Global Orphan Relief Announces –ANGELS IN THE DUST showing January 31, 2009, at 7:00 PM.

Parker, CO – Global Orphan Relief (GO!) today announced the scheduled showing of ANGELS IN THE DUST to be held in the Hellenic Community Center on the campus of the Assumption of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Metropolis Cathedral of Denver (Assumption Cathedral), 4610 E. Alameda Avenue, Denver, CO 80246, Phone: (303) 388-9314, on January 31, 2009 at 7PM.

ANGELS IN THE DUST is the inspiring story of Marion Cloete, a university-trained therapist who—with her husband and two daughters—fearlessly walked away from a privileged life in a wealthy Johannesburg suburb to establish Boikarabelo (formerly Botshabelo), an extraordinary village and school that provide shelter, food, and education to more than 550 South African children.

The tale of Marion and the orphans she cares for is echoed in a dramatic parallel saga of the orphaned elephants of Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa. The longtime government practice of culling— killing adult elephants to control herd sizes—tore apart the complex social fabric of elephant culture, a fabric that is not unlike that of the traditionally close-knit African village. As a result, orphaned elephants grew up exhibiting unusually violent behavior, such as attacking and goring rhinos. But elder elephants were recently introduced into the Pilanesberg population to resocialize the young. The experiment is working—and it offers a resonant reflection of the healing taking place for the human children being “reparented” by Marion at Boikarabelo (formerly Botshabelo).

ANGELS IN THE DUST is the story of a courageous, self-sacrificing, fiercely loving woman who chooses a spiritual path over a material one; it tells of the life-changing power of one compassionate heart. For a nation overwhelmed by an epidemic of HIV/AIDS, orphans, rape, violence, and Apartheid’s legacy of social and political unrest, the film offers a clear pathway of hope and a replicable paradigm for the future.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called HIV/AIDS “the new Apartheid.” By the year 2010, 100 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa will be infected with HIV/AIDS, and 26 million children will be orphaned as a result of the virus. In South Africa alone, six million adults and children are infected, but the government has turned a blind eye to the mounting pandemic.

"...Nothing short of wondrous" -- NY MagazineANGELS IN THE DUST won the 2007 Emerging Pictures/Full Frame Audience Award at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and the 2007 Special Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival.

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Doors will open at 6PM, and showing will include opportunities to purchase products from Africa in our International Bizarre before and after the film. There is no admission to the event, but a donation of $3 is suggested. This event will be held to build awareness for the plight of Orphans around the world, and to fund various GO! projects in Congo (DRC), Mexico, Uganda, Zambia, and the US.

Global Orphan Relief is a relief agency established in 2005 to serve Orphans specifically. Their work has included projects, funding, and speaking engagements in Myanmar, Mexico, Zambia, and the U.S. GO!’s largest project to date is House of Faith Orphanage, located in Silembe, Zambia, where they currently host 22 Orphans and plan to grow the project to host 72 of these very vulnerable children. Currently, all activity is handled by volunteers and GO! has no paid staff. This allows all but of a small fraction of funds to be used in the field. GO!’s mission is to provide loving support for Orphans fostering a greater capacity for physical, spiritual, and emotional healing and growth.


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GO! Contact: Scott A. Nordstrom (303) 840-1123
www.globalorphanrelief.org

Assumption Cathedral: Main Office (303) 388-9314
www.assumptioncathedral.org