
"So complicated, look how we are making"
"Filled with so much hatred such a tired game"
"We try try try but we try too hard... It's a waste of my time"
"Strange ourselves and we do it all the time...Why do I do that?"
4. Picture to Burn by Taylor Swift
"State the obvious, I didn't get my perfect fantasy"
"I realise you love yourself more than you could ever love me"
"You're a redneck heartbreak whose really bad at lying"
"Watch me strike a match on all my wasted time"
"As far as I am concerned, you're just another picture to burn"
"If you're missing me you better keep it to yourself"
"If you come around here, it would be bad for your health"
5. Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood
"Right now, he's probably up behind her with a pool stick showing her how to shoot a combo"
"I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped up 4 wheel drive, carved my name into his leather seats... maybe next time he'll think before he cheats"
"Right now, she's probably saying 'I'm drunk' and he thinks he going to get lucky"
"I might've saved a little trouble for the next girl... maybe next time, he'll think before he cheats"
"The next time that he cheats, Oh, you know it won't be on me"
6. Blow Me (One Last Kiss) by Pink
"Sweaty palms from hanging on"
"Clench your jaw, I've got another headache tonight"
"Eyes on fire, eyes on fire, and they burn from all the tears"
"I've been crying over you. I've been dying over you"
"Tie a knot in the rope, trying to hold on"
"Trying to hold on but there is nothing to grab so I let go"
"I think I have finally had enough"
"I think I maybe think too much. I think might be it for us, Blow me one last kiss"
"You think I'm too serious, I think you're full of shit, my head is spinning, so blow me one last kiss"
"Just when it can't get worse, I've had a shit day, You've had a shit day"
"I think life is too short for this want back my ignorance and bliss"
"I think I have had enough of this, blow me one last kiss"
"I won't miss all the fighting that we always did"
"I mean what I say when I say there is nothing left"
"I will get drunk and bring someone home"
"I will breath I won't worry at all"
"All the lies, all the lies, will be crystal clear"
"Blow me one last kiss"
7. Gives You Hell by All American Rejects
"You're probably still working at the 9 to 5 pace, I wonder how bad that tastes"
"When you see my face I hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell"
"When you walk my way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell"
"Now where's your picket fence love, Where's the shiny car. Did it ever get you far?"
"You've never seemed so tense love, I've never seen you fall so hard"
"Do you know where you are?"
"Truth be told I am missing you, Truth be told I am lying"
"If you find a (wo)man that's worth a damn and treats you well, then (s)he's a fool!"
"Now you'll never see what you have done to me"
"You can take back your memories, they're no good to me"
"Here's all your lies, you can look me in the eyes with that sad look you wear so well"
8. Stone Cold by Demi Lovato
"Stone cold, stone cold"
"You see me standing by I'm dying on the floor"
"Maybe if I don't cry I won't feel anymore"
"God knows I try to feel happy for you."
"Know that I am, even if I, can't understand"
"I'll take the pain, give me the truth"
"Me and my heart, we'll make it through"
"If happy is her, I am happy for you"
"I was your amber but now she is your shade of gold"
9. Rise by Katy Perry
"I won't just survive, No, You will see my thrive"
"Can't write my story, I am beyond the archetype"
"I won't just conform, no matter how you shake my core"
"My roots they run deep"
"Oh ye of so little faith, don't doubt it, don't doubt it"
"Victory is in your vains, you know it"
"I will not negotiate, I'll fight it, I'll fight it"
"I will transform!"
"When the fire's at my feet again and the vultures start circling"
"The're whispering 'You're out of time' but still I rise"
"This is no mistake, no accident,"
When you think the final nail is in, think again!"
"I must stay conscious through the madness and chaos"
10. Fighter by Christina Aguilera
"After all you put me through, you think I would despise you, but the end I want thank you"
"You made me that much stronger"
"When I thought I knew you, thought you were true..Guess I couldn't trust"
"You were always by my side, alaways down for the ride, but your joy ride just came down flames:
"Your greed sold me out of shame"
"After all the stealing and cheating you think I hold resentment for you-- uh uh, no you're wrong"
"I wouldn't know now how capable I am to pull through so I wanna say thank you"
"It makes me that much stronger. make me work a little bit harder"
"It makes me that much wiser"
"Makes my skin a little bit thicker"
"I heard your going round playing the victim now but don't even begin, feeling I'm the one to blame..cuz you dug your own grave"
"You tried to hide your lies, disguise yourself, living in denial"
I was stoked to review this as I consider myself a leader in many rights.
