If a picture is worth a thousand words, a moving picture just might be priceless. That’s what WITNESS, a nonprofit founded by Peter Gabriel in 1992, holds close to its core. The organization has worked in over 70 countries to put video cameras in the hands of victims of human rights violations to document injustice. Reels of captivating footage have sprung from the effort, and real change has resulted.
Today, WITNESS’s Spring Challenge is underway, and the nonprofit is looking for donations. For every dollar contributed between now and June 18, the J.A. & H.G. Woodruff Jr. Charitable Trust and the WITNESS board will match it. Your dollar will become three, and our dollars will add up to $105,000 if WITNESS gets its way. That’s the total accumulated during last year’s Challenge. You can donate here. Your hard-earned cash won’t be wasted.
Last year, donations went towards documenting the plight of the Endorois, an indigenous Kenyan people who were evicted from their ancestral homes by the Kenyan government in 1973. That footage was critical evidence used this past year in a landmark decision by the African Convention on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) to recommend full restitution of their lands.
In Macedonia, WITNESS made possible the production of the film You Must Know About Me, a first-hand account of sex workers’ encounters with harassment and violence. The film is now required viewing for Macedonian judiciary and police officers.
WITNESS also supports US causes. Last year it gave cameras to the National Council on Aging, which produced a video that sheds light on the physical and emotional abuse endured by senior citizens. It is perhaps no coincidence that the Elder Justice Act was passed as part of recent health reform legislation.
Video is a powerful thing. Peter Gabriel became fully aware of just how powerful in 1992 when just a few minutes of grainy footage captured by a witness to a police beating sparked a Los Angeles riot. That same year the pop star founded the charity. You can help keep it rolling.
Image via WITNESS.