I realize that purpose of PROJECT CHILDHOOD is to, on one level, serve as a portal aimed at (just as the name suggests) celebrate childhood, but over the course of the last few weeks I have had several individuals ask me why I started this project. I have tried to communicate that it was simply because I had a passion to help those who simply cannot speak for themselves--but there is more, and tonight I would like to share it with you.
As many of you know, I spent the last three days at a conference in Las Vegas, and at night, I found myself walking up and down the strip pondering life and the magnitude of PROJECT CHILDHOOD, and the roots of how it all began years ago:
The 23-year-old woman who stripped her three small children naked and then threw them off a San Francisco fishing pier into the bay sparked the creation of ONWARD FILMS and the film below.
No stranger to abuse, I had reached a point in my life when it was time to finally say something; time to stop sitting back and merely feel appalled by the latest baby thrown in a dumpster or abandoned in a public restroom. For me, it was time to finally come forward, not with my own story, but with a startling message—ironically enough, one that we all know too well—about child abuse in all its ugly forms.
That night, after hearing about those three children being thrown to their deaths in the cold bay, I couldn’t sleep. All I could do was picture the horrified looks on their faces and hear the echoing screams as their mother threw them off one by one. Imagine the last child and the horror that he must have felt, knowing his time was only seconds away. As I sat at my computer, the initial script for Chasing Mountaintops (which would later turn into TEN SECONDS) took shape.
My goal was to get as many kids as possible and have them read various snippets from the script, which—when pieced together—will create a haunting montage, aimed at raising awareness about child abuse. Think of it more as an instructional manual for parents. But then it dawned on me: "Stop Child Abuse." Yes, we get it. We have been hearing that for years on end, but had anything really changed at all. I mean, come on, there was still a case of abuse reported every ten seconds. I then decided to take the inverse and thus the notion for celebrating childhood was born, along with my non-profit film company ONWARD FILMS, and ultimately to where we are today, with PROJECT CHILDHOOD.
It sickens me to think of the lives that some children are forced to live each day. But we can do something right now. We can take action. We can make a difference. No, we are making a difference, and as I have said, it begins with one picture.
I have been accused of being an idealist far too many times over the course of my short-lived life, but I make it a point to never offer excuses for those behaviors aimed at making this world a better place, which is why I am undeniably indebted to each and every one of you for your time and efforts.
You are a beautiful person with a beautiful soul. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Posted by: Jessica Hughes | April 21, 2008 at 08:32 PM
You are a beautiful person with a beautiful soul. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Posted by: Jessica Hughes | April 21, 2008 at 08:33 PM