Photo taken at the Christchurch screening of Girl Rising, organised by Little Yellow Bird

Girl Rising is a powerful documentary following the stories of nine different girls in nine developing countries, as they fight for their right to an education in the face of poverty, exploitation, and inequality. Each girl was teamed up with a writer from their own country so they could give justice to their stories, and each story was embellished with the hard facts about how society benefits when their girls are getting an education.

The documentary was organised by Little Yellow Bird,a Kiwi company that creates ethically made uniforms and business wear, who have been holding various shows across the country. All proceeds from this event and their He Named Me Malala screening went towards funding computers for a rural school in India.

Girl Rising packed a strong emotional punch. While each story focused on the strength of the girls, they didn’t always have the fortune of a happy ending, which I found difficult. I was hoping that either before or after the film we’d hear a little bit more from team at Little Yellow Bird. However, they were recently nominated and were finalists for an international award, The Mills Fabrica Pitch Day 2016, in Hong Kong on the same night and so were unable to be at this screening.

One of the schools Little Yellow Bird are working with in India

As part of their business they also support the communities where their products come from through educational scholarships and microloans. Little Yellow Bird are trying to make it easier for us to choose ethically, and provide links to a number of resources through their Facebook page. For more information on how they are striving to change the lives of those in poverty, or to keep an eye out for more events of theirs, check out their blog.

Founders Samantha Jones and Hannah Duder leave for India next week to visit their factories and projects, including delivering the computers to their project school in Odisha.

The next Wellington screening will be co-hosted with the Wellington Zoo early next year and is set to be another inspirational and engaging documentary.

Cerise

Cerise spends her day balancing hats at a software company. She is a geek for all things design, animation, and pancakes.