They are considered the Oscars of the charity world, but for winners of the Charity Film Awards the prize is far greater than a statuette: it ensures their message will reach a wider audience, raising valuable funds. Among those in the running for a prize at next year's ceremony in London is a film starring one of HELLO!'s biggest heroes, Hibo Wardere.
It is made by SafeHands, a charity that uses film and other media to empower women and which shares Hibo's goal of ending the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). In the 20-minute film Hibo's Story, produced and directed by Nancy Durrell McKenna, the SafeHands founder, the Somali-born mother of seven (inset top left, from the film) talks bravely about her own experience of FGM aged six.
"It was being butchered by the people you love the most that was the most hurtful thing," she says, describing it as "a day that everything changed". Urging people to vote for the film to be shortlisted, Hibo, who won the Raising Awareness award at HELLO!'s 2018 Star Mums event, tweeted: "This is my story but it's for the women and girls that I fight for everyday."
To cast your vote for Hibo's Story, visit charityfilmawards.com/videos/hibos-story.
