Posts Tagged ‘Prostheses Foundation’

Online Sneak Peek for 1,200 Fans

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

Yesterday, we gave our 1,200+ Facebook Fans an opportunity to attend an Online Sneak Peek of the newly edited film trailer for “The Eyes of Thailand“. Thanks to Remedy Editorial in San Francisco, CA, we unveiled a dramatic, thrilling new trailer that featured footage from the 2010 documentary production trip to Thailand and Laos. It featured Soraida Salwala (FAE), Dr. Therchai Jivacite (Prostheses Foundation), Richard Lair (TECC), Galen Garwood, Paul Hannon (Mines Action Canada) and Reth Tun (ICBL).

Special thanks to: Jeffrey Boyette and Scott Compton (Remedy Editorial), Ayumi Ashley (Color Correction), Marc Pittman (Sound Mix), and Amie Penwell (Music).

Next steps:
“The Eyes of Thailand” is currently in post-production and we hope to have a complete film ready for film festival submissions in September. You can help us by:

  1. Inviting your friends to “Like” the Facebook page.
  2. Following us on Twitter.
  3. Making a tax-deductible donation to the film, via our fiscal sponsor (the San Francisco Film Society), by clicking the Donate link on our website.
  4. Contacting Director/Producer Windy Borman if you have leads to foundations, corporate sponsors or wish to inquire about investment details.

If you missed the Sneak Peek, have no fear. The trailer goes live across the internet on March 13th for Thailand’s National Elephant Day.

Thanks for joining us and stay tuned for more exclusive updates!

-Windy Borman
Director/Producer, “The Eyes of Thailand”

More info:
D.V.A. Productions, in Association with Indiewood Pictures, is proud to present the powerful and hard-hitting feature documentary “The Eyes of Thailand”.

“The Eyes of Thailand” is the inspirational story of one woman’s quest to help two elephant landmine survivors–Motala and Baby Mosha–walk on their own four legs. Treating their wounds was only part of the journey; building elephant-sized prostheses was another. Directed and Produced by Windy Borman. Produced by Tim VandeSteeg.

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/eyesofthailand
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/eyesofthailand
Website: http://www.eyesofthailand.com/

CMC- Day 3: COPE-ing with Cluster Bombs

Monday, November 8th, 2010

The red dots indicate the location where the U.S. dropped cluster bombs in Laos during its 8-year war with Vietnam.

According to The Irrawaddy, during the U.S.-Vietnam War, the conflict spilled over into Laos, which led to U.S. warplanes dropping more than two million tons of bombs (or 270 million explosives) over Laos. This, according to UN data, is more than all the explosives dropped in Europe during World War II.

These air strikes, which saw U.S. planes launch nearly half a million bombing missions from 1964 to 1973, targeted the destruction of the North Vietnamese troops’ supply route called the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which also passed through eastern Laos. Most of these explosives were cluster munitions, better known in Laos as “bombies”. After being dropped from larger bombs that contained 300 to 600 cluster bombs, these bombies fanned out across a wide area on undulating terrain (see map above). Close to 30 percent of these bombies failed to detonate and “approximately 80 million bombies remained in Laos after the war,” according to the National Regulatory Authority for Unexploded Ordnance/ Mine Action in Laos.

Consequently, four decades later, U.S.-made cluster munitions continue to exact a heavy price on civilians in Laos.  Over 50,000 people have been killed or injured as a result of unexploded ordnance (UXO) accidents between 1968 and 2008, states the UXO regulatory body.

Today I visited COPE, which stands for Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise. COPE is the only provider of prosthetic, orthotic and rehabilitation services in Laos and provides prosthetics and mobility devices for those people who require them, free of charge if they cannot afford to pay for them.

I highly recommend visiting COPE’s Visitor Center when you are in Laos to get a sense of the personal stories behind the above statistics. My favorite elements were the hanging displays of “bombies” and home-made prosthetic limbs survivors have made prior to being fitted with a COPE prosthesis. I also learned that a growing child may a new prosthesis every 4-6 months, whereas an adult may need a new one every 1-2 years. This made me feel better about Mosha’s and Motala’s prostheses. These two elephant landmine survivors at FAE’s Elephant Hospital have received multiple prostheses from the Prostheses Foundation in Thailand since 2008 and 2009, respectively.

