tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89319852011-04-21T22:33:00.182ZAlice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.comBlogger351100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1106915200231838922005-01-28T12:26:00.000Z2005-01-28T12:26:40.230Z

Aminatta's aunt was a midwife at the hospital and oneof our neighbours. Aminatta loved to come and couldamuse herself for hours poking around our stuff. Shewas particularly fascinated by our digital camera andwould frequently demand to be "snapped" (photographed)or to "snap" her other young friends.

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1106914943461922122005-01-28T12:22:00.000Z2005-01-28T12:22:23.460Z

Last week we filmed the students at KDEC performingsome cultural dances (see photo of dancers furtherdown this blog). Here is Alice filming them,surrounded by a ring of curious onlookers.

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1106914569759731702005-01-28T12:16:00.000Z2005-01-28T12:16:09.760Z

We showed our school film in one of the classrooms atKDEC Primary school. There simply wasn't place for allthe pupils that wanted to see it and as you can seethe room was crammed full with pupils pushing for thechance to catch a glimpse of themselves on the TVscreen.

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1106914133682413882005-01-28T12:08:00.000Z2005-01-28T12:08:53.683Z

One of the last scenes from the maternal health filmwas shoot on this platform by the river. During firstfew weeks in January the 'winter' and the Harmattanwind hit Kambia which gave the skies this greyishlook.

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1105994968317243812005-01-17T20:49:00.000Z2005-01-17T20:49:28.316Z

For more than a month we have been waiting to go backto one of the primary schools in Kambia town to dosome filming. Due to a national census that requiredthe assistance of thousands of teachers and theChristmas holidays, pupils at all government schoolshad been on leave since early December. Now, inmid-January school activities are finally back in fullswing. We went back to KDEC school which we

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1105994836920147732005-01-17T20:47:00.000Z2005-01-17T20:47:16.920Z

It was a real pleasure to return to KDEC and see thepupils from class five and six pupils again. The lasttime we were there we taught them two songs selectedby their fellow students in England. We were not surewhether they would remember the songs at all when wecame to film them, but indeed they did. Without amoments hesitation they performed "The Telephone Song"and "Dr. Knickerbocker" with

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1105994458747876542005-01-17T20:40:00.000Z2005-01-17T20:40:58.746Z

Apart from the songs, we also interviewed five of thestudents. Among the interviewees was nine year oldMaila Sesay. We asked her some of the questions thatthe pupils at Beech Green had asked previously. Amongother things, the English students wanted to know whatshe did after school. Maila answered that she fetchedwater, cleaned the house, ate and played football withher friends.

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1105994260024014992005-01-17T20:37:00.000Z2005-01-17T20:37:40.023Z

After weeks of intensive work on our educational film,we finally were able to take it for the first publicscreening last week. We chose to go back to the townand the village where we shot most of the film, toshow it to the communities there. It was a real reliefto see how much the enjoyed it, though to be honest wehad the upper hand. There is not much freeentertainment offered to the inhabitants

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1104616693954334392005-01-01T21:58:00.000Z2005-01-01T21:58:13.953Z

At the hospital in Kambia, the district medical teamand the local MSF Office celebrated Christmas bythrowing a party on the veranda of the hospital'sUnder Five Clinic. Approximately 200 guests - stafffrom the hospital and VIPs of Kambia Town - wereinvited. We were entertained by speeches and a hourlong show performance by the hospital staff themselvesand local artists. The show included

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1104616437421830692005-01-01T21:53:00.000Z2005-01-01T21:53:57.420Z

The day before New Year's eve we shot one of the lastbits for the film. It's actually meant as the openingscene of the film; a sequence where a small boy playswith a football and imitates a 'belleh woman' (apregnant woman in the local Krio language) by puttingthe football on his stomach under his t-shirt. Boththe boy and his fictive pregnant mother are peoplefrom the neighbourhood next to the

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1104616105793693442005-01-01T21:48:00.000Z2005-01-01T21:48:25.793Z

The story repeats itself every morning, just around 8AM. The relative morning calm of the hospital compoundis broken by a banging sound on the corrugated ironroof. It sounds like someone's throwing stones upthere, but it isn't. It's the arrival of the vultures.First they land on top of the house to examine thebackyards, where we and the neighbours are cookingoutdoors. If no dogs or human beings

