Theatre from Kéké

In May, a theatre group from Kéké (a lost village near Koumbri) has been invited for the story telling evening at the library. Their classics are sensitization plays as 'Conflicts between farmers and cattle herders', 'Why school is important' and 'How to limit the size of my family'. Bibir's programme of Communitarian health wanted to use one of their plays for their sessions in the villages. As it is impossible to mobilize the whole theatre group all the time, we decided to film their performances.

Ben, Bibir's Irish doctor turned into a movie director. Together with Ashley (British sound engineer) and Razack (the I-want-to-learn-everything-boy) the scene was set on Friday. Mono micros have been connected to our home-and-garden camera and the library turned into a real film set. Some impressions.

The set-up

At the wall, Salif (Bibir's driver).
Ashley is eating French fries and drinking coke.
Razack is connecting cables.

The crew

The story

Our daughter bi-peelga (literally: 'the white girl'; Chinese importations do not contain black dolls), is ill. That's the problem. And mum announces the bad news to dad. Dad says they have to go and see the marabou.

The marabou

The marabou does some scary things with kauris and a whip to chase the evil spirits out of the child's body. Dad gives him some paper money. But bi-peelga doesn't get better and the family has to return to the marabou. Again dad gives him money. And still bi-peelga doesn't get better.

White shirt

Eventually, dad is being persuaded by one of his friends to go to the village dispensary. There, a man in a white shirt is taking care of the ill. He's not a doctor, but a nurse (Burkina can only dream of having doctors in the villages). The actor playing the part of the nurse is very glad to use Ben's real stethoscope.

At the dispensary

The nurse diagnoses malaria and says that the girl will get better with a simple quinine cure. The 'white shirt solution' appears to be much cheaper than the tinkering of the marabou. The story's lesson: when you're ill, go to the dispensary.