We’re in Southeastern Cameroon, in the heart of the tropical jungle and far from any city life. There is no electrical grid, no running water, and no telephones here. But there is a working hospital – the only worthwhile hospital in a 100-mile radius, built in a part of the village called Dounoukefio. In the local dialect, it means, “Sit here and wait for death.” The fate of this hospital is in the hand of one woman: Sister Genevieve.
Sister Genevieve arrived in Africa thirty years ago. She’s been fighting to keep her bush hospital alive since 1995. With the help of her nurse Felix and a doctor she had hired in the Central African Republic, she treats the many patients who come to Dounoukefio, some who have traveled from afar. Their small operating room functions well and offers hugely beneficial services to a population that would never have the means to treat themselves if it weren’t for the presence of this medical team.
Sister Genevieve is unrelentless in her mission to help the local population. She goes on vaccination campaigns to isolated villages, stretching as far as 50 miles away. Helping her get through the dirt roads, turned to mud during the wet season, is a new 4 x 4 vehicle, which was donated by French parishioners. Besides the Baka pygmies and logging companies who populate this part of Africa, the only people still present here are not NGO or charitable organizations, but missionaries.
“A Day in Dounoukefio” is a film that shares with us the lives of the hospital’s team, their challenges, their daily “miracles” and their ever-lasting commitment to helping heal those who need it the most.
Genre: History & Society, Africa, Health & Science, Nature & Wildlife, Documentary
Director: Jean-Daniel Bécache
Producers: Big Bang Films
Year: 2011
Length: 52 minutes
Languages: English, French
Partners: CNC (French Film Board)
Broadcasters: KTO, TV5 Monde
English
Français