I am a mother.
I am a teacher.
I am a girl scout leader.
I am a boy scout leader.
I am active in my community.
These are all 'jobs' where leadership qualities are a must. They are not optional. You are the face of your organisation, whether you are paid or not. And let's talk about how motherhood should be paid... just kidding. But seriously...
Okay, back to the point.
Anything that helps build leadership skills is good in my book. Because we all as human beings have a lot of growing to do. Even if we don't think we do, we do. There is something good you can get from this book even if you are not thinking you will.
What I like:
* Small Book
* Leather Bound
* Some really good advise
* You can get some good pieces of info from this book and go deeper in a meditation for yourself about how to improve it.
What I didn't like:
* When reading this I was a little disappointed that there was no space to write or journal thoughts.
* Too biblical for some of the advise than I would have wanted.
* It was less about introspection than I would have hoped.
* Some of the advise felt incomplete and it showed. It was like stopping mid sentence.
Overall, not the book I was hoping for but not a bad one either. A good leader will read it with an open mind and take what they can get from it. I intend to do that all next year. It has some really good things in it!
*I received this book in exchange for my honest review*
Okay, so this is another Christmas present... in the form of a book...
But when I saw this to review... I just KNEW my son would LOVE it.
I was bummed when we didn't get to see him while he was here in Washington D.C. at the National Air and Space museum. Ask my son anything about space and he will either know or find a way to find out for you and learn it himself.
My little boy after my heart!
Mike Massimino tells his story... from his child hood dreams to the reality. The reality that in March 2002, he becomes one of the few people who get to live that dream to leave this planet (in the literal sense) and come back! Who doesn't want to hear this story?!
He starts with humour on the second page. Something we sometimes all feel when we are facing both a dream and a sudden fear all at the same time. Like, "did I make the right decision?" Looking up 17 stories in the air at the shuttle is bound to given someone doubts... just saying.
You are bound learn things you did not know. Like they don't fuel up until right before because the fuel they use isn't like your car at all. Nope. It is like the stuff, according the book, that can make a bomb and is very incredibly cold and below zero kind of temperature.
I love how he shares that no matter how much he trained, he still wasn't completely ready for the full experience because he didn't know what it was like. Even Digger, his rookie pal on Columbia, who was a veteran and flown planes in the military was stunned and white as a ghost.
What I didn't realise is how long they are in the shuttle before they even launch- that is a surprising fact I did not know! Sometimes several hours. Everything has to check out. Weather, gear, etc. NASA has been known to cancel while crew is about to take off for things before so they have to be extra sure. Makes sense though. But way to tease the astronauts, just saying.
Omg, he really is hilarious. He says that the emergency warning placards are only reading material because even with the training they get, if it's going to be a bad day... it's going to be a really bad day. The way he writes these moments had me laughing.
And best... the book hasn't really begun yet!
This book really is all that and a bag of chips.
I am seriously second guessing giving to my son now... he can read it but can't keep it... lol. Actually, because I am a mum it will still be his, but I will borrow to read when I need to the inspiration.
You feel like you are personally interviewing Mike and he doesn't hold back. Not even the fact that that he opened his acceptance letter from Columbia while on the toilet. A beautiful picture, I am sure. Ha ha.
In telling his story, he is going to inspire both children and adults alike to put down the normal and pick up who they are. That getting stuck in the mundane isn't what life is about. You don't have to like space to really enjoy this book. It is a humble accounting; someone who didn't think they were good enough for MIT or IBM but still did it. He doesn't make these up because you can tell in the way he writes that this is the real him. It speaks volumes. He is the perfect kind of astronaut. Intelligent, humble, funny, realistic, and the picture of an all-American guy. Someone you can't help from wanting to meet no matter how many quasars you studied in college or if you think that an astronaut is like Men in Black. Hey, I won't judge. But you will get much out of this book either way!
I am truly inspired and entertained by this book and by him. I know my son will love this book as well!!
