The Forgotten People
A Documentary From Pyewackitt Productions
Just over a year ago, in the small village of Nabweye, Uganda, one out of four children died from drinking non-potable water. Died. From water. That all changed when Marie Antoinette Boot, a stay-at-home-mom from a suburban town in Connecticut decided she wanted to do something special for her 50th birthday. Her version of “special” wasn’t going on a luxury cruise or having a spa vacation—it was about making a tangible difference in the lives of villagers who had so few resources, they were referred to as “the forgotten people” by their fellow countrymen. It was about connecting with a remote, deprived community 7,000 miles away in sub-Saharan Africa. It was about using first-world resources to help those who faced life-and-death on a daily basis in a third world country. The Forgotten People tells the story of how one woman brought hope to an entire village and how that village brought a profound sense of joy and purpose to one woman. In 2016, Marie Antoinette quietly provided the funds to build a functional well to bring clean drinkable water to Nabweye (population 1800), and the lives of the villagers were quickly transformed. With access to water for irrigation, they could grow crops, feed themselves, and sell the surplus. Water delivered through spigots in the village meant young girls could go to school instead of making eight daily trips to a filthy watering hole to bring back water for their families. With the addition of clean, easily accessible water, today everyone is healthier and happier, and childhood mortality has significantly decreased in the past year. But the story doesn’t end there. Inspired by the village’s dramatic progress, Marie Antoinette undertook another challenge––to build a small medical center so that the villagers of Nabweye wouldn’t die for lack to basic medical care and supplies; so that pregnant women would no longer deliver their babies at the side of the road in the middle of the night when they couldn’t make it to a medical center in time. So she came back to her community in lush, sleepy Connecticut and spread the word. In less than three months she had raised enough money to build a medical center. The villagers now call her KaiKha, which means “kind woman.” Marie Antoinette’s current goal is to inspire other moms, dads, and children in communities across the country to do what she did—help bring water and basic medical care to those who have been forgotten. The Forgotten People documents one woman’s mission to use technology and compassion to create a bridge between two very different communities, on two vastly different continents. As a result, she discovers what unites us all. The Center For Independent Documentary is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Tax ID #: 04-2738458