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Hope, joy live in Sparrow Village documentary
(by Sali McSherry - November 26, 2008)
Hope, joy live in Sparrow Village documentary
By SALI McSHERRY
David Ponce found the lost sparrows in South Africa and showed the world that those sparrows, the children who had contracted the HIV virus and AIDS and who lived there, had names and faces, exuded joy and witnessed tragedy. And, that they were not alone.
A Chagrin Falls graduate, Mr. Ponce, who died at the age of 20 of leukemia in 2006, began a documentary on Sparrow Village when he was 19 while shooting footage and interviewing volunteers and children there.
His friend, Brock Carter, a fellow film student at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., and film professor Michael Kowalski finished the job. The film, "The Lost Sparrows of Roodepoort" was shown at the Chagrin Falls High School Performing Arts Center earlier this month.
Sparrow Village Founder Corine McClintock was at the premiere. The 70-year-old woman was trained as a nurse and said she was told by God to turn her home into a hospice for children and adults who were suffering with AIDS, which later became a village of domes where children live and grow.
"The spirit of Sparrow Village touched me personally as a beacon of light in my own fight for life. And to this I forever owe gratitude and I have sworn myself to produce something substantial in propagating the idea of hope and joy in the face of something so ugly," Mr. Ponce wrote.
Cynthia Marcshner, of Chagrin Falls, who volunteered at Sparrow Village for nine months of the year for the last several years, said Mr. Ponce was "intense and focused. He was completely unselfconscious and totally focused on the kids," she said.
His mother, Mary Ann Ponce, along with Mr. Carter went back to South Africa to gather more footage to complete the 30-minute documentary.
"David saw his predicament as nothing compared to what the children at Sparrow went through from birth-dire poverty, contracting the HIV virus at birth, disposed of and thrown in trash cans," Mrs. Ponce said. "Despite it all, David saw a happiness and a joy in those children. It is that experience from which David drew strength to overcome the painful regimen of chemotherapy, needles and bone-marrow taps he endured in his battle," she said.
He loved running and mountain biking and had a radio show at Chapman University where he shared his love on music, Mrs. Ponce said. He also loved reading and philosophy and his favorite book was "Moby Dick." Mr. Ponce's dry sense of humor and love of all things absurd were reflected in his films, from "The Bathrooms of Paris" which he filmed when he went to Paris with his father, Ed, to "Beowulf" where he played every character and starred the family's 15-pound dog as Grendel's mother, Mrs. Ponce said.
"As an avatar, David came to teach us lessons of how to see each other, lessons about humanity, love and spirituality," said the Rev. Mark Simone, of the Federated Church, who has been instrumental in supporting Sparrow Village over the years. He guided Mr. Ponce during the young man's only trip to the village.
"He had an ability to see beyond the fluff and focus his camera, a camera that originated in his heart, upon the people that God had created, for he knew that there were stories in the suffering that were much finer and more important than the suffering itself.
David said he saw, for example, what AIDS was doing in South Africa, but his attention was on the life that remained and the hope that prevailed. And this is the heart of this story, that in the mess of life, God's best response is still what we, as humans, determine to do to take the problem from hopelessness to glory," Mr. Simone said.
Ms. McClintock said, "The world is full of little sparrows, insignificant but plentiful little birds. We are very like them in many aspects. I believe that God wanted to show us that this was not a racial, intellectual or select world -- but just ordinary people needing help.
"We have seen the impact that David's trip to Sparrow Village had on his perspective on life and we would like Fevered Dreams Productions, which David founded, to provide that kind of experience to other filmmakers by providing grants for documentaries and short films," Mrs. Ponce said.
To order a copy of "The Lost Sparrows of Roodepoort," call (440) 247-0137.
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