Tan and Rocky's Lebanon Volunteer Project

Rachelle Hair is organizing this fundraiser.

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Hey everybody,

Thanks for taking the time to reach our page, legends! As you may or may not know, we (Tan and Rocky) will be leaving our home in London to live in Lebanon. We plan to volunteer our time and skills in at least 10 NGO's and community groups across the country, some of which are assisting with the world's most vulnerable people. We will be on the ground, filming, producing and editing social media campaign videos, mini-documentaries and awareness pieces for their own use. This is a personal project, and something we believe so very much in. After living and working in big cities around the world, we are at a time in our lives where we want to give our experiences and skills to people who need it the most. But we need you to help us out.

Help us create Shway Shway.

Who or What Is Shway Shway?

“Shway shway” means “slowly” or “little by little” in Arabic, and is the premise behind Tan and Rachelle's video series that highlights small movements making large impact. After Safi's career as Head of Video at Shootsta (London), Senior Video Producer at BuzzFeed (Sydney and Los Angeles), and Founder of Bring Me (Los Angeles), Safi created Shway Shway to offer video and mini-documentaries to people, places and organisations that need their story told the most.

It’s no longer news that video is the most powerful tools of highly accessible, easily shareable communication, education and information. It is still, how ever, one of the most expensive and time-consuming services. Luckily, Shway Shway is free! It relies entirely on Tan and Rocky, founders of the movement, who are using their personal savings and the help of friends and family to keep things afloat.

Lebanon is one of the world’s smallest countries and yet offers some of the most impactful services. It is because of this that SS will be offering their services in Lebanon to help create engaging, information videos that raise awareness about real change and impact that is being done. The new series will be filmed and produced in refugee camps across the Bekaa Valley, with textile workshops for women, schools for refugee children, and homeless shelters in Beirut. Organisations already on board include Salam LADC, the Nawaya Network, Days for Girls and many more. The mini-documentaries, photographs and other media will be produced, filmed and edited at no cost to these NGO’s who are helping offer their sometimes life-saving services.

Who is Tan and Rocky?

Tans family come from The Middle East. With her jid (grandpa) being a Syrian orphan, and her brothers being born during the Lebanese Civil War, stories of immigration, fear, and terror aren't far from home. That's why she's always wanted to return at a time where she felt that she could give enough and provide something that was actually needed. Awareness. Education. And empathy. There is a lot of good out there! We just don't get to see it.

“It is a miracle that my family are still alive and that I am here at all. It is only by chance that my family didn’t end up like the hundreds of thousands from Syria, and in fact, not a day goes by that I don’t think about my family who still remain there or my baby cousin who most recently fled to Amsterdam."

"I have created mini-documentaries about the convert nuclear testing in Maralinga and it’s devastating impact on Indigenous communities and the atomic bomb test survivors. I have travelled to India, filming in various districts in Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi and the Nepalese boarder with NGO’s fighting tirelessly against child slavery and human trafficking. I have directed, produced and edited hundreds of videos about marginalised groups, minorities and ordinarily taboo subjects in the hopes of creating empathy, of peace-building and of providing representation. Now I need to give these skills to my second home."

Rocky has been working in and smashing the hospitality game for some time. After travelling the world and spending time with Tan, they reached out to several homeless shelters in Beirut who require volunteer chefs. With photography skills up her sleeve, she plans on doubling up and helping film, produce and direct as the pair become low-impact team of two, just trying to get as much done as they can.

Why Do We Need You?

The associated costs of this trip are mostly technological. All funding raised will go towards equipment, software and living expenses. It is our upmost interest to keep this project as low impact and non-invasive as possible, but in order to create this content quickly, we require technology that is able to withstand the large projects and speeds at which we will need to be editing on the ground.

We need:
* A MacBook Pro to be able to edit on Premiere and AE while on the ground
* Adobe CC for Premiere, AE, Photoshop, Illustrator etc
* Camera gear and lavs for interviews/testimonials
* Accomodation and day-to-day living costs (Beirut is expensive)
* Some transport costs as we will require taxis to travel safely to some areas

We need the above to be able to create high quality, impactful videos. Our full estimated costs.work out to be over $10,000US.

By helping to fund this project, you are helping to create the flow-on effect of personal and skilled volunteering and it’s intangible value.

We believe that "volunteering is in the foreground of everyone's mind, but in the background of what most of us do", and hope that our series will show just how accessible and rewarding giving back to those in need is.