Panje is a short branded content documentary with the purpose to support the Zanzibar (Tanzania) based charity foundation PANJE PROJECT.

The film gives an insight into the lives of three brave women of three different generations, who are fighting to change the situation of women in Zanzibar. Tanzanian community leaders still discourage girls to learn how to swim due to conservative Islamic culture and the lack of modest swimwear until today. If you are living on an island surrounded by ocean, it is essential to know how to swim, especially if you are working on the seaweed farms in the water or have to travel by small boats in order to reach the next market. But for many women in this world, this still isn’t the case due to local customs and culture.

In the last decades many boat accidents have happened around Zanzibar. In many cases only men were able to safe themselves, because they could swim and the women had to drown, because they just could not.  The Zanzibar based charity foundation PANJE PROJECT has founded a swimming school and provides local women and girls with full-length swimsuits that cover their entire body, so they can enter the water without compromising their cultural and religious beliefs.  Not only teaching them swimming skills, but aquatic safety and drowning prevention techniques. The group has empowered its students to teach others, enabling them to pass on their skills to their communities, creating a sustainable cycle.

PANJE PROJECT wants to educate and inspire women to take action. With free swim classes for young and old, they learn to feel safe and connected to the sea. The picture of the women floating in the water symbolizes their empowerment.

To support the charity foundation Panje, please visit their website and donate.

http://www.thepanjeproject.or.tz

Behind the Scenes