Film: Thank You for the Rain

In 2012, Kisilu started to use a camera to capture his life as a farmer in a rural area of Kenya, and we see how his family and community experience the devastating damages that the region experiences as a result of climate change. We follow him through a rollercoaster ride of storms, flash floods, and devastating droughts. Convinced that planting trees is the answer to counteracting global warming in his region, he organises local farmer groups, make endless presentations, and takes the message all the way to the COP21 in Paris — the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change. But is anyone listening?

The film is an inspiring and captivating tale of a tireless optimist, who tests his limits in the fight for a greener world. It is also a film that shows us how climate change will hit the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest.

Before you start watching the film, write down everything you know about Kenya. Compare notes with a partner.

1. Jot down three to five ideas for discussion, or questions you think the film raises.

2. Pay particular attention to the details provided about Kisilu’s daily life as a farmer and a family father in eastern Kenya. What does the film tell you about such things as housing, family life, earnings, standard of living, tools, mechanisation and technology, access to education and medical services, sustainability, etc.