Reporter’s Mission to Explore Indigenous Cultures Still Unrealized

When it comes to reporting on the struggles of indigenous communities around the world, Maggie Padlewska is willing to go the extra mile. Literally, Padlewska, a freelance video-journalist and producer at CBC in Ottawa, Canada wants to travel around the globe to document the lives and struggles of indigenous communities.

But she is having a tough time getting the financial resources she needs, and is trying to change how she does fundraising.

OneYearOneWorld by Maggie Padlewska

“Rather than seeking funding/sponsorship for the entire initiative, I will now tackle it from a
‘sponsor a story/community’ approach,” stated Padlewska, who spoke with the Epoch Times in January, in a recent email update. “So that’s what I’m working on now,” she continues, adding that she hopes it will allow her to reach more people about her initiative.

The aim of Padlewska’s project, One Year One World (or OYOW), is to visit one country per week in just one year. What’s more, she plans to travel solo while shooting, producing, and editing footage in the field. The approach will allow her to share her journey with supporters and viewers as she goes.  

Still working to generate enough funding to officially launch her project and the one-year sojourn, Padlewska has been generating some showcase pieces as examples of the type of work she plans to do.

A recent video from southern Costa Rica that is just over 9 minutes long details the life of the indigenous Guayami community. Displaced from Panama by deforestation, the Guayami are now cooperating on a reforestation project with an arborist from the U.S.

But according to Padlewska, the story is really about stereotyping. According to one of the main subjects of her story, a Guayami man who is helping in the reforestation project Ramon Watson-Bejarano, indigenous people are openly stereotyped as “lazy” and unwilling to work or earn money.

In a background piece she wrote about the story on her project website, Padlewska says that the flaws of stereotyping outweigh any benefits.

“Ramon is among the many people I meet who struggle with the negative and hurtful end of stereotyping,” writes Padlweska, adding that much of the “lazy” stereotype comes from a lack of education about the Guayami among the non-indigenous community.

Other locales the ambitious and idealistic journalist has visited as examples of the work she will do during her year-long trip include Panama and Ecuador. She is currently continuing to raise money and awareness, and can be reached through her website.

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