Screenings of documentary to raise money for children in Haiti

See the documentary film, "Girl Rising," and help send children in Haiti to school.

Screenings of the PG-13 film, directed by Academy Award nominee Richard E. Robbins, will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 22, at Rosary High School, 901 N. Edgelawn, Aurora, and at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 25, at the Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St. in St. Charles.

This 90-minute documentary profiles nine girls throughout the developing world. Girls like Sokha, an orphan who rises from a life in the garbage dump in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to become a star student and an accomplished dancer; Suma, who writes songs that help her endure forced servitude in Nepal and who today crusades to free others; and Ruksana, an Indian "pavement-dweller" whose father sacrifices his own basic needs for his daughter's dreams.

Each girl is paired with a renowned writer from her native country: Marie Arana (Peru), Edwidge Danticat (Haiti), Mona Eltahawy (Egypt), Aminatta Forna (Sierre Leone), Zarghuna Kargar (Afghanistan), Maaza Mengiste (Ethiopia), Sooni Taraporevala (India), Manjushree Thapa (Nepal), and Loung Ung (Cambodia).

The screenings are sponsored by Hope for Haitians, which raises money to build villages in the poorest areas of Haiti, giving families there an escape from slums or homes made of mud.

The $7 ticket price will send a child in those villages to school for two weeks.

Due to the generosity of Rosary High and the Arcada, all proceeds will go directly to the project.

For more information about the organization, and to buy tickets, go to hopeforhaitians.org/girlrising.

Tickets also will be available at the door.