小小的善举，大大的奇迹

by Matt Ford

We all face crossroads in life， but few present choices as 1）stark as those confronting Chris Mburu as he grew up in rural Kenya. He was an exceptionally bright and hard-working lad， but the road to secondary education—and a better life—was exclusively for the well-off. It was the other path， towards a life of poverty and hard 2）graft in the fields， that he would have to take.

Or at least， that was the case until he became the 3）beneficiary of charitable sponsorship by a Swedish woman， Hilde Back. A 4）thought-provoking new documentary， A Small Act， shows how her$15-a-month sponsorship enabled him not only to complete his school education， but to attend the University of Nairobi and Harvard law school. It all 5）culminated with a career as a human rights investigator for the United Nations.

Mburu never forgot the sponsor who changed his life. But it wasnt until American film-maker Jennifer Arnold came to him with a plan for making a film about his experience that he had the chance to meet Back and tell her what he had always wanted to say face to face： “Thank you”.

“I think the thing that really drew me to the story in the first place was the idea that an ordinary， everyday person can have a quite extraordinary effect on the world， just by doing something small，”Arnold said.

The 6）poignancy of Backs charitable act became even more profound when it emerged that she had fled to Sweden as a child to escape the Holocaust. Yet decades later， her regular gift had educated a man who would， without knowing of her experience， dedicate his working life to investigating crimes against humanity around the world—as well as set up his own charity， The Hilde Back Education Fund， which now helps more poor Kenyan children afford education.

“We hope this film will deliver the message that a small act can indeed go a long way and affect a whole community and society at large，” says Mburu. “And I think we are seeing this already， because a lot of people are seeing the film and saying that they want to do their own ‘small act. We are really encouraging that.”

The film also follows the extremely moving story of three of the brightest children at a rural primary school as they prepare for their difficult 7）KCPE exam at the end of primary school. Its genuinely 8）edge-of-the-seat stuff： getting top marks puts them in the running for one of Mburus scholarships and， with that， the potential to change their own and their families lives forever.

“Initially， we just wanted to make a great film， but it quickly became clear it would go way beyond that，” says Arnold. “So many people have now seen the film， been inspired and got involved with the Hilde Back fund.”

Its a tribute to all involved with the making of A Small Act that， in the 10 days after its premiere at Sundance in 2010， the Hilde Back Education Fund raised $90，000， transforming the charity from a local to a national organisation.

“When we started the whole mission， we could only help 10 kids a year， but now， after making this film， we are able to reach out to a lot more kids，” says Mburu， whose organisation now helps 160 children.

“Its discouraging when you cant help everyone that needs help， but its so encouraging when you see the ones that you can help going on， getting through and getting a better life.”

Mburu believes education is the key to solving the political and 9）sectarian conflicts that rip up so much of Africa. “Without jobs and education， it is easy for politicians to give people a really insignificant amount of money to do terrible things，”he says. “With an education， they can make their own choice， they can be free. This is my message.”

我们都会在人生的十字路口面临各种抉择，但少有像在肯尼亚农村长大的克里斯·穆布鲁遭遇的这般赤裸残酷。他是一个极其聪明且勤奋的小伙子，但通往中等教育的路——以及更好的生活——只属于有钱人。他不得不选择的是另一条截然不同的路，一条通往贫穷和在田间埋头苦干的路。

或许他的情况将大致如此，直到他成为了一项慈善赞助的受益人——由一位名叫希尔德·贝克的瑞典女子提供。一部发人深省的新纪录片——《小小的善举》，讲述了贝克每月15美金的赞助费不仅帮助穆布鲁完成了学校教育，还助他进入了内罗毕大学和哈佛大学法学院。这个故事以他成为了一名联合国人权调查员而作结。

穆布鲁永远不会忘记那位改变了他一生的赞助者。但若不是美国电影制作人詹妮弗·阿诺德打算要拍一部关于其个人经历的电影来找他，他也没有机会与贝克会面并当面对她说出一直想说的“谢谢”。

“我觉得这个故事最吸引我的是那个理念，一个平凡的普通人也能给这个世界带来非常巨大的影响，而他只不过是在做一些小事儿，”阿诺德说道。

贝克的慈善之举背后隐含了另一段辛酸故事，原来她儿时是为了躲避大屠杀才逃去瑞典的——这令她的善举显得更为深刻。几十年后，她定期的赠予培养出一名致力于在全世界范围内调查反人道罪行的青年——而他对贝克的个人经历却毫不知情，同时，他设立了自己的慈善组织——希尔德·贝克教育基金会，如今该基金会帮助更多贫穷的肯尼亚孩子接受教育。

“我们希望这部影片能传达出这样的信息：一个小小的善举确实大有帮助并对整个社区乃至全社会带来影响，”穆布鲁如是说。“而且我想我们已经看到这些效果了，因为很多人看了电影都说他们也想做出自己‘小小的善举。我们对此非常支持。”

影片还叙述了关于一所农村小学里三个最聪明的孩子的故事，他们在为难度很大的肯尼亚小学毕业证书考试而努力。当中扣人心弦的“剧情”是：考得最高分者将有机会获得穆布鲁的奖学金，并有可能在这份奖学金的帮助下，从此改变自己和家人的生活。

“最初，我们只是想制作一部好电影，但很快它明显地超出我们的预想，”阿诺德说。“很多人看了这部影片后，受到感召，并且参与到希尔德·贝克基金会去。”

对于全体参与制作《小小的善举》这部影片的人来说，这是一种褒奖：在2010年的圣丹斯电影节上首映后的10天内，希尔德·贝克教育基金会就筹集到九万美金，并使得该慈善组织从一个地方组织转变成一个全国性的组织。

“当我们刚创立这个资助组织时，我们一年仅能帮助十个孩子，但如今，通过制作这部影片，我们能够向更多的孩子伸出援手了，”穆布鲁说，如今他的组织为160名孩子提供资助。

“当你无法帮助每一个需要援助的人时，你会感到沮丧难过，但当你看到那些你能帮助的人继续前进，跨越障碍并过上更好的生活时，你就会备受鼓舞。”

穆布鲁相信教育是解决非洲地区频繁的政治和宗派冲突的关键。“没有工作和教育，人们就容易受到政治家的教唆而为了一点微不足道的钱去做极其恶劣的事，”他说。“有了教育，他们就能自己做选择，他们就能够获得自由。这就是我受到的启示。”