As he realized the war had claimed over 5 million lives, Dan Balluff set off on a crusade to tell the story about this forgotten country and its conflicts. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been battling war, child prostitution, and child soldiers for over 10 years.After finishing his Peace Corps service in 1988, Dan traveled to the DRC. He was instantly amazed by its pristine rain forest and the gigantic Congo River. Dan's concern for the DRC brought him to find out as much informationas he could and this made him realize the Congo hled many secrets. He took time out of his life to investigate and make informational films on the war the DRC hides.Upon research, Dan found that there are thousands of street children in the Congo who struggle daily to live. A majority of these children are orphans and have turned to prostitution as a means of survival. Accusations of child witchcraft have also been a reoccurring theme in the Congo, which has lead to the documentary, Children of Congo: from War to Witches.Dan began posting his media on talent sites in hope of spreading consciousness of the situation in the DRC. He has also produced other documentaries and comedy shorts. However, Dan has expressed his commitment to social issues, "I hope to be able to continue making films about issues and countries that need more public awareness."Before Dan had focused on the Congo, he went to film school at the American University in Washington D.C. Completing his schooling, he jumped into world concerns by teaming up with the Enviromental Protection Agency as a scientist. After working for the EPA for a number of years, he left to pursue a career in filming documentaries.In the mid 2000s, he filmed a short informational piece about the food crisis in Niger. While in the Peace Corps he lived in a small village called Tapoa. He decided to make this documentary because Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world. "The food crisis really sent them over the edge," Dan said. Dan titled this film, "Niger: Living on the Edge of Survival." He also created a travel film documenting Niger, "Exploring Niger" and a short tourism video that is narrated in English and French, titled, "Niger."Dan's future plans are to create a documentary about Haiti. Dan has implied that the small country of Haiti is one of the most underprivileged in the west and with this being said, he wanted to bring awareness the U.S. He is researching and fund-raising for the film now.