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1104615867978470502005-01-01T21:44:00.000Z2005-01-01T21:44:27.976Z

The Germans are not famous for being the mostdetermined of colonialists. But somehow they havemanaged to leave their footprints around the world,often in the most unexpected of places. When we werein Afghanistan we often wondered how on earthcompletely run-down Mercedes busses with advertisingslogans such as "Modern Reisen" ever made it to themost remote and dusty villages. In Barmoi, aprovincial

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1103880014952645582004-12-24T09:20:00.000Z2004-12-24T09:20:14.953Z

Happy Holidays from all of us here in Kambia!

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1103753067710547942004-12-22T22:04:00.000Z2004-12-22T22:04:27.710Z

Over these past two weeks we've been shooting our filmon maternal health. We're based in the village ofBarmoi about an hour from Kambia town. To start withthe local people were really excited about it and wehad no problem recruiting actors and finding locationsfor places to shoot. We have one professional actor,Israel Davis (to the right in photo), working with us,but all the rest are local

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1103752899519525492004-12-22T22:01:00.000Z2004-12-22T22:01:39.520Z

One of the scenes we shot at the clinic at Barmoi. Wefilmed on a Friday morning where around 20 pregnantwomen from nearby villages had gathered for anante-natal session. It was a pretty lively event, withthe clinic nurse teaching the women through song anddance.

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1103752753959825572004-12-22T21:59:00.000Z2004-12-22T21:59:13.960Z

After we'd finished filming one day the nurses draggedus along to visit the chief in a neighbouring village. We weren't really sure why, until we got there, whenit became apparent that the chief wanted us to takephotos of him, his two wives and his enormous extendedfamily. It's funny that even though we tell them thatit might be hard for us to get photos back to them,people are still desperate to

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1103752486018586382004-12-22T21:54:00.000Z2004-12-22T21:54:46.016Z

Here in Kambia there are very few signs that Christmasis just days away. Ironically the only place withChristmas decorations is Hassan's shop. It doesn'tseem to matter that he's not even Christian, just agood excuse for a bit of fun. He's even managed tofind a mini plastic Christmas tree, which he's proudlydisplayed on top of a few crates of coke. We werevisited by a few merry carol singers from

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1102462091747132242004-12-07T23:28:00.000Z2004-12-07T23:28:11.746Z

Henry (centre) is a volunteer nurse at the hospital.He translated for us from English to Krio when we werefilming his pregnant neighbour and we took this photoof him and his family. His wife is a trainedTraditional Birth Attendant (TBA) who also works as avolunteer at the hospital. Volunteers are not on theofficial government payroll, but are paid a littlewhen there is any money around from

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1102461954406176432004-12-07T23:25:00.000Z2004-12-07T23:25:54.406Z

A busy morning at one of the clinics. These mothershave brought their children to be vaccinated.

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1102461170318050082004-12-07T23:12:00.000Z2004-12-07T23:12:50.316Z

Don't we all!

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1102460675424788472004-12-07T23:04:00.000Z2004-12-07T23:04:35.426Z

Some of the health messages used at the clinics arequite amusing. This one doesn't leave any doubt as towhat it's about. The message above it read:Diarrhoea (Run Belleh) is the passing of more thanthree watery stools per day and it can kill.Take note!

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1102023044880629572004-12-02T21:30:00.000Z2004-12-02T21:30:44.880Z

Peter (in the middle) with Ibrahim Bangura andHassanatu Bah, students from Kolenten Secondary Schoolin Kambia. Ibrahim and Hassanatu are participating inour photo project. Over the next couple of weeks theywill use cameras to document their daily life inKambia town.

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1102022735764446112004-12-02T21:25:00.000Z2004-12-02T21:25:35.763Z

Alice (left) interviews Kadiatu Bangura who ispregnant for the second time. On Thursday she came tothe hospital in Kambia for ante-natal check-up. Shewalked three miles on her own to reach the hospital.

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1101851385016167472004-11-30T21:49:00.000Z2004-11-30T21:49:45.016Z

Rosalin Originally uploaded by peterkrause. Rosalin - toughest lady in Kambia.

