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The Samaritans (TV Show) A comedy about an NGO that does nothing

The Samaritans is a snarky, humorous, television mockumentary developed by Xeinium Productions Ltd in Kenya in 2011. The Samaritans takes a peek behind the curtains of an inept fictional Non Governmental Organization (NGO) called Aid For Aid Kenya whose broad mandate it is to “eliminate the need for need”.

Aid For Aid is a workplace filled with qualified but not-quite-competent employees made up of a 'suitable' mix of international expatriates and local bureaucrats brought together by their desire to 'Save Africa'!

Aid for Aid Kenya is jettisoned into notoriety when the country Director (now ex) mistakenly shoots a rhino while on safari. In the wake of this tragic event, the expertise of a young and grossly inexperienced, all American socialite, Scott Bartley is summoned by the NGO's Headquarters in the United Kingdom to manage the crisis and, as so often happens, takes over the coveted Country Director role over the more competent, far more experienced and too often maligned local deputy Martha Oko. Aid For Aid Kenya ambitiously attempts to redeem its tainted image by applying for the largest grant in their history and of course struggles to meet its goals hampered by the misguided demands of the UK head office, a malcontent group of unmotivated staff with hidden agendas, highly competent competitors and the ever-present eye of Development News Network (DNN) looking over their shoulder.

In Addition to Scott and Martha, the Aid For Aid head staff includes Malik, the accountant who suffers from dyscalculia (a variant of dyslexia where the sufferer is unable to read numbers) and Elizabeth, a receptionist whose soul purpose is to meet and marry a foreign diplomat.

The creator Hussein Kurji and his business partner Salim Keshavjee are both fourth generation Kenyans, educated around the world and who want to put Kenyan content and Kenyan stories on the global map in an attempt to change the way the world perceives Africa as portrayed so unfairly by mainstream media. Hussein and Salim developed the series based on their experience working with various good and bad Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the region taking humorous note of the absurdities, paradoxes and ironies that often occur in and around this unique global industry. Hussein Kurji and Salim Keshavjee partnered to start Xeinium Productions Limited, the company through which they raised funds through kickstarter.com, and ironically local NGO’s who saw the need for self-reflective creative content that holds up the proverbial 'mirror' to the NGO industry as a whole. Funds were used to create a proof-of-concept and an on-line platform to showcase and pitch the series primarily to attract international producers with the intention of getting the entire series produced at an international level. The producers want audiences around the world to take note and help make more of this unique Kenyan-made content with its universal awkward humour that inevitably transpires from bureaucratic workplaces with strange missions.

Weaving between four main storylines, it is clever, unique and witty, while actually making a point about the evolving nature of what constitutes a Non Governmental Organization operating in Africa.