SUGGESTED DONATION FOR THOSE WATCHING THE FILM! $10.50 US, 9 EUR, 8.50 GBP

The Cambridge Development Initiative (CDI) is collaborating with Jonathan Kołodziej Durand, the Director of the documentary film 'Memory is Our Homeland' to host this fundraising film screening.

This film explores the less well-known links between Tanzania the Polish diaspora and their descendants. Jonathan and CDI's current Director, Tadeusz Ciecierski-Holmes, have the unlikely connection that their grandmother's were refugees in the Polish refugee camp in Tengeru, Tanzania.

This screening will provide an opportunity to delve into the story of Polish refugees in Africa from 1942 to 1952.

The event will include a 10 minute introduction from the Director, 90 minute run time, and 20 minute Q&A.

50% of the funds raised from the film will contribute towards CDI's upcoming projects in Tanzania, funding Tanzanian student's to support their local community in Dar es Salaam, and 50% will contribute towards the costs of the film.

You can find out more about our work at the following links:
CDI - http://www.cambridgedevelopment.org/
Memory is Our Homeland - https://memoryisourhomeland.com/

FILM DESCRIPTION:
'Memory Is Our Homeland is a documentary film charting the lost story of Polish refugees in Africa from 1942 to 1952 - a journey that brought a group of children through Siberia, Iran, India, and East Africa, to new lives in Montreal, Sheffield, and across the global Polish diaspora.
It follows the story of Kazia Kolodziej (née Gerech), Jonathan’s grandmother, and other Polish refugees, as they meditate on the meaning of memory, identity, and homeland. Grappling with memories of a traumatic exile in the Soviet Union, followed by an adolescence full of discovery in a Polish refugee camp near the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, we see how these women’s lives have been shaped by early years fraught with insecurity and change.
Tracing their footsteps, we travel from Montreal to Kazia’s Polish childhood home (now part of Belarus) through Iran, to modern-day Tengeru, Tanzania, where only one Polish descendant of the former WWII camp remains. Along the way, we discover how personal and shared experiences inform a sense of homeland, whether rooted in geography or imagination.'

CDI was founded by enterprising students at the University of Cambridge and we are now entering our 8th year! This summer we will once again be travelling to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to work in collaboration with our longstanding local partner, Kite DSM (https://www.kitedsm.org).