HILDE BACK begins a ripple effect of kindness when she sponsors a young Kenyan.

Good Views: A Small Act

Posted August 26, 2010

As a passionate moviegoer and movie blog critic, Regions associate Bret Pippen shares his take on good films.

A SMALL ACT is a short documentary but with so much to say.

Many times we are told that one person can’t make a difference. In this huge world with so much suffering and so much pain, how can one person do anything that can possibly be of any consequence?

But there are those that reject that notion. Hilde Back, a German Jew who lost her family in the Holocaust, escaped to Sweden where she learned the language and became a schoolteacher. At some point in her career, she decided to be part of a larger project and help sponsor the education for a child in Kenya.

Her commitment? It was the equivalent of $15 per month. The child? Chris Mburu.

As Chris puts it in the documentary, education in Kenya is literally a matter of life and death. Children pay to go to primary and secondary school. They are tested once per year to see who advances in school. If they don’t pass the test, then it’s back to life in fields barely scraping by.

Hilde ‘s commitment enabled Chris to stay in school and, eventually, go to Harvard. Chris wanted to give back. So he started his own foundation in Kenya designed to specifically fund high performing students to move forward in their studies.

The name of the foundation? The Hilde Back Foundation.

This 88-minute documentary directed by Jennifer Arnold does an excellent job of telling the story of Hilde and Chris while focusing on three young Kenyans who are trying desperately to leverage their education to get themselves out of their abject poverty.

The film, most importantly, illustrates how a small act of kindness can have a ripple effect that touches the lives of so many other people.

This fine documentary is not available for rent at the moment, but it is showing on HBO. However, it’s worth noting the name and picking it up when it is released for rent.

comments (5)

I hope to see this movie when it is available to rent. It sounds like something the teenagers in the US need to see. Teenagers don't see the advantages of the public school system and therefore don't use it to their benefit. I'd like to show this to my teenager so she could appreciate the opportunities that she has as opposed to third world countries.

belinda richnow

Ditto to that. Teenagers don't take advantage of what is available to them at school. I would definitely take my children to see the movie.

Afshan Haqqi

This story gave me chills... I've often thought, what can one person do? Just like the story says. Was I ever surprised and moved... Harvard? Really? That's amazing... it really motivates me to try a little harder and not worry about if my efforts are enough.

barbara

This one brought tears to my eyes. What an awesome end results for a Big Heart and $15.00 a month.

Gladys

Transport for Christ has a chapel at the TA truck stop at Lodi, OH. 15 years ago, my wife an I started benefit singing in the village of Canaan. Who would have thought it's still going strong. Praise the Lord. Google us. In Christ Jesus. Danny

Danny K. Smith

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