CPTV4U to Help Mark 5 Years Since Haitian Earthquake With Story of Triumph

'Unbreakable' and documentary on Knights of Columbus founder to air together on Feb. 12

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Feb 05, 2015, 05:53 ET

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Feb. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An award-winning documentary about hope and healing in the midst of horrific tragedy will air on CPTV4U, a Connecticut PBS station and affiliate of Connecticut Public Television (CPTV), on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 10 p.m. The showing commemorates the fifth anniversary of Haiti's historic earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010.

First Steps: Prosthetist Adam Finnieston helps three-year-old Anaika Pierre takes her first steps on two legs a year after Haiti's 2010 earthquake. She was fitted with a new prosthetic leg at the Knights of Columbus--funded facility in Port-au-Prince.

Winner of the Most Inspirational Documentary Award at the DocMiami International Film Festival in September, "Unbreakable: A Story of Hope and Healing in Haiti" tells the story of the thousands of children who underwent emergency amputations and their involvement as part of "Healing Haiti's Children," a program that offered free prosthetics and rehabilitation to every child injured in the earthquake.

The program was a partnership in which the University of Miami-affiliated Project Medishare provided medical expertise and treatment while the Knights of Columbus offered funding of nearly $1.7 million. To date, more than 1,000 children have received new prosthetic limbs in the program, which has also trained Haitians to continue both the fabrication and rehabilitation work.

Not only did these young people survive, they thrived. The film also captures how some recipients even formed a soccer team composed of amputee athletes that visited the U.S. in 2011 to introduce amputee soccer to troops who lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Unbreakable" will be preceded at 9 p.m. by "Father McGivney," a documentary on the life of the young Connecticut priest who founded the Knights of Columbus.

"It is fitting that the documentary on Haiti will air together with the story of Father McGivney since it is Father McGivney's vision that continues to inspire our charitable work around the world – including in Haiti," said Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson, executive producer of both documentaries. "It is our hope that both of these documentaries will inspire people to help others in ways that build hope for the future."

"Father Michael McGivney" chronicles the life and times of the founder of what has become the world's largest Catholic fraternal group, with more than 1.8 million members organized in 15,000 councils around the world. A strong charitable force within their communities, the Knights donated more than $170 million and 70 million hours to charitable causes in 2013 alone.

Born in Waterbury of Irish immigrant parents just a few years before the Civil War, Michael McGivney grew up in a time when millions of Catholic immigrants were struggling to overcome poverty and prejudice.

Through archival footage and dramatic recreations, the gripping one-hour film covers the range of Father McGivney's pastoral activities, from ministering to prisoners to aiding families split apart and devastated by the untimely death of a breadwinner. The documentary reveals a priest committed to helping those on the margins of society, a man who may one day be the first American-born parish priest to be declared a saint. In 2008, the Vatican declared Father McGivney "Venerable," a significant step on the road to sainthood and his cause for canonization remains under consideration at the Vatican.

About CPTV4U
CPTV4U is a 24/7 television channel featuring award-winning drama, news and talk programming, concert performances, independent films, nature shows, British comedy and more, and is a media service of the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN). CPBN also includes CPTV, a locally and nationally recognized producer and presenter of quality public television programming, including original documentaries, public affairs shows and educational programming, and WNPR, an affiliate of National Public Radio, Public Radio International and American Public Media. CPTV has built a reputation as a leader in children's programming, including playing an historic role in bringing Barney & Friends™, Bob the Builder™ and Thomas & Friends™ to public television. The station offers 11.5 hours of positive, nurturing children's programs each weekday, reaching 450,000 households each week. WNPR serves 276,000 listeners weekly in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island with news and information. Its award-winning local programming includes The Faith Middleton Show, The Colin McEnroe Show and Where We Live. CPBN also includes CPTV Sports, Connecticut's only 24-hour local sports network, covering statewide high school, college, semi-professional and professional sports. Additionally, CPBN houses the Learning Lab, home to the Journalism & Media Academy Magnet School satellite campus and the Institute for Advanced Media, which includes the Veterans Vocational Training Program. For more information, visit CPTV.org.

To view a complete list of programs on CPTV4U, to check the CPTV4U schedule for broadcast times, or to find CPTV4U on a local cable provider, visit http://cptv.org/channels/cptv4u/.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150205/173902

SOURCE Knights of Columbus