I’m glad to hear there are multiple NGOs (Non-government Organizations) assisting survivors of landmine and cluster munitions, but I can’t shake the fact that if all countries signed the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which require them to destroy their stockpiles and remove all mines and UXO from their lands, we wouldn’t need to treat new victims every year.

To find out if your country has signed the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions, click here.

Sincerely,

Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

Day Three: The aftermath of elephant landmine accidents

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010

Soraida encourages Motala, a 49-year old elephant landmine survivor, to put her weight on her prosthesis at FAE's Elephant Hospital.

Today the Prostheses Foundation returned with the new “tester” prosthesis for Motala.  Initially it looked like the shank of the limb was too short because Motala was swinging her leg without putting any weight on it. After Soraida Salwala (FAE’s Founder) spoke to her, she began to relax her elbow and put some weight on the prosthesis.  The leg was then long enough to reach the ground, so it appears she was avoiding it because it was uncomfortable.

As Dr. Preecha said, “If she was a person we could ask, ‘How does that feel?’ But she’s not, so we have to watch her behavior. If she was in pain, she wouldn’t move at all; but this shows us that the prosthesis is just uncomfortable”. Soraida believes that the leg could still be inflamed and the “tester” is too tight. So, the prosthesis is on its way back to Chiang Mai for more adjustments…

Dr. Kay cleans Boonmee's wound at FAE. Boonmee stepped on a landmine on September 11, 2010.

In other news, yesterday we saw a huge improvement in Boonmee.  While her wound looked better, by the end of the day her trunk was too weak to pick up her bananas to feed herself. Soraida tearfully explained that she has seen this before and is very worried that Boonmee may simply give up and decide to pass away.  Dr. Preecha explained that last month Mae Ka Pae’s leg looked as bad as Boonmee’s does now, so if she can stay alive, he’s optimistic her leg will heal, too. As we left for the evening, Soraida said, “I’m hoping for a miracle”.

I drove back to Chiang Mai with mixed emotions. On the one hand, Boonmee can decide whether she wants to fight and continue to live, or she can decide it’s too much and pass on. As humans, we like to think we have control over everything—the environment, other beings, our lives—but that argument is thrown out for me in light of these elephant landmine tragedies. They didn’t decide to step on a landmine. Boonmee, Motala, Mosha and Mae Ka Pae were in the forests because of human greed and the landmines were in the ground because of human fear and ego. They didn’t ask to be mutilated, we [humans] did this. So perhaps the most humane choice we can give them is whether they want to stay and fight or, as the Buddhist believe, leave and come back with a different life circumstance.

It will be interesting to see what Boonmee decides tonight…

-Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

A tear drips down Boonmee's cheek.

Day Two: Playfulness & Healing at FAE

Monday, November 1st, 2010

Prostheses Foundation staff take a sand cast of Motala's leg for a new prosthetic.

Today the Prostheses Foundation returned to the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital to remake Motala’s prosthesis.  This will be the elephant landmine survivor’s fourth prosthetic limb since August 2009 when I filmed her taking her first steps on four legs since stepping on a landmine on the Thai-Myanmar border in 1999.

Mae Ka Pae rests her healing hind foot.

While the staff began the two-day process of sand-casting, molding and welding, the T-Touch volunteers continued working on Mosha, Boonmee and Mae Ka Pae, the three other landmine survivors at FAE. Just look at the difference in Boonmee and Mosha after two days of craniosacral therapy and T-Touch!

Boonmee on November 1, 2010

John and Somchai perform T-Touch while Dr. Preecha watches.

But it wasn’t all work. FAE also has three baby elephants—Dante, Veto and Champoo (which means “pink” in Thai)—and their mothers at the hospital.

Kamnoi and Dante stroll in the sun.

Baby Dante says "Sawadee kop"

Stay tuned for pictures from the second day of prostheses building!

Elephant Size Hugs to Jodi Frediani for sharing her beautiful photos of the elephants at FAE.

Best,

Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

Day One at FAE’s Elephant Hospital

Sunday, October 31st, 2010

Mosha, an elephant landmine survivor, with her mahout John at FAE's Elephant Hospital.

