GRAPHIC NOVEL: Motherhood in Crisis, Sierra Leone

In the West African nation of Sierra Leone, one in 10 women die during childbirth. Healthcare systems are fragile – further strained by Ebola and now COVID-19 – and access to basic treatment is often limited.

The journeys that pregnant women take to reach healthcare provision can be long and traumatic. In this comic series, four women share their stories of hardship and survival in a country where falling pregnant means risking death.

READ CHAPTER 1: Birth in my village – Memunatu’s story
In Sierra Leone’s rural areas, far from hospital treatment, the majority of women and girls give birth at home. If complications arise the consequences can be life-altering.

READ CHAPTER 2: My stolen future – Heela’s story
For many school girls in Sierra Leone, pregnancy means the end of formal schooling and an uncertain future.

READ CHAPTER 3: The devil at my door – Kadiatu’s story
In Sierra Leone, trust in healthcare facilities is low and traditional medicine can provide a cheaper alternative. This can be deadly for mothers and their children.

READ CHAPTER 4: My punishment – Tetteh’s story
In Sierra Leone, laws are vague, poorly defined and disproportionately affect women. When Tetteh arrived in prison she was 3 months pregnant.

LINK TO CHAPTER SELECTION VIA ALJAZEERA ENGLISH

“The Virtual Forest”. Using Virtual Reality to influence decision makers in Finland.

Productions, Writing

Designed to inform & influence Finnish policy makers, the “Virtual Forest” explores how current Forestry Management strategies are contributing towards climate breakdown. The 6 minute experience, led by the voice of Timo Vesala – Professor of Meteorology at the University of Helsinki, guides users through a hyper-real forest environment, combining verified science, creativity and domestic politics in one powerful story.

Incorporating immersive information visualisation, this experience allows users to travel forward in