in Ndirande slum in Malawi, Filesi (28) cooks for 35 customers. She starts in the early morning slaughtering chickens and lighting log fires. Filesi is preparing food as people did for centuries. Without electricity, without equipment and without an abundance of spices. At the stroke of twelve, Filesi serves out 35 tasty meals. Her small company allows her to nourish herself and her three small children. She also supports her mother and her sister at college. The story of Filesi is the story of many people in the slum: optimistic, full of entrepreneurial spirit and perseverance.
This video is part of a project of 12 short movies about Ndirande. They were filmed and edited by three young Malawians: Tracy Thungaye, Yamican Thungaye and Ernest Phiri from the multimedia company FlashBlink. All three were bred in the heart of Ndirande. The Dutch journalist and philosopher Ralf Bodelier took the initiative for the movies and directed the recordings.
For this project, 'Slums, engines behind the Development Goals ' Ralf Bodelier received a gift from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, through the ‘European Journalism Centre‘ in Maastricht, the Netherlands.
(Learn more about Filesi and about Ndirande slum, on Ndirande.com, starting in July 2015)