Going back to the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital was quite an emotional experience. Mosha (age 4) has grown a least a foot (no pun intended) taller since I saw her last August, but is still as playful as ever.  She was very curious to sniff the new volunteers and was walking around on her temporary prostheses.  She’s growing so fast the Prostheses Foundation is going to have to make her another soon!

Motala (age 49), on the other hand, is wearing her protective white bag over her stump again because her updated prostheses was irritating the sensitive skin on her stump. Thankfully, the Prostheses Foundation is coming back tomorrow to build her a new prostheses.  Stay tuned for pictures!

Mae Ka Pae soaking her hind leg in an antiseptic bath at FAE's Elephant Hospital.

Seeing Boonmee and Mae Ka Pae, the newest landmine survivors at FAE, was very hard. Mae Ka Pae, (age 22), who injured her hind leg after stepping on a landmine along the Thai-Myanmar border in August, is able to walk slightly better than when she first arrived at FAE. It’s still painful to watch her limp, but Dr. Preecha says her wound is healing well enough that they don’t think they’ll need to amputate her leg.

Boonmee prepares to soak her front foot in an antiseptic bath at FAE's Elephant Hospital.

Boonmee (age 10) is another story. Her front leg looks like an exploded flower and is not healing well, but Soraida Salwala, FAE’s founder, is more concerned about her depression.  This is the first time Boonmee has been separated from her mother and, on top of that, her mahout (owner) ran away and deserted her at FAE a month ago. Elephants are such emotional and social animals that this heartache can cause them to die from the loss.

Anne Snowball and Patty Coogan do Craniosacral therapy on Boonmee.

When we first saw her, Boonmee’s eyes were totally glassed over. Then, Jodi Frediani, Anne Snowball and Patty Coogan (three of the volunteers traveling with me) began using their T-Touch and Craniosacral therapy on Boonmee and she began to weep, letting go of some of her emotional and physical trauma.  She began to open up and soon was allowing Jodi, Anne and Patty to peel and feed her bananas. It was amazing to see this shift and her willingness to connect with us.

John, Mosha's mahout, practices T-Touches on Jodi Frediani's arm.

Later in the afternoon, Jodi, Anne, and Patty explained T-Touch and taught Dr. Kay and two of FAE’s mahouts (John and Somchai) three T-Touches, while Soraida translated. The staff at FAE were very receptive and picked up the touches quickly.

Jodi and Anne walk with Mosha.

Then all six went down and tried the T-Touches on Motala and Mosha.  After some initial confusion on the parts of the elephants, they liked it enough that each started presenting areas to be worked on.  Motala even presented her amputated leg for the women to work on and remove some of the pain from her stump!

Motala, a 49-year old elephant landmine survivor, presents her amputated leg for TTouch.

It was quite an experience to be back and witness another dimension of the healing and growth at FAE–and this is only the beginning! We’re here for four more days, so stay tuned.

Sincerely,

Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

ELEPHANTS LOSE LIMBS AND LIVES IN THAILAND

Friday, October 8th, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact Name: Windy Borman

Email: windy@dvaproductions.com

ELEPHANTS LOSE LIMBS AND LIVES IN THAILAND

Award-winning Filmmakers’ fight for Elephant Landmine Survivors in new shocking documentary, “The Eyes of Thailand”, takes them to the International Convention to Ban Landmines in Laos

San Francisco, CA – October 8, 2010 – D.V.A. Productions, in association with Indiewood Pictures, currently in production on the powerful feature-length documentary film, The Eyes of Thailand, about the plight of Asian Elephants grossly injured and disfigured from stepping on forgotten landmines buried along the Thai-Myanmar border, will attend and film November’s International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)’s Youth Leaders Forum in Vientiane, Laos. The ICBL is a 1997 Nobel Peace Prize Co-Laureate responsible for bringing about the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. The film is directed and produced by Windy Borman, who started the film three years ago, and produced by Tim VandeSteeg, who recently produced the award-winning documentary, My Run, narrated by Billy Bob Thornton.  What The Cove was for dolphins, The Eyes of Thailand is for elephants,” said Borman.

