From honorary reporter Erica Orellana from Bolivia
Photo = Erica Orellana & KOICA Bolivia Office
The documentary “Waway: Seeds of Hope,” directed by Kim Sung-min, a volunteer at the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Bolivia office and a broadcast journalist, premiered on May 3 in La Paz, Bolivia.
This 30-minute documentary explores water scarcity, child malnutrition, and sex education through the stories of three families in rural Bolivia. “Waway” means “my child” in the indigenous Quechua language, and director Kim described it as “the perfect title for a documentary about children.”
She added that despite the heavy subject matter, she hopes her film will be a “seed of hope” that raises awareness of the issues depicted and inspires action.
The following email interview with the director was conducted from May 3rd to May 6th.
Please briefly introduce yourself and your job description.
I’m a Korean broadcast journalist. I came to Bolivia last May and mainly worked in La Paz. As a KOICA volunteer, I have been working with World Vision’s communications team for the past year. The best part of the KOICA program is that we bring our ideas to the field and collaborate with domestic teams to create something new.
What inspired you to make this documentary?
It was my first time directing a documentary, but I had a clear vision from the beginning. World Vision Canada’s documentary “Pressure Baby” was inspired by the harsh circumstances of its protagonist.
What is your documentary about?
It is a combination of three 10-minute documentaries, each telling a separate story on the themes of water, nutrition, and sex education in three regions of Bolivia: Vacas, Calipuyo, and Camiri. It shows how family conflicts and problems are related to infant mortality.
For example, the first story is about a family who lost their youngest son because he drank dirty water that had not been properly boiled. Water is the main theme, but the tragic role of the environment in the lack of nutritious food, nearby medical help, and electricity is also depicted.
Why did you decide to make this documentary?
While learning about Bolivia, I was struck by the high mortality rate of infants and children under the age of five in Bolivia. This is probably because South Korea has the opposite problem of having the lowest birth rate in the world. I realized that the root causes of the three problems shown in the film are what World Vision Bolivia is working on, and I wanted to raise awareness of the problems and understand what World Vision Bolivia is doing to address them. We wanted to show in a subtle way what we were doing.
What was the production process like?
Bolivia is a unique country with completely different cultures and climates in each region. While I was in Kalipuyo and Vacas, I thought I was going to freeze to death, but I realized that Kamiri was very hot and humid and there were a lot of insects. I got salmonella and got bitten by a lot of bugs, but overall it was a great experience.
What do you remember about the production?
All the families we visited provided us with food even though they only had enough for themselves. We would like to learn and demonstrate the kindness they showed us even in such difficult situations.
How do you get people to watch your documentary?
It will be available online soon on KOICA and World Vision platforms. We are working to make this film available to more people around the world.
Please give your final message to Korea.net readers.
I hope to sow seeds of hope together with all of you.
msjeon22@korea.kr
*This article was written by a Korea.net honorary reporter. Our group of honorary reporters comes from all over the world to share their love and passion for all things Korea.net.