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Boys of Bakara

On September 12, 2002 twenty "at risk" 12-year-old boys from the tough streets of inner-city Baltimore left home to attend the 7th and 8th grade at Baraka, an experimental boarding school located in Kenya, East Africa. Here, faced with a strict academic and disciplinary program as well as the freedom to be normal teenage boys, these brave kids began the daunting journey towards putting their lives on a fresh path. "The Boys of Baraka" focuses on four boys: Devon, Montrey, Richard and his brother Romesh. Their humor and explicit truthfulness give intimate insight into their optimistic plans, despite the tremendous obstacles they face both at home and in school. Through extensive time with the boys in Baltimore and in Africa, the film captures the kids' amazing journey, and how they fare when they are forced to return the difficult realities of their city. "The Boys of Baraka" zeros in on kids that society has given up on - - boys with every disadvantage, but who refuse to be cast off as "throw-aways." It gives a poignant human face to an alarming statistic: 76 percent of black male students in Baltimore city schools do not graduate from high school. "The Boys of Baraka" premieres on PBS on Sept. 12, and the DVD hits shelves on June 6. The filmmakers Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing... Next

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