FREE – Thursday, November 1, at 7:30 p.m. | WKAR presents a Community Cinema event with a preview screening of "Solar Mamas” and follow-up discussion with Judy Martin, Gail Catron and Tasmica Torok, moderated by Jayne Schuiteman. | RESERVE SEATS HERE
WKAR continues its Community Cinema presentations, the groundbreaking public education and civic engagement initiative featuring free monthly screenings of films from the PBS series, Independent Lens.
Screening
The evening includes screening of the documentary "Solar Mamas.” The program visits India’s Barefoot College, a place where rural, poor and often illiterate women from around the world are offered a rare opportunity to receive an education that teaches them how to make their communities self-reliant and sustainable.
The film follows the experience of Rafea, a strong-willed 32-year-old Jordanian mother of four, who is traveling outside of her village for the first time ever to attend Barefoot’s solar engineering program. Once there, she will join women from Guatemala, Kenya, Burkina Faso and Colombia in a life-changing, six-month job training program that will transform her into a solar engineer – and change her life.
Discussion
Following the screening, MSU Women’s Resource Center director Jayne Schuiteman will moderate a discussion with Judy Martin, president of Solar Circle, a non-profit organization that provides solar ovens for families in Tanzania; Gail Catron, managing partner of Kirabo, a fair-trade retailer committed to social justice and supporting artists in developing countries; and Tashmica Torok of the Nayaka AIDS Orphan Project, which takes a unique, holistic human-rights approach to ending the cycle of poverty. They will discuss innovative ways that people are making a difference for women.
The full evening with screening and discussion will be about 90 minutes, and will include light refreshments and the opportunity to win prizes from WKAR.
Partners
Thanks to our community partners, MSU Women's Resource Center and MSU Center for Gender in Global Context.
On the Air and Online
The "Independent Lens" documentary "Solar Mamas" airs at 9 p.m. Monday, November 5, and will be available for online viewing at video.wkar.org after the broadcast.
Free with Reservation
This event is free, but registration is required. | RESERVE SEATS HERE
Where
Community Cinema: Solar Mamas takes place in the Communication Arts & Sciences media auditorium Room 145, 404 Wilson Road on the campus of Michigan State University. Parking is free (after 6 p.m.) in the Trowbridge Road parking ramp, near the South, Main Lobby.