I wish that I could give away this book for giveaway on this blog because it really is very inspirational and I think it would be an awesome read for anyone, any age.
One day, Mike, I hope to meet you in person.
* I received this book in exchange for my honest review*
I like that they way she writes this... like you are sitting down with her listening to her story. How her dream the way she pictured it, was not how it turned out to be at all. How she came stronger in her faith, but she doesn't force it on you. She shows you what it did for her.
She took in a child that had a criminal record. She moved from the perfect little farm house to the city. She broke a lot of her own barriers. What she thought she wanted turned out to be not what she really wanted or needed after all.
I love this line:
"This calling felt preposterous, as if we were two kids playing pretend." (page 8)
Don't we all feel like that at some point? I know I do. I know even the small changes, not moving from country to city living, I feel this way. Like, why is this calling meant for me again?
This is great too:
"In this upside-down kingdom his best gifts are not found on the tallest shelf at the end of the strenuous climb. They're found in the dirt. They're low and humble. " (page 10)
So often we forget what is in front of us to chase down what we have not even seen yet. I need to remember this. You need to remember this. We all do. To say we don't is not to be real.
Another one:
"They may have worn their junk in more obvious ways but mine was just as ugly".
That is a powerful realisation that most people tend to forget so easily. I am one of those hearts on my sleeve kind of person. It is very hard for me to hide how I am feeling. It really is. It is not because of attention but because there is not one non-transparent bone in my body.. maybe one... but my skeleton is pretty transparent. I don't know why but I am. Sometimes I wish I wasn't this way.
But just because someone is that way, don't or try to not judge. It may be hard but judging them does nothing for you. Moving on does.
"Fear defies common sense. It takes shape out of nothing then barges in and fills the room."
This needs to be a mantra of mine. Maybe one for you as well. How often have we stopped living because of what? Sounds strange that would be something I would take away from the book. But it was potent. We often live more in fear than we realise.
I nearly wanted to cry when I read how she was so supportive of her son that really came to her as an adult and had spent time in jail. The stories. Are powerfully simple.
I have a tremendous respect for what she did because I was a foster child. It isn't easy and not everyone is called to love foster children in the immense ways she and her husband did. it is powerful. That being said, we can all love.
You can't read this in one sitting. It can be tedious at times but really it is a good read and I enjoyed it.
If there is something you can take away is knowing you are never in control and the universe has a way of working things out for you. Simple... and... plain!!
*I received this book in exchange for my honest review*
Numbers are great. I like math.... But numbers are great because they give a definition to something.
Especially when they are things that you can do to better your life. Or parenting.
So I was intrigued to review this book.
In looking at the table of contents, some of the topics or themes caught my eye. Here they are:
1. Calling
Principle; Nothing is more important in your life than being one of.. tools to form a human soul.
4. Inability
Principle: Recognizing what you are unable to do is essential to good parenting.
6. Process
Principle: :You must be committed as a parent to long-view parenting because change is a process and not an event.
7. Lost
Principle: As a parent, you're not dealing just with bad behaviour, but a condition that causes bad behaviour.
10. Character
Principle: Not all the wrong your children do is a direct rebellion to authority; much of the wrong is the result of a lack of character.
12. Control
Principle: The goal of parenting is not control of behaviour but rather heart and life change
14. Mercy
Principle: No parent gives mercy better than one who is convinced that he desperately needs it himself.
Something that is off putting in the first couple of pages is the phrase "God's helicopter view of what he has called you to do." That sounds a lot like helicopter parenting and not something that would attract me. I find many of us parents become helicopter parents out of fear not of providing freedom for our kids.
He says this isn't a Q&A book where you are spending your time indexing your child's behaviour and looking for the cure to it. No. This is more a book, they say, about changing the way that we approach parenthood in general.
The views already in here are intriguing and true about how we view parenthood. For example, ownership parenting. That we forget that while we gave birth to them, they are different people. We are responsible for them but we don't own them in the way that most parents feel or think. Heck, some of us were raised that way so why would we think different? Because ownership leads to resentful parenting. He doesn't necessarily say that but it definitely feels that way. And it's true.
What I like too is that the author is even admitting that like above, he fell into the trap of cultural or social parenting in the way that many parents get trapped. I highly respect that!