Borman is scheduled to return to the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital outside of Lampang, Thailand, where two widely publicized and recently injured elephants have been transported and are being treated for landmine accidents. It is this hospital and the work of its courageous founder, Soraida Salwala, that originally attracted Borman to the subject and launched her effort to capture the story in The Eyes of Thailand, a film set to be released in 2011.

This trip represents the final chapter since Borman’s last film shoot in August 2009, when she traveled to Thailand to film Motala, a 48-year old elephant landmine survivor, take her first step on her new prosthetic limb. Building Motala’s prosthesis was a 10-year quest for FAE’s founder, Soraida Salwala, and Dr. Therdchai Jivacate, Associate Professor of Thailand’s Prostheses Foundation. Motala arrived at FAE after stepping on a landmine along the Thai-Myanmar border in August 1999. It wasn’t until a baby elephant landmine survivor arrived at FAE in 2006 that they thought they could build prostheses to help the elephants walk again. Motala took her first steps on her prosthesis on August 16, 2009.

Unfortunately, on August 4, 2010, Mae Ka Pae arrived at FAE’s Elephant Hospital after stepping on a landmine along the Thai-Myanmar border.  One month later, Boonmee, stepped on a landmine and was transported to FAE.

According to Yeshua Moser-Puanguswan of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, “Thailand is a state party to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and is clearing mines from its territory, mostly along its border with Cambodia. All of the elephants at the FAE hospital come from doing illegal logging in Burma, which has not joined the treaty and is the only country in the world today where landmines are being used on a widespread basis.”

“The anniversary of Motala taking her first steps on a prosthesis is bittersweet”, said Borman. “We need a film that can crack our collective consciousness and demand all nations sign and enforce the Mine Ban Treaty.  I hope The Eyes of Thailand can do that.”

Website: http://eyesofthailand.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/eyesofthailand

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/eyesofthailand

BREAKING NEWS: Another elephant landmine victim arrives at FAE

Monday, September 13th, 2010

10-year old Boonmee stepped on a landmine along the Thai-Burma border.

On August 5, 2010, I wrote that Mae ka pae, a 22-year old elephant that stepped on a landmine along the Thia-Myanmar border, had arrived at FAE’s Elephant Hospital.  Sadly, I have to report that a fourth elephant, Boonmee, a 10-year old Thai elephant who was accompanying her mother to work in Burma, has also stepped on a landmine and is being treated at FAE.

Boonmee is the 4th elephant landmine survivor currently at FAE's Elephant Hospital.

Boonmee (10) joins elephant landmine survivors Mae ka pae (22), Motala (49) and Baby Mosha (5) at FAE. Motala and Mosha each received a prosthetic limb from the Prostheses Foundation in 2009, a process I filmed for “The Eyes of Thailand” documentary.

If I wasn’t so stunned and sad, I’d be outraged that this keeps happening.

Due to this recent increase in elephant landmine accidents, I’m going back to Thailand in October – November 2010 to film more footage.  I thought I could finish the film with a happy ending–when Motala and Mosha each walked on their prostheses–but now I see that isn’t the case because elephant landmine injuries keep happening.

In order to return to Thailand this fall, I need to raise $3,000, so I’m asking for your help.  Can you make a tax-deductible donation to the film to help me travel to the Elephant Hospital to film the new survivors? All donations are tax-deductible through the film’s fiscal sponsor, the San Francisco Film Society, and donations of any size help. Please make your tax-deductible donation here.

Thank you for helping me tell this much-needed story about the plight of Asian Elephants and the ongoing threat of landmines!

Sincerely,

Windy Borman

Director/Producer “The Eyes of Thailand

Ex-pats raise funds for new Elephant Hospital

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

A recent article in the Chiang Mai Citylife E-zine caught my attention.  It reported:

A group of energetic retired expats got together a few years back to organise a slew of fun and interesting activities – Citylife Garden Fair, weekend getaways, raffles nights, dances and parties – to raise funds to support a handful of selected charities and causes. The latest cause for the 200 Club is to support the formation of a non-profit elephant clinic in the Mae Tang area to cater for minor diseases and injuries for the 500 or so elephants living in Mae Sa, Mae Tang and Chiang Dao districts, so that they do not have to travel by truck, at great inconvenience and stress, all the way to the Lampang Elephant Hospital. (Read the rest of the article here).

By “the Lampang Elephant Hospital”, the reporter means the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital, founded by Soraida Salwala in 1993 and featured in the elephant conservation documentary, The Eyes of Thailand. I asked Soraida what she thought of the article and here is her reply:

Dear Windy:

I have heard of this hospital for quite some time, just a quick glance at the article you sent.

I believe that every good cause for the welfare of the elephants should be encouraged. The only thing that might worry me is the point that healthy elephants and the sick ones should not be in the same compound. However, experts would know that.

Regarding the inconvenience of transporting the sick elephants to FAE, I must say that we have built it here as it is the best location for elephants we could find. We cannot be near anyone, anywhere and in 1993 there were just a few elephant camps in Chiangmai, a lot of elephants were in logging in this part of the country and in other regions. We have had many elephants from all over Thailand. Inconvenience it might have been but we have done the best we could to provide treatment for them. And not only the injuries or their other ailments but their minds. Being in a quiet place in a natural surroundings helps the sick elephants a lot to gain back their health.

We may have only two veterinarians but we have trained many vet students (local and from other countries), elephant keepers and to this date, many are working in those tourist camps or government sectors.

Experts in elephants are rare and FAE stafff are very dedicating and I wish there would be more places like FAE’s.

We may not have the best equipment but we are proud of what we have been doing.

Thank you.

Soraida

I concur with Soraida.  I think the world would be a nicer place if there were more places like FAE, treating ill or injured elephants, rehabilitating them after they’ve stepped on landmines, and working with the Prostheses Foundation to build prostheses to help them walk again.

What do you think? I look forward to reading your comments.

-Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

The Asian Elephant is walking an explosive path toward extinction

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Mosha walking on her prosthetic limb. (credit: Catching Smiles Club.)

August 18, 2010–Below is an excerpt from Kevin James Moore’s August 9th article on the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital and the on-going threat of landmines:

Mosha was walking alongside her mother through the jungles that cover the Thailand-Myanmar border when she stepped on a landmine that would leave her forever maimed.At seven-months old Mosha, an Asian Elephant, had her right front leg destroyed by a buried explosive. Now at five-years old, with the aid of a prosthetic limb, she is walking on all four legs once again.

Mosha resides at the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) hospital along with Motala, a 49-year old elephant and landmine survivor who also received a prosthetic limb ten years after an ill-fated step in 1999 that deprived her of a front limb as well. Founded in 1993 as the world’s first Asian Elephant hospital by Soraida Salwala, FAE has helped these two elephants walk again with the use of prostheses.

To watch Mosha and Motala walk again overwhelmed Salwala. “I was more than happy and tears filled my eyes,” she said. The tears she shed were from joy, “I was speechless and my heart beamed.”

The story of Mosha and Motala has inspired San Francisco, California documentary filmmaker Windy Borman to direct and film “The Eyes of Thailand,” a film she hopes will educate people and cause them to take action to protect the Asian Elephant. There were 40,000 Asian Elephants in 1993 and now there are less than 3,00, said Borman. She is trying to help Salwala in her quest to save the animal that she loves.

“I consider myself a pretty worldly person, but I had no idea elephants were stepping on landmines, especially an endangered species,” explained Borman. “I knew I had to tell other people about it.”

The complete article appears in the July/August edition of The Animals Voice magazine.  You can order your own copy here. To preview the full article, please visit Moore’s blog.

-Windy Borman

Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

Bittersweet Anniversary of Elephant Landmine Survivor’s First Steps

Monday, August 16th, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bittersweet Anniversary of Elephant Landmine Survivor’s First Steps

San Francisco, CA – August 16, 2010 – One year ago documentary filmmaker Windy Borman recorded the step heard round the world.  After 10 years of surgery and rehabilitation, Motala, a 48-year old elephant landmine survivor at the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) Elephant Hospital outside of Lampang, Thailand, took her first step on her new prosthetic limb.

Building Motala’s prosthesis was a 10-year quest for FAE’s founder, Soraida Salwala, and Dr. Therdchai Jivacate, Associate Professor of Thailand’s Prostheses Foundation. Motala arrived at FAE after stepping on a landmine along the Thai-Myanmar border in August 1999, but it wasn’t until Baby Mosha, another elephant landmine survivor, arrived at FAE in 2006 that they thought they could build prostheses to help the elephants walk again.

“I first met Soraida, Motala and Baby Mosha in 2007 while I was filming in Northern Thailand,” says Borman. “I knew landmines posed a threat to humans, but I had no idea endangered species, such as Asian Elephants, were stepping on them.  At that moment I knew I needed to do something, and since I’m a filmmaker that meant I’d found my next documentary project”.

Over the next two years, Salwala and Borman stayed in touch about the elephants’ progress.  Then, on July 31, 2009, Salwala sent an email that changed everything.  “She wrote, Motala’s getting her leg in 2 weeks.  Can you be here to film it?” remembers Borman. “I said, yes, and then called everyone in my cell phone, emailed everyone I knew and blasted it all over Facebook.  By the end of the weekend, through donations and airline mile contributions, I’d raised enough money to buy my ticket back to Thailand.”

Using the sand casting system developed by Dr. Yeongchi Wu of the Center for International Rehabilitation (CIR), Dr. Jivacate made a prosthesis for Baby Mosha in 2008. It supported her weight and she accepted it quickly, which gave Salwala hope that they could use the same technology for Motala.

“Filming the two-day building process was like watching an episode of Myth Busters,” says Borman. “I was amazed by the technical process, but there was a lot of anxiety as to whether Motala would accept the prosthetic or if it could even hold her weight.”

“An adult Asian Elephant weighs about 3 tons,” explains Borman, “and two-thirds of their body weight is on the front of their body.  Since Motala is missing her front left leg, they needed to build a prosthesis that could hold approximately 2 tons when she walked.  And what were they using to build it? Modified car parts, mainly.”

After two days of molding, welding, sanding and adjusting, the Prostheses Foundation was finally ready for Motala to try on her new prosthesis.  Watching Motala take her first steps, Salwala says, “My heart is larger than it was. Everyone is happy, especially Motala herself”.

“Seeing Motala walk on her own four legs was one of the most memorable moments of my life.  It’s a somewhat happy ending to the on-going problem of landmines in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world,” says Borman.

According to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, 37 countries have refused to sign the Mine Ban Treaty, which requires signatories to de-mine their country and destroy their landmine stockpiles. Myanmar (Burma) is one of the countries that has refused to sign the treaty. The United States is another.

On August 4, 2010, another elephant landmine survivor, 22-year old Mae Ka Pae, arrived at FAE’s Elephant Hospital after stepping on a landmine along the Thai-Myanmar border.  She makes the 13th elephant landmine victim to be treated at FAE since it opened in 1993, but there are countless other animal landmine victims that go unreported and untreated because they usually occur in the rural, mountainous borders between countries or territories.

“The anniversary of Motala taking her first steps on a prosthesis is bittersweet”, said Borman.  “It reminds us how far we’ve come, but the news of Mae Ka Pae stepping on a landmine reminds us how far we still need to go to eradicate the threat of landmines for all species.”

“We cannot let animals or humans suffer any longer because of landmines,” says Borman.  “We need a film that can crack our collective consciousness and demand all nations sign and enforce the Mine Ban Treaty.  I hope my film, The Eyes of Thailand, can do that.”

The Eyes of Thailand is the inspirational story of Soraida Salwala’s quest to help two elephant landmine survivors—Motala and Baby Mosha—walk on their own four legs. Treating their wounds was only part of the journey; building elephant-sized prostheses was another. Directed and Produced by Windy Borman. Produced by Tim VandeSteeg.

The Eyes of Thailand is currently in post-production with plans to release in 2011. To view the trailer, please visit http://eyesofthailand.com

Contact:

Windy Borman

windy@dvaproductions.com

Director & Producer, The Eyes of Thailand

D.V.A. Productions

PO Box 420395

San Francisco, CA 94142 USA

Links:

The Eyes of Thailand website: http://www.eyesofthailand.com

FAE’s website: http://www.elephant-soraida.com/index.php/en/

Mine Ban Treaty: http://www.icbl.org/index.php/icbl/Treaties

Unsigned States: http://www.icbl.org/index.php/icbl/Universal/MBT/States-Not-Party

CIR Network: http://www.cirnetwork.org/

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/eyesofthailand

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/eyesofthailand

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