Join us for a discussion on global collaboration and period poverty as we come together to watch the trailer for the compelling documentary Uman Tok: Tailoring Hope, Renewing Futures, which sheds light on the critical issue of period poverty in Sierra Leone. Set against the backdrop of a post-civil war nation, the film highlights the resilience of young girls battling the stigma surrounding menstruation while also calling attention to a local, grassroots NGO (Uman Tok) that facilitates health awareness, education, and sustainability of feminine healthcare. The event will also feature a short talk by the film’s director, Associate Professor of Journalism Stretch Ledford, a panel discussion with journalism lecturer Alison Davis and partners from Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone and University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, an information table hosted by the student organization ‘Code Red’, as well as a virtual reality exhibit where attendees can use state-of-the-art virtual reality headsets to enter an immersive experience of Uman Tok’s tailoring shop in Freetown.
The documentary Uman Tok amplifies the voices of girls and women striving for dignity and equity in a context where access to basic menstrual health resources can remain a daily struggle. It also raises critical questions about the enduring effects of global power dynamics and their influence on health and gender inequality in post-colonial nations.