Good Fortune

Year: 2009
Country: KENYA, USA
Run Time: 73 minutes

Silvia and her family live in the Kenyan slum community of Kibera. Jackson farms land in western Kenya's Yala Swamp, which has been in his family for generations. So is it GOOD FORTUNE when humanitarians from the West come into Africa and try to improve their living conditions? This intimate documentary looks at two Kenyan families and shows the downside to financial assistance from the West as a threat to their lives and livelihoods. The United Nations wants to demolish Silvia's community and rebuild it with upgraded housing. The residents distrust the UN, and the Kenyan government they say is corrupt. Jackson worries the work being done to facilitate growing rice by Dominion Farms will flood and destroy his land. Despite coming together, the community cannot stop Dominion's progress. To many people living outside Africa, the continent and its people need humanitarian aid. Yet despite efforts (and millions of dollars) poured into Africa, many communities are in worse shape now than they've ever been. The film raises some hard questions about the purpose of international development and how to deal with its unintended consequences on the people it's supposed to help. (In English, Dhuluo, and Swahili with subtitles) – C.K.

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