Omo Child: The River and the Bush (2015)

Omo Child: The River and the Bush: Directed by John Rowe. For many generations people in the Omo Valley (tribal southwest Ethiopia) believed some children are cursed and that these ‘cursed’ children bring disease, drought and death to the tribe. The curse is called ‘mingi’ and mingi children are killed. Lale Labuko, a young educated man from the Kara tribe was 15 years old when he saw a child in his village killed and also learned that he had 2 older sisters he never knew who had been killed. He decided one day he would stop this horrific practice. Filmed over a five year period we follow Lale’s journey along with the people of his tribe as they attempt to change an ancient practice.

“u0026quot;Omo Child: The River and the Bushu0026quot; is a truly remarkable documentary film that I saw last weekend at the Oceanside International Film Festival. The film focuses on the efforts of Lale, a young member of the Kara tribe in Ethiopia who challenges tribal elders to end the practice of killing children declared as u0026quot;mingiu0026quot; (cursed), because itu0026#39;s believed that u0026quot;mingiu0026quot; children bring famine and disease. Faced with death threats, Lale and his wife, with the help of a team of concerned young people, begin rescuing the u0026quot;cursedu0026quot; children by asking the parentsu0026#39; permission to take the children to a makeshift child rescue facility called Omo Child. The film is informative and truly riveting and shows how small team of passionate, committed individuals was able to fight tradition and save lives. u0026quot;Omo Child: The River and the Bushu0026quot; should be widely released so that it may be seen worldwide. Its message will stay with you for a long time.”