This will be a multimedia documentary on both the talents and challenges faced by special needs pupils of Omoyeni School for the Handicapped, a boarding school in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Some of the pupils have been abandoned in the school by parents/guardians. We shall train the pupils on how to shoot simple videos/pictures and produce podcasts.
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Describe the specific community with whom you will be working.
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
We want the pupils to tell stories of their talents and challenges. We envisage three kinds of media outputs from this project because of its multimedia nature. First, a photo story will be created that can be uploaded on flicker. Second, a podcast can be made out of the interviews which the pupils shall grant one another. Third, by merging videos, pictures and interviews from the pupils, a documentary will be made. Besides uploading the document
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established that will contribute to the success of the project.
In 2011, we shot a short documentary film on some special needs of the schools and we still maintain a cordial relationship. However, for this project, I shall be partnering with Nwachukwu Egbunike, a blogger with Global Voices, and some postgraduate students of the University of Ibadan in the Department of Special Education, who shall lend technical supports that I will need to communicate with the pupil.
How many participants do you think will be involved in your project?
We are looking at 20 pupils, who shall be selected by teachers in the school. Five pupils each shall represent the dumb, blind, mentally retarded and the deaf. However, other pupils who shall show fervent interest in the project during the training of the recommended pupils shall be incorporated into the training. In sum, only pupils who show motivated commitment to the training will eventually make the final team of respondents.
Besides the microgrant funding, what other resources and support are you seeking for your project to ensure its success?
Since we intend training pupils in the area of multimedia documentary, we shall need at least 20 portable cameras that can shoot both videos and pictures. Also we shall need broad band internet connections and laptops for the pupils. Rising Voices can help us create awareness and amplify the voices and deeds of these special children.
