In November 2004, Peter Krause and Alice Kerr-Wilson, a Danish journalist and a British gender specialist, headed out to Sierra Leone for 3 months to research and make a film for The Kambia Appeal.
Peter and Alice met local medical staff, Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), women, their husbands and their families, and through discussions with them tried to understand the main social and cultural reasons why mothers-to-be do not seek medical advice when faced with particular reproductive health problems.
The main idea was to use local women and families as case stories in the film as well as interview relevant medical staff. Once the film was completed, local medical staff set up a travelling cinema (a TV, a video and small generator) and showed it in villages in Kambia district, with the aim of stimulating discussion about why women fail to seek professional medical advice and ultimately to encourage those who face difficulties in pregnancy and delivery to do so.
Read an account of Peter’s and Alice’s project at their blog
In March 2007, ‘Belleh Woman: Go de Right Side!’ was evaluated by Dr Ellie Gooding of the University of Sierra Leone, and her Diploma of Public Health Students, thanks to the support of Dr Alison Weightman of the Cardiff University Duthie Library. They were very impressed, and another public health physician in Sierra Leone thought it was excellent. They have requested further copies of the DVD.