I will be honest right now and say that even though I am struggling in faith in many ways, this is a great book and SUPER EASY READ! I mean that. I like what she has to say. I like how he words it.
He is a natural writer and it definitely shows. I even thought because how he was writing, that he is was a girl and forgot a dude wrote this... Don't judge... but do laugh... because I am....
The way Paul writes is like sitting down with him and him almost anticipating some of the questions you have. He undoubtedly knows more than most do in what he is talking about and it is not overly preaching crap. He also knows how to make you laugh if you can find it.
I am going to the Washington D.C. premiere of the movie MAMA RWANDAand supporting my friend Laura Waters Hinson. Like a good friend, I am going to be totally real and honest about what I think about the movie. What else are friends for? Plus, even in my writing as in person, I am the same. I am going to tell you exactly what I think!
About MAMA RWANDA (from Mama Rwanda's press kit) "It examines a new generation of women in post-genocide Rwanda whose passion for entrepreneurship is transforming their nation into one of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world. This short documentary interweaves the stories of two women: Drocella, a village wife, and Christine, a city widow, as they trade subsistence living for a life in business, challenging Western stereotypes of the “African woman,” and highlighting the role of education in empowering women to overcome poverty. A universal, globally relevant tale, Mama Rwanda is a deeply cinematic portrait of two mothers on a journey to build peace through prosperity."
What I like: *A GREAT conversation starter on not just the Rwandan Circle of Life (meaning that what comes around goes around and women are back in power even though struggling to get back everything they lost) but on the GLOBAL rights women are fighting for everywhere! * 64% women in the Rwandan Parliament-- how is that super cool? They went from a very war torn patriotic society to a nation that supported women more than they have ever before. And you know what that did the economy? They, being Rwanda, are one of the fastest growing economies... in the world! * This film not only represents a mama. It represents a mama who has lost... everything. Not one women. But two. Not two women but a nation. Not even a nation, no, the world! The world has lost. The world is regaining. Slowly. * Drocella, who was starting a co op for farming tomatoes, brought together her community. After trying to secure a loan for it, she didn't give up after not getting the loan. She used the small amount of money to co op was able to have to purchase the seeds directly. * Christine, who has five children, living in the city, lost her husband. She ends up not only starting her own business making banana wine but also trying to run for office. She lost the first round but is going back with intentions to win next time. She graduates college, supports all her children, works hard and loves her community deeply. * Both these women went against all odds and came out so much better- they are an amazing inspiration to women -- not just Rwandan women, but women all over the world. * The post screening panel was a great way to pick up where the movie left off and continue to the talk. It was interactive and you can see the hope that the Rwandan women are bringing to their country and to the world. * This is a film that I feel women of any and all countries to see because it shows them that even though there is pain, loss, and struggle, that there is a way up and there is hope. They are that hope.
What I didn't like: * The wording that comes up on the screen doesn't stay as long as it should. I felt especially when mentioning the genocide the Rwandans experienced, keeping it even a second or two longer would have been better. Both on a cinematography level but also on the socio-cultural level of implanting on the hearts of the audience more how horrible this tragedy was. * I think the movie was too short-- but that could be because I like it so much. I think it has a lot to offer. * Some transitions were off * I would have loved to hear from more women and mums about their stories as well. I think three would have been the perfect balance. But I also like the number three. Ha ha. I think that showing more women in the story would have even driven home more the point that they are so community minded and supporting of each other. Like Laura said on the panel, that SO many women wanted to tell their story because they felt the world turned on them and turned off the light essentially when the genocide happened and they wanted to show that. They wanted to show how that didn't break them, how it forced them as women to come out of nothing to do something. Something for themselves, something for their kids (some born out of rape during the genocide), something for their community and nation. How amazingly powerful is that?
