October 11th is the International Day of the Girl, and to mark it, I’m really happy to announce the release of a very special documentary my students produced. Last February I took a group of students to Kenya to shoot a film about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and the work that AMREF Health Africa is doing to put an end to this dangerous practice. (You may have read my post earlier this year about the trip, which provides more details about all of this.) “Saying NO to the Cut” is the result of this labour of love by several talented young women in the RTA School of Media at Ryerson University.
(Don’t see the video? Try this link: https://youtu.be/FGANVC0Pc94)
I’m so very proud of the work my students did and the fact that this video will help AMREF educate people about the issues and their campaign to end FGM.
Congratulations to students Maria Sartzetaki, Hayley Graham, Marla Ellis, Hannah White, Jessica Burtt, Trae Nguyen, and Samantha Tenus, and special thanks to Jennifer Foulds from AMREF Canada as well as the staff at AMREF Health Africa’s Nairobi office without whom this film would not have come to be.
Would you like to help AMREF stop FGM? You can make a donation here: http://amrefcanada.org/ryerson
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the people of Magadi, Kenya and the other nearby communities we visited, and especially Beverly, the central character in our film, who was brave enough to “say no to the cut” and share her story of courage with other girls at risk of FGM and the rest of the world.
Frivolous At Last 
Wow Lori, that is a beautiful documentary by your students! This is my first time posting, though I’ve been following your sewing blog for some time. I always learn something, and now not only about sewing. Thank you for sharing this.
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Well thank you so much for commenting, Rebecca! I’m glad you found it informative. It’s really nice to hear from you. 🙂
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Such wonderful and important work! Wow. I didn’t know you had students. Are you a professor? And seriously, great skirt!
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Thanks, Cherry. Yep, professor is my day job! And right??–that skirt. To die for. I just can’t find a way to rock it in everyday life so it just sits out on my dresser making me smile when I see it.
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A beautiful post on so many different levels!
The feature photo! All the photos. The heart. The vibrant colours. The skirt.
Thanks for sharing this story Lori.
PS…can’t watch the video at the moment…I don’t have access to sound. But soon!
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Thank you, Sue! I’ve been to both Ghana and Kenya and I really admire the beautiful colours and fabrics that are everywhere. It’s like colour therapy when you go there in the middle of a Canadian winter.
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What a fantastic project! I’ll save it to watch later (I’m watching the Great British Bake Off right now! 😉 Good on you and your students!
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Hi Gillian. Love that show! There’s a Canadian version starting up soon (if it hasn’t already).
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Hi this is fantastic! Is there a way I could share this video on my blog as part of a post? I have just started an anti FGM blog and I am looking for inspiration for content! What fantastic work you and your students have done.
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Thanks! Please feel free to link to the video: https://youtu.be/FGANVC0Pc94
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Thank you for sharing this video! It’s so beautifully done – hats off to you and your students. This is such an important issue – there has been worrisome reports of it being done in Canada as well among some populations but its so secretive it’s difficult to expose. Gorgeous skirt!!
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