March 12, 2005: Headlines: COS - Benin: Documentaries: Bella Online: Chris Starace and his wife Cara traveled to Benin to revisit the country Chris served in as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer
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March 12, 2005: Headlines: COS - Benin: Documentaries: Bella Online: Chris Starace and his wife Cara traveled to Benin to revisit the country Chris served in as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer
Chris Starace and his wife Cara traveled to Benin to revisit the country Chris served in as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer
Chris Starace and his wife Cara traveled to Benin to revisit the country Chris served in as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer
Discovering Benin, West Africa
Let me just start off by saying this is an excellent DVD. In 2004, Chris Starace and his wife Cara traveled to Benin to revisit the country Chris served in as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer. Chris doesn't gunk up his documentary with incessant commentary, but rather allows the viewer to quietly watch the Beninese people live their lives. That's not to say there aren't explanations of various things. Chris does a good job explaining how people gather their water, why the kids follow you around everywhere, and other aspects of life in Benin.
What can you expect in this documentary? Here's a quick run down of the contents:
Discovering Benin West Africa ©Chris Starace 2004Episode 1 - Bonne Arrivée: (30 mins)
# See Chris & his wife Cara greeted by the village he lived in while he was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer
# 'Sauce' being prepared
# Children singing & dancing
# The Real Congo Line
Episode 2 - Life in Allada (35 mins)
# Chris's house when he was a PCV
# How water is gathered and sold
# Voodoo alters and fetishes
# Chris and his wife visit a market - lots of footage and explanations. See clothing, food, goods, and voodoo fetishes being sold
Children Dancing ©Chris Starace 2004Episode 3 - Business in Benin (30 mins)
# Tour of a pineapple drying factory and pineapple field
# A shoe repair workshop with explanations of how apprenticeship works in Benin
# Jean's sculpture workshop & his house under construction
# A seamstress's workshop and middle class home
# Arthur's cabinet and furniture workshop
Episode 4 - Voodoo (60 mins)
# King of Allada and his royal palace
# Tour of the village of Agongblame - the setting for the Gambara voodoo ceremony
# Gambara Voodoo Ceremony which consists of offerings, drumming, dancing, and dancers falling into trances
# A Fah reading - similar to a tarot card reading
# Ja Voodoo cult chicken sacrifice ceremony
Ganvié ©Chris Starace 2004Episode 5 - Tourism Beninese Style (35 mins)
# Trip through Ganvié - a village on stilts over a lagoon
# Tour of the village of Lisségazoun
# The slave road in Ouidah where slaves were marched to the beach and put on the slaves ships
# Traditional fishing boats on the beach of Ouidah
# Gran Popo - the Beninese beach paradise
The first episodes 1, 2 and 5 are great for anyone to watch. Episode 3 did drag a little and probably wouldn't hold the attention of younger children. Episode 4 with the voodoo ceremonies may actually be disturbing for younger children with the women falling into trances and the chicken sacrifice. I do wish there were just a few more explanations during the voodoo ceremony, however I also feel fortunate Chris was able to film the ceremony and allow us to view it.
The cost of this DVD documentary is $25 and all profits from the documentary go back to the Beninese people in the DVD. You can go to Chris's site Fon is Fun for more information about Discovering Benin, West Africa.
When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
| The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in over 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related reference material in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about RPCVs who have your same interests, who served in your Country of Service, or who serve in your state. |
| RPCVs in Congress ask colleagues to support PC RPCVs Sam Farr, Chris Shays, Thomas Petri, James Walsh, and Mike Honda have asked their colleagues in Congress to add their names to a letter they have written to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, asking for full funding of $345 M for the Peace Corps in 2006. As a follow-on to Peace Corps week, please read the letter and call your Representative in Congress and ask him or her to add their name to the letter. |
| Add your info now to the RPCV Directory Call Harris Publishing at 800-414-4608 right away to add your name or make changes to your listing in the newest edition of the NPCA's Directory of Peace Corps Volunteers and Former Staff. Then read our story on how you can get access to the book after it is published. The deadline for inclusion is May 16 so call now. |
| March 1: National Day of Action Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went. |
| Make a call for the Peace Corps PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week. |
| Peace Corps Calendar: Tempest in a Teapot? Bulgarian writer Ognyan Georgiev has written a story which has made the front page of the newspaper "Telegraf" criticizing the photo selection for his country in the 2005 "Peace Corps Calendar" published by RPCVs of Madison, Wisconsin. RPCV Betsy Sergeant Snow, who submitted the photograph for the calendar, has published her reply. Read the stories and leave your comments. |
| WWII participants became RPCVs Read about two RPCVs who participated in World War II in very different ways long before there was a Peace Corps. Retired Rear Adm. Francis J. Thomas (RPCV Fiji), a decorated hero of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 100. Mary Smeltzer (RPCV Botswana), 89, followed her Japanese students into WWII internment camps. We honor both RPCVs for their service. |
| Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress. |
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Story Source: Bella Online
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Benin; Documentaries
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