THE ENTREPRENEURS (from Mama Rwanda's Press Kit) Drocella
Mama Rwanda opens with Drocella, a mother of five who has founded an association of reconciled genocide survivors and ex-perpetrators in a
bold plan to build an agricultural cooperative. In a village where saving money is an alien concept, will Drocella convince her peers to invest their
meager incomes today for the promise of a better tomorrow? Or will old mindsets prevent her from building a business that could liberate her—and her
village—from extreme poverty? The film follows Drocella as she rallies her peers to save 33 cents per person each week with the hope of obtaining
the village’s first-ever community loan. The goal? To buy a farm where former genocide enemies work side-by-side. Christine
Christine is a banana wine executive. Her meteoric rise as a business
leader not only helped lift her family out of poverty, but also created
jobs for dozens of people in her community. Still grappling with her
husband‘s death, Christine struggles to balance her new found success
as a rising entrepreneur with the demands of being a widow with
five children. Can Christine bear her calling as a business leader and
a single mother? The film tracks Christine as she navigates becoming
a corporate CEO with her commitment to her children and her education–a
life that defies global stereotypes of the “African woman.”
Post-screening panel to include: Moderator: Barbara Klein, NPR correspondent Panelists: Mukuntabanda, Rwandan Ambassador Laura Waters Hinson, Filmmaker Karen Sherman, Founder of the Akilah Institute for Women Jeni Klugman, Harvard Kennedy School Fellow Sakina Usengemana, Akilah student entrepreneur Some AMAZING quotes from the panelists during the post-screening discussion: Mukuntabanda, Rwandan Ambassador "Women have agency. Women have more." "Genocide victimizes women more than anyone (in Rwanda)." " Reconilitation of close nature: ie: children born of rape." "Women for the first time are able to inherit and get citizenship." Sakina Usengemana, Akilah student entrepreneur Had to fit female stereotypes to be able to get an education. "I studied at Akilah Institute for entrepreneurship to help community and family" "I learned how to fund it at every stop of the way." "What my mother couldn't do, I can!"
Jeni Klugman, Harvard Kennedy School Fellow "26% GPD come from women and that needs to grow." "Women's rights are human rights."
Karen Sherman, Founder of the Akilah Institute for Women
"If you have gotten an education you have only gone half way"
I got to meet Sakina in person and she is absolutely a sweetheart. I saw what she did and what she is creating first hand. She is the founder of Ihogoza Design and I hope to see her online and see more of her stuff! Wishing her nothing but the best!
The post-screening panel was super helpful in the circle of what I consider the meaning behind the film-- an agent to get the real work and the real talk going about how to support these women and also how to be inspired by them.
Interview with the Film Maker- Laura Hinson (Mama Rwanda Press Kit) 1. Why do you want to make this film?
After making my previous films As We Forgive and Dog Days, I was moved by the power of entrepreneurship to shape people’s lives and affect
communities for the better. I initially went to Rwanda to film an NGO-style informational documentary, but I was so inspired by the stories of the
Rwandan working mothers who were starting businesses while caring for their families and rebuilding their nation. It blew me away, and I knew
this film had to be about them. I wanted to make a documentary that would break down stereotypes of these women, to show the complexity of
their lives, and to convey their personal struggles to love their children well while also becoming entrepreneurs.
2. Was it difficult to shoot in Rwanda? How long were you there?
I’ve shot quite a bit in Rwanda in the past, so all the difficulties were not a surprise! Shooting in remote areas without access to electricity
is always a challenge, but I enjoy setting up interviews using only available light. The shoot for Mama Rwanda was one month, with another
follow-up shoot three years later that lasted about four days. I love Rwanda so much—the people, the beauty, the weather—it doesn’t feel hard
to shoot there. More like a really fun challenge.
3. Do you still keep in contact with Christine and Drocella?
I do still keep up with Christine and Drocella, every now and then, mostly through our translator and fixer whose name is Benjamin.
Also, Christine is now on email, so I can email her—and her English has profoundly improved in the last five years, so we can communicate
directly to each other! I am excited to go back and show them the film one day soon.
4. What’s your favorite part of this film? What did you find most inspiring?
Some of my favorite parts of the film are the intimate moments of Christine with her children, late at night after she’s come home from a long
day at work. These scenes evoke the underlying tension she feels over her work/life balance, and it takes such an emotional toll on her. Working
moms in the West think a lot about “having it all” but it’s often from a position of privilege. For women like Christine, it’s about survival. As a
widow with five children, she has no choice but to work as hard as she can to build her business and provide for her family. I really hoped those
scenes would resonate with working parents in the West by building empathy in viewers because of the common ground we share over the
challenge of balancing family with a professional life.
