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gathering video and other evidence
documenting the costs of removing
humanitarian aid and development assistance

Help the American people see and understand the suffering that surrounds you.

 

Use your phone or whatever means at your disposal to capture videos and photos of the life-and-death consequences inflicted upon children and families in the most remote corners and marginalized communities of our planet.

Message​

  • Benefits we had

  • ​Costs of withdrawal

What were the benefits we had? (establish baseline)
What are the costs of withdrawal? (show the losses)

  • Lifesaving benefits abroad - and the costs in fear, suffering, and lives of the sudden withdrawal of support

  • Economic benefits at home, especially for farmers and rural communities - and the costs in reduced demand, prices, and employment

  • Strategic benefits for America of having Americans stationed throughout the world - and the costs our public servants bear being so publicly villainized and and their children and families bear as they are so mercilessly uprooted

  • Geopolitical benefits for America from soft power - and the costs in goodwill, trust, influence, and security

  • Before AND After

  • Videos are best, including direct-to-camera testimonials, though we also accept photographs, voice recordings, and any other materials that help communicate the real costs of these recent policy decisions.

  • In addition to memorializing the immediate fear, suffering and loss of life,
    we also seek materials documenting the full impact of aid and its sudden removal on:

    • Americans at home,

    • American families overseas,

    • American trust, influence and power in the world. ​​

Examples

  • Before AND After

  • Emotional moments

  • Direct-to-camera

Best
Practices in
Filming

  • Highest resolution

  • Landscape (horizontal)

  • Stabilize

  • Well-lit faces with natural light

  • Limit background noises

  • Vary angles and composition

  • B-Roll

  • When interviewing a subject, have them, 

    • Include the question in your answer

    • State at the end of the interview into the camera that they give their consent for the footage to be shared on social media and other venues

  • Resolution and Settings:

    • Set your phone to its highest resolution and quality settings to capture detailed footage.

    • If you know how, use manual settings for exposure, focus, and white balance to provide greater control over the final look of your footage.

  • Orientation:

    • Record in landscape mode (horizontal) rather than portrait (vertical).

  • Stabilization:

    • Use a tripod, gimbal, or handheld stabilizer to avoid shaky footage. 

    • If these tools are not available, try to place your camera or phone on a table, fence, or some other stable structure.

    • As a last resort, hold your phone with both hands and keep your elbows close to your body.

  • Lighting:

    • Position your subjects so they are well-lit from the front or side to avoid harsh shadows.

    • Utilize natural light as much as possible.

    • If shooting indoors or in low light, consider using portable LED lights to improve lighting conditions.

  • Sound:

    • When possible, record in quiet environments and be mindful of background noise (traffic, crowds, music, etc.)

    • If available, use an external microphone (Lavalier/clip-on, shotgun, portable recorder, podcasting mic, etc.)

    • When outdoors, a windscreen or foam cover on your microphone will further reduce background sound.

  • Composition and Framing:

    • Follow basic composition rules like the rule of thirds to make your footage visually appealing.

    • Use a mix of wide, medium, and close-up shots and potentially use different angles and points of view to add variety and context to your scenes.

  • B-Roll:

    • Provide additional of supplemental (B-roll) footage to provide visual context when possible.

By uploading, you are confirming that you have ownership of the materials you are sharing and proper consent for those depicted, attesting that the additional information you are providing is correct, and granting a Creative Commons 0 license (also known as CC Zero) for the materials waiving all copyright and placing the materials in the public domain. 

Consent
and
Release

Why ‘For the American People’?

The United States Agency for International Development has long had the official slogan:
“USAID from the American People”. That slogan emphasizes the charitable nature of the agency’s work offering its services as gifts to so many people living in poverty around the world. It also reminds us that all of the work that USAID does is paid for by US taxpayers. You can find the slogan in the official logo around the planet on billboards, offices, vehicles, clothing, and stickers. It is perhaps most prominently featured on the millions upon millions of sacks initially used to transport and deliver the rice, corn, soy, and other agricultural products grown by and purchased from US farmers. After enjoying the resulting meals, the creative recipients of food aid all over the world repurpose these sacks over and over and over again in different ways elevating the slogan to near ubiquity. 

This effort, and its substituting “For” for “From” in the slogan speaks to several aspects of the unfolding tragedy. First off, so much of USAID’s work was designed originally to directly benefit the American people, and those continual concrete benefits have been used to repeatedly justify its work. Second, we’re asking humanitarians, development experts, beneficiaries, and others on the front lines around the world to capture and send moments back to us quite literally for Americans to watch. Third, the abrupt end of all of this support is being falsely but quite publicly motivated by the new Administration as being for our collective benefit, and finally then, the resulting suffering and death are inflicted in our names, these unspeakable costs are borne by others
“For the American People”.

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