One Girl Sierra Leone: Documentary Fundraising Campaign

Global charity One Girl sent us to Sierra Leone to collect stories from locals and capture the One Girl programs in action — focusing on girls' empowerment, education, menstrual health and sexual rights. The content is being used in a series of campaigns across different channels in Australia to drive fundraising efforts, generating $60,000 in donations during their EOFY campaign.

The Brief

The original brief was to gather stills to be used online and in print advertising campaigns, and produce a single short documentary video piece. However, when on the ground, it became apparent that creating shorter character pieces would better communicate and better resonate with online audiences — One Girl loved the initiative and our creative approach.

We took candid and portraiture stills with subjects, and created documentary content by conducting 25+ interviews with different members of the community, and a whole heap of B-Roll with the subjects and country itself.

On the Ground

We shot over 5 days without access to consistent power and operating heavy equipment in hot and demanding conditions. We travelled as a light and multidisciplinary crew running to a busy schedule, allowing us enough time to build a rapport with our subjects so they felt comfortable and happy, while also maximising the content we could capture.

It was such a privilege to have the opportunity to travel to West Africa and be exposed to so many unique cultural experiences. We were welcomed through slum communities by local women's groups singing and dancing as they escorted us through the village. We learnt from young school girls about the challenges they faced, and heard about the way of life from people living in rural villages.

Our Approach

Character-focused storytelling: Rather than one generic piece, we created 4 individual documentary films — each centring a different student's story with depth and authenticity.

People-first production: We invested time building genuine relationships with subjects before filming, ensuring trust and authentic moments on camera.

Multi-channel deliverables: Created hero films, social cutdowns, and photography stills optimised for email campaigns, social media, and web.

The Results

$60,000 raised: Georgetta's EOFY campaign generated a major donation during One Girl's most challenging fundraising period.

Outperformed all campaigns: Even excluding the $60K donation, the campaign outperformed every previous One Girl fundraising effort (outside events and emergency appeals).

Multi-year partnership: We returned to Sierra Leone in 2024 to document programme impact five years later, creating ongoing storytelling assets.

4 films delivered: Georgetta's education story (EOFY hero campaign), Christmas beach trip (holiday campaign), community impact (programme overview), and five-year follow-up (2024).

Client Testimonial

Sharni Minett, Digital Fundraising Lead, One Girl:

"We received a major $60K donation from Georgetta's EOFY story campaign. But even without that, it still outperformed any previous One Girl campaign (excluding event and emergency income) — despite widespread cost-of-living challenges across the sector."

Production Details

Location: Sierra Leone, West Africa. Production: 5 days on location. Interviews: 25+ community members. Timeline: 3 weeks pre-production, 5 days filming, 6 weeks post-production.

Deliverables: 4 short documentary films (2–5 minutes each), social media cutdowns (9:16, 1:1, 16:9), photography stills package, and multi-format delivery for campaigns.

Services Used

Documentary Production — Interview-led storytelling, authentic narrative development. International production — filming in challenging conditions across Sierra Leone. Multi-format delivery — hero films, social cutdowns, photography.