5. Do you feel like there are misconceptions about Rwanda?
The biggest misconception about Rwanda—and I think about Africa in general—is that the people who live there are somehow different from
us. What I realized when filming there and interacting with the amazing women who are featured in Mama Rwanda is that these working moms
are going through similar struggles we are in the United States—often with much higher stakes and fewer resources.
6. What can women in the US learn from Mama Rwanda?
Rwandan women have already been through so much—surviving genocide, losing their husbands and children, leading the parliament, rebuilding
their country—the fact that they took on economic development and starting new businesses was incredible to me. Being a new mom myself
when I was filming in Rwanda, and trying to figure out how to work and have a baby at the same time, I was so inspired by the Rwandan women
I met. Like me, they were struggling to balance work and life, but with much more difficult circumstances. I couldn’t imagine being a widow with
five children and expecting myself to start a business at the same time. I think Rwandan women prove that women everywhere are capable of
things they never thought possible, and that incredible strength can be born out of hardship. These women did not let their circumstances define
them. They sought to take control of their lives by creating a business out of scant resources. In my opinion, if they can do it, anyone can do it.
7. What is a Get Moving campaign?
Get Moving campaigns are social-action campaigns that accompany films about important topics. Get Moving social action campaigns take you
from audience member to activist, helping you make a difference in your community and beyond. Our Get Moving campaign is powered by the
Moving Picture Institute, a nonprofit organization with over a decade of experience supporting independent films and filmmakers from concept
development through distribution. And we’ve partnered with the Akilah Institute for Women, the only women’s college in Rwanda, to help empower,
train, and bring awareness to female entrepreneurs in East Africa. Audiences can find out more by going to www.getmovingfilms.com.
8. What do you hope people take away?
I hope that, after watching Mama Rwanda, people recognize the potential of women’s entrepreneurship to solve global poverty. In this film, we
see people who were literally at war with one another a short time ago coming together in reconciliation to better their lives and communities
through the power of a common economic goal. Female entrepreneurship has helped fundamentally change Rwanda from a country in ruin to
one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. My hope is that Mama Rwanda inspires viewers to take action by promoting women entrepreneurs
as a primary key to overcoming poverty worldwide.
Film Makers Biographies(Mama Rwanda Press Kit) Laura Waters Hinson "Director
Laura Waters Hinson is the founder of Image Bearer Pictures, an
award-winning documentary production company in Washington, D.C.
Her film, As We Forgive, about Rwanda’s reconciliation movement,
won the 2008 student Academy Award for best documentary and the
Cinema for Peace prize in Berlin. Narrated by Mia Farrow, the film was
broadcast nationwide on PBS stations. Laura co-founded the As We
Forgive Rwanda Initiative, a Rwandan-led organization that harnesses
the power of film to promote healing after genocide, and has reached
nearly 100,000 Rwandans. She just released Many Beautiful Things, a
film about artist Lilias Trotter which premiered in February 2016 at the
National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. She also co-directed Dog
Days, a feature doc about the American Dream set in the underworld
of street vending in D.C., which had its national broadcast premiere on
PBS WORLD channel’s America Reframed series. Mama Rwanda is her
fourth documentary. Laura received a MFA in film making from American
University and has worked in the past at the Discovery Health Channel
and as a research assistant for MSNBC host Chris Matthews. She is also
a long-time fellow of the nonprofit Moving Picture Institute."
Michael Fairbanks "Executive Producer
Michael Fairbanks co-founded the SEVEN Fund, a philanthropic foundation based in Cambridge,
Massachusetts run by entrepreneurs, whose strategy is to produce films, books and original research
to markedly increase the rate of diffusion of enterprise solutions to global poverty. He is
the founder and chairman emeritus of the OTF Group, a strategy-consulting firm based in Boston,
and the first venture-backed U.S. firm to focus on developing nations. He was a U.S. Peace Corps
teacher in Kenya and helped launch Akagera Pharmaceuticals, which will focus on solutions to
infectious disease. He co-authored Harvard Business School’s landmark book on business strategy
in emerging markets, Plowing the Sea: Nurturing the Hidden Sources of Advantage in Developing
Nations. His most recent book, which he edited, is titled In the River They Swim: Essays from Around
the World on Enterprise Solutions to Poverty. He has authored numerous popular articles in the
Christian Science Monitor, Huffington Post and Washington Post. He has over 500,000 subscribers
to his writing and spent the 2011-12 academic year as a fellow at the Weatherhead Center for
International Affairs at Harvard University. He has been a senior advisor since 2001 to President
Paul Kagame of Rwanda on private-sector development and export competitiveness.
