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It's October again....and the Channel's celebrating Black History Month for the second year running. We're showcasing some great programmes to mark BHM.
Saving a Stranger (Thursday, 19th October @ 9pm)
 Saving a Stranger The month's highlight is Saving a Stranger, an emotional story focusing on one young girl’s struggle for survival. Twelve-year-old Yvette, from Bristol, suffers from aplastic anaemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. Her bone marrow has stopped functioning, which means she cannot produce her own blood, and has to rely on transfusions to say alive.
Yvette originates from the Gambia and is more likely to find a match from someone of the same ethnic origin. But there is a desperate shortage of all bone marrow donors and a particular shortage of donors from black and ethnic minority groups. This programme explores the issues of bone marrow transplants and the need for an adequate register.
Rooted (Friday 6th October, 13th October, 20th October, and 27th October @ 7pm)
As part of the excellent Rooted series, these four episodes focus on British children of Dominican, Jamaican, Kenyan and Ethiopian descent. We travel with them as they visit their country of origin, meet relatives and trace their cultural and religious roots.
Jennifer Aviwon Ramirez explores the Dominican Republic's capital Santo Domingo with her aunt and cousins. Joab Coutain goes to Jamaica and helps to ripen the cocoa beans on a plantation. Luke Laichena experiences life on a small village in rural Kenya. And Fikir Asefa has a hard time getting up at dawn to attend church, and helping to thresh wheat in Ethiopia.
 Yours Truly Sematimba AfriCANS (Sunday 8th October @8pm)
The remarkable filmmaker Carol Kamya returns to Community Channel with four new episodes of the award-winning The AfriCANS series.
Reel Saharawi looks at life for a returning refugee in Western Sahara. Lucretia's Law tells the story of one woman standing up for her rights in Tanzania. Yours Truly Sematimba profiles a young successful businessman in Uganda as he turns his hand to politics. And Women Wake Up tackles the difficult subject of violence and abuse in marriage.
Screen Nation Awards (Sunday 29th October @ 9pm)
 Screen Nation Awards Dubbed the “Black Baftas”, the Screen Nation Film and Television Awards is the only annual celebration of work and achievement amongst people of African heritage within the British film and television industries. We'll have interviews with winners and nominees from the 2006 awards, in a star-studded event at the Park Lane Hilton Hotel in London.
Amongst the stars nominated for honours at this year’s event are the double nominee Noel Clarke in the Best Male Performance in Film, and Achievement in Screenwriting categories (both for Kidulthood); Thandie Newton for Best Female Performance in Film (for Crash); Pikki Fearon for Achievement in Independent Film Production (for Rollin' With The Nines) and leading the nominees for Best International Film is Crash.
Places to go, sites to visit:
BHM - the official guide to Black History Month
Black-History-Month.co.uk - celebrates Black History Month all year round.
Black History Season 2006 - BHM events and activities taking place in London
Acts of Achievement - BHM events and community activities in the North West
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 18 October 2006 )
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