Reaching the little ones of Latin America with video
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — “Children are not the future but the present. If we do not pay attention now, we’re lost – this is the critical age at which to form someone’s character.” Loida Ortiz, Coordinator of the UBS Americas Publishing Unit, was explaining the thinking behind a series of four children’s videos in Spanish, entitled Heroes of the Bible, which the unit is producing with funds from O-21. “In much of Latin America 50 per cent of the population is under the age of 19,” she said. “Nicaragua, for instance, is called the ‘youth country.’” She added that the region has “incredible problems” with thousands of children living on the streets where crime and violence are rife. Colombia has the additional problem of the ongoing guerrilla war. “That is why we felt it was so important to undertake this kind of project,” said Ms Ortiz. The videos, entitled Paul, David, Jeremiah and Peter, tell the stories of these Bible characters and their relationship with God, presenting them as role models for children. The first two, Paul and David, have been released to an overwhelming response from churches and Christian organisations across the region. The final two videos in the series will be produced and launched in the next two years. David, produced with the help of an executive from the Disney Corporation, was first shown at the ‘Expolit’ Spanish bookfair in Miami last year (see World Report 363/8) and premiered in countries across Latin America in the following months. In Colombia, before it was even launched, the Bible Society had received more than 2,000 orders. But the real indication of the video’s success lies in children’s reactions to it. The 1,500 children who gathered in two different venues in Bogotá late last year at the launch of the new video were delighted as they watched the story of David unfold.
“It was beautiful to watch the faces of the children, who were fascinated by what they were seeing,” said Ms Ortiz. As soon as the video ended, some of the children asked if it could be shown again, while others were eager to speak about what they had enjoyed about the story. “The most important thing about David was that he loved God so much,” said one boy. “I liked the way he used the stone to kill Goliath.” Vivian Bibiana Pulido, 26, a university student who volunteers with the Colombian Bible Society (CBS), described the video as “a blessing”. “The message is sensitive yet direct,” she said. “The content is very important for the Christian life and it was easy for the children to understand.” A pastor who attended the launch event and who works among children in deprived neighbourhoods described the video as “an answer to prayer”. Families come to Christ“We are so thankful to the Bible Society for giving the children this opportunity,” he said. “Many of them live in troubled neighbourhoods and do not even know who their fathers are. We are working hard to evangelise these children and have seen members of their families come to Christ through them. These materials from the CBS are an answer to prayer because the videos we have been using do not have such a clear, faithful message as this one.” As well as watching the video, the children also enjoyed the games and activities organised by the CBS. They received special David activity packs containing stickers, colouring books, pencils, T-shirts and balloons, and took part in an art competition in which they were asked to draw their favourite character from the video. Thousands more children in 5,000 venues across Colombia will also have the chance of attending special screenings of the new video, organised by the CBS. If the reaction is as positive in these other centres as it was during the ‘opening weekend’ in Colombia, then the David video may have one of the most powerful effects on the future of Latin America of any single Bible Society resource ever produced. (SR 29/8 - 4/5.02) [PHOTOS] |