John Priddy, Executive Producer
John Priddy is an Emmy-nominated producer of such documentaries as To Die in Jerusalem, After
the Storm, 51 Birch Street, As We Forgive and 39 Pounds of Love. He has won a Peabody award,
and his numerous documentaries have been broadcast on HBO, Showtime, MTV, and PBS. John is
the chairman and co-founder of Full Circle Exchange, an innovative social enterprise dedicated to
empowering women by focusing on poverty reduction through job creation, improved incomes
and access to global markets. A successful entrepreneur, John is founder of the Priddy Group,
the Windrider Institute, and Priddy Brothers Films"
More about the Akilah Institute for Women... The premiere is benefiting the Akilah Institute for Women, East Africa's only all-women's college that offers degrees in business, entrepreneurship and hospitality. It's a fantastic organization doing a ton to help women get the education they need to pull their families and communities out of poverty by starting businesses. Akilah offers a unique model of market-relevant education that enables young women to achieve economic independence and obtain leadership roles in the workplace and in society. I leave you with this amazing trailer that is only the beginning of many changes for women in the future! I urge you to see it! Get the conversation started and change what is and what will be!
Christmas is around the corner... Yes, Halloween is just a few days away but we start thinking about Christmas early in this house. We get to review Personalized Framed Plaque with Name Meaning and Bible Verse by CrossTimber.
I have really appreciated that they pick up quickly. I was able to put in my order pretty quickly for my daughter. My children have unusual names so doing their names isn't like a quick drop and go. I had to email the names to John and he was great about not only being genuinely interested in the names and learning about the stories of them but also looking up the meaning for them.
He was very genuinely nice about who he was talking to! I loved that! It shows when someone cares about the customers on the other side of the phone. How many times are you put on hold to find out that it ends feeling like you are talking to a robot of a human on the other side? Yea, I just cringed too because that was my last time talking to the power company. But he is not like that. He cares about you and even more impressive, he will remember your name and what you talked about the last time. He cares about his customers and that goes a long long way in my book.
When I was able to go to the site, it was not as intuitive as I would have hoped and it felt a little busy. That is just being honest. I do love though that they have scouts as a theme for the boys. Since my son is crossing over from Arrow of Light to Boy Scouts this year, I am a proud boy scout leader, I wanted to get him something special for him. So I will likely return to get him something!
On the phone with John, he was great about helping to pick what I wanted and getting my daughter a great Christmas present which is something to remind her how awesome she is and how much she is love and how much she is light.
I believe highly in the power of names.
In fact, each time I have had kids, I have had to the last second of deciding my children's full names and used every second I could. I drove the people in the hospital nuts. I wanted to make sure their names meant something powerful. Something that described who these beings were inside of my womb. Who I already knew. It is amazing how much a mother can listen to their child even before they are born. And each child I have had has their name for a reason.
My hope for my children is that they take these names and are able to use them and live up to them. Not in a mandatory way but more in an inspirational way. Their names are Sarah and Jack. And it is no disrespect to those with common names. I think there is beauty in it. There is always beauty in giving a name you know matches your child.
One of the cool parts was giving John a name that didn't fit the other eight hundred plus names he had already done. This was something new!
When I got it in the mail, I had to snatch it away quickly to make sure that my children didn't open it (since it is a Christmas present after all). When I opened it, it was something that was perfect in size (5x7) and will be so special to her, I am sure. I love the picture with the sunset in the background. It fits my daughter's name and her name meaning to the tee.
It was hard to pick a child to do this for. You never want to feel that you are picking favourites. She is the one who I feel needed the most inspiration to find her inner light.
With the Bible verse in it, thankfully her name had two meanings so I could use one of them. The one with the less biblically inclined meaning. She is not super into the Bible and protests it in fact (doesn't like to feel like she is being forced which I highly respect). So I want to respect that need of hers. He did a great job of including a verse that fit her and yet was from the Bible.
Guess what though?
YOU CAN WIN A HUGE Gift giveaway! Go go below and enter!!!
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