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1101848571955544272004-11-30T21:01:00.000Z2004-11-30T21:02:51.956Z

It was a long and bumpy ride, but certainly worth it. On Monday, we did a grande tour into the northern part of Kambia district. It's part of our initial research here, where we are visiting different clinics and villages to find a good location for the film project. We were on the road with Doctor Taki, a Sierra Leonan doctor, who works for an EU-funded programme in Kambia, and his driver. They

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1101848417609013492004-11-30T20:54:00.000Z2004-11-30T21:00:17.610Z

We drove from Freetown to Kambia on Monday with MSF; 5 hot, sweaty hours in the back of a 4WD with boxes of provisions and a boy with his leg in plaster. He was getting a lift back to Makeni after being treated at the Italian Emergency hospital in Freetown. At first the road north was in good condition, on a par with European roads, but after about an hour's driving it turned into dirt track,

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1101046774986487122004-11-21T14:18:00.000Z2004-11-21T14:19:34.986Z

It's Saturday and day seven in Freetown. Since our first report from here, we have worked quite a bit to get on with our project. We've been busy going to meetings, reading reports and solving practical matters before our departure to Kambia. We will go "up country", as they say here, on Monday. MSF (Doctors Without Borders) have been kind enough to offer us a lift on the bumpy road. For those

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1100700523158696622004-11-17T14:05:00.000Z2004-11-17T14:08:43.156Z

For further information on our maternal health project and the Kambia Hospital Appeal (KHA), please go to www.kambiahospital.org.uk

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1100627048299859312004-11-16T17:28:00.000Z2004-11-16T17:44:08.300Z

The flight over was pretty amusing from the start. First there was the woman in the seat in front who came in wearing not one, but three black hats, one on top of the other and then began to shove everyone else's luggage out the way to fit in her enormous bag of plastic boxes. Then we were delayed for an hour as there were 2 extra people on board who weren't supposed to be, so they had to be got

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1100502282915498222004-11-15T07:04:00.001Z2004-11-15T07:18:02.803Z

On Monday, the 15th November 2004, we will be heading out to West Africa to carry out a film and a school project in Kambia district of Sierra Leone. Our main focus will be a film about maternal health. Whilst there is a new hospital and 30 peripheral health units in Kambia, women continue to die or become ill in pregnancy and childbirth because they do not seek medical advice. We will meet

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1100502316492249132004-11-15T07:04:00.000Z2004-11-15T07:05:16.493Z

10pm Sunday night. Our bags are packed and all's ready for our trip. We're off early in the morning to get the bus from Cheltenham to Gatwick airport. The flight to Freetown leaves at 3 and we should be there by 10 tomorrow night. Apparently it's a nice flight with free booze and plenty of legroom. We hope to be met by a Sierra Leonean friend of a friend who has promised to book us into a

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1100470153338256072004-11-14T22:08:00.000Z2004-11-14T22:19:42.423Z

We are not yet able to share with you our own photos from Kambia, but here's something that is just as good. A couple of weeks back, Alice's parents, Richard and Joey Kerr-Wilson, went to Kambia to work at the hospital and visit schools in the area. Please find below a small selection of their pics - just to give you an idea about the place we're heading to.

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1100469652762252802004-11-14T22:00:00.000Z2004-11-14T22:00:52.763Z

This woman is expecting her fifth child and is benefitting from pre-natal care at the hospital. We hope that our film will encourage other pregnant women to use medical services in Kambia district.

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1100469451081874232004-11-14T21:57:00.000Z2004-11-14T21:57:31.080Z

This is one of the sons of the women in the picture above with his friend. They are sitting in the house we're going to be living in, visiting Joey. They're really enjoying using the nice pencils she brought with her and having a drink of coke. Whilst in Kambia we're going to be setting up a link between the Kambia District Education Committee (KDEC) primary school, and Beech Green primary

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8931985.post-1100390076238870642004-11-13T23:54:00.000Z2004-11-13T23:54:36.236Z

Here's the house, where we will be living. Though you can't see it on this picture, it is actually located in the hospital compound next to staff houses and guest houses, where patients and their families live. Looking forward to frequent visits from the neighbours and cold drinks on the veranda!

Alice and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06884128650045178628noreply@blogger.com0