In a partnership announced yesterday, Sesame Workshop and Mercy Corp will distribute three original films based on the Haiti earthquake, as well as two films recently dubbed into Creole, all to be distributed to Haiti’s youth.
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit group behind Sesame Street, stated the two dubbed films, Cinderelmo and Healthy Monsters, feature celebrity appearances by such figure heads as Keri Russell, Oliver Platt, and India Arie. The films promote healthy eating, physical activity, teamwork, and play.
Along with these films, Sesame Workshop plans to release three live-action films by filmmaker Linda Costigan, which were shot on location in Haiti following the earthquake. The first film, Helping Hands, teaches lessons about teamwork and working towards common goals. The others, I Am Haiti and Recycled Car, teach how Haiti’s children will be the leaders in the country’s recovery and how Haitians will rebuild their country, respectively.
Mercy Corps, a nonprofit organization helping communities rebuild by promoting progressive changes, will distribute at least 1,000 of the DVDs to hospitals, orphanages, and other locations with large children populations, with the possibility of distributing up to 5,000 more in the coming months. Mercy Corps will also integrate the films into its Comfort for Kids program, which trains parents and caregivers on how to help traumatized children recover from the earthquake.
Connie and Bob Lurie and the Motorola Foundation helped fund the Sesame Workshop’s efforts in Haiti.
