Girl Rising

In public health, at least within the social and behavioral sciences, you learn in your first semester about "fundamental cause theory" which was developed by Phelan and Link while they researched the association between health disparities and socioeconomic status (SES). They found that even after smaller, more immediate obstacles to health care were overcome, or improvements in health care were made, individuals with low SES still had higher morbidity and mortality than their similar counterparts with high SES. This is because SES embodies such a wide variety of factors in an individual's life - from the knowledge they have to the economic resources they obtain to the social connections they nurture - which all contribute to their overall health.

Education is one of the major contributing factors to SES. In many societies, most highly paid, highly respected jobs require education and training and are out of reach to those without the necessary degrees. In many countries, girls go without an education, either because they are married very young, their family needs them to go to work instead, or it is simply seen by parents as useless to educate daughters compared to sons. Regardless of why, the lack of education often means that girls are having more children at a younger age, lower lifetime earnings, and in turn their children are less educated.

Girl Rising is a film about 9 girls around the world who overcome different obstacles to get to school because they know that an education is important. There will be a screening in Braintree, MA on April 23 at the newly renovated theater, provided we get a few more people to join and demonstrate a demand for the film. So come on, reserve your ticket (of which a portion of the sale goes to organizations working to increase access to education for girls and basic health necessities for everyone) - whether you're interested in education, global projects that target fundamental causes, the resiliency of young human spirits, or just comfy chairs and buttery popcorn... this is the movie for you!

Okay, I'm off my soapbox. Now I just want 37 more people to sign up so I can see this movie. Preferably with friends.