From a difficult family background in rural Iringa, Elisa came to town when she was thirteen years old, following promises for a job and the possibility to go to school. But the household she was sold to for 10,000 Shillings never paid her a salary, and after two years she was raped by the husband in the family. She was accused of theft and thrown into prison for three months. Fifteen years old and with nowhere to go she ended up as a sex worker in Dar es Saalaam's infamous Uwanja wa Fisi (Hyena Square). Elisa managed to get out of prostitution with the help of KIWOHEDE, an NGO working with rehabilitation of child sex workers and domestic workers. When she found out she was infected with HIV, she decided to be open about it in order to help others. In this film we meet her as she works with advising other girls in a container office in the middle of Hyena Square. Elisa wants to be an example that it is possible to start fresh and lead a meaningful life in spite of the virus. She loves playing football and is hoping to become a star. Meet her, and a bunch of other colourful people of Hyena Square, in this half-hour documentary full of tears and laughter and contemporary Tanzanian music. 
Hyena Square in 2006
Hadija at Lutindi Maweni Farm is working on a new documentary, a story that begins where Hyena Square ended, with Hadija struggling with her heroin addiction at the mental hospital in Lutindi. There she meets Edward, a bright 
Unga shoot: Elisa, Edward, Hadija and touristsyoung man from the best of families, at the opposite end of the Tanzanian social scale. We follow them as they return to Dar es Salaam and try to build a new life.
Please help the "Elisa Youth Group" rent a house by making a donation.
Write your own amount to give, we suggest $10
