It is often hard to imagine how our lives are connected to the lives of people thousands of miles away. Regardless of geographic location, there are certain needs that unite everyone, such as access to food, clean water, and shelter. An essential need that is often neglected is reproductive health care. While it is relatively easy for many American women to acquire family planning services (although certain religious and political forces in the US are attempting to make it much more difficult) this is not the case for millions of women around the globe. How can we personalize an issue that seems so removed from our everyday lives?

One answer is through the screening of films such as Not Yet Rain. A short documentary, the film chronicles the experiences of several Ethiopian women, both before and after a progressive abortion law was enacted in 2006. Through the stories it tells, the film illustrates how access to safe abortion care has visibly improved the lives of the women featured in the film. Through their stories, we hope to spur discussion and action to increase international family planning funding. Screenings of Not Yet Rain will be part of the grassroots effort that Population Connection has begun in three congressional districts within the US. The 15th Congressional District of Ohio—much of Columbus and its western suburbs—is one of these districts.

Our project, a campaign called Double the Money, aims to convince Congress and the Obama Administration to roughly double the current funding for international family planning to $1 billion for FY 2011.

The 15th district was chosen because it is a suburban, historically swing district. Given that many recent elections have been determined in these swing areas, the Population Connection feels it is important to focus our campaign in these key locations. The aim of our work is to assemble a base in the district that can express its support to fellow constituents, and most importantly, to Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy. As Rep. Kilroy is an enthusiastic proponent of reproductive choice and family planning, we are targeting her for two reasons: 1) to publicly acknowledge that she is an advocate and 2) to ensure constituent support for family planning, both during and after her tenure.

To create awareness, we will be hosting film screenings, panels, and town hall meetings in the Columbus area. The first such event will be a Not Yet Rain screening on Thurs., Oct. 15. Information is also available on our website www.populationconnection.org. We are currently seeking politically active volunteers to assist with these events.

For further information about the event, or to become involved with the Double the Money campaign, please contact , National Field Coordinator for Population Connection. Also, to learn about what’s happening in Columbus, please sign up for our Email Action Network. To sign up, enter your email address in the “Stay Updated” box on our home page. Once you enter your email address, you will be directed to fill out a profile that allows us to target you based on congressional district.