Karen Andrae is originally from Germany and started out as a regular physiotherapist. After she joined VSO and worked with children and their families in mostly semi-urban and rural India she wanted to better understand disability in the international development context and completed a degree in London. Subsequently she was placed in East Timor, Sierra Leone, China and Angola, working for Handicap International. In China, she particularly loved participating in a film project, aiming to educate carers about disability and child development. After China she filmed everywhere she went, shooting short films as training or advocacy tools about disability and Disabled Peoples Organisations in Angola, then in Tanzania, Burkina Faso and Sudan after she joined Action on Disability and Development.
The Three Plus Project is her first feature-length film and particularly important to her as it takes her back to childrens issues and the need to put disabled children firmly on the agenda of both government and civil society.