Blessing, the Mongoose & the Cages of Misfortune
Blessing, the Mongoose & the Cages of Misfortune: follows the journey of Blessing via her diary (journal) who after her parents pass away is taken from the streets and separated from her brother and put to work as a street beggar and in a factory by a kidnapping child trafficking gang, and the journey of an orphan mongoose (via flash scenes) whose parents have been killed that befriends Blessing when the animal saves her from a snake who she then shares her meagre food at nights. When Blessing reaches ten years of age, she is forced to become a house girl by the child trafficking street gang and the mongoose is captured, put in a cage and then traded on the exotic pet trader market but Blessing and the Mongoose (who can speak to each other in some ways) cross paths again and they concoct a plan to free themselves and to find her brother who is also forced child labour that the child trafficking gangs have put to work untying fishing nets. However, when Blessing discovers that the family she lives with are planning to buy and then demolish a local wildlife sanctuary, she has to try not only to free herself and the mongoose but also try to obstruct and demolish their plans. Despite the obstacles ahead, when Blessing forms a new friendship with a mature woman in the market nearby where she is sent to buy things for the family suddenly, Blessing's life and her dreams of freedom become reachable as harsh realities, past life experiences and wisdom interact to unlock new possibilities as the mature woman (who was once a forced child captive herself) advises Blessing on how to secure her own freedom, helps her to find and free the mongoose, helps her find her brother and assists with a strategy to protect the local wildlife sanctuary. Written by Jill Thrussell (child trafficking film)
Symbolic references: in this film the cage represents the trapped state of Blessing who is trapped in a begging gang then a forced child labour and traded much like the mongoose who is being kept to trade as an exotic pet.
Note: A percentage of profits from the film will be donated to a charity working with street children and wildlife in the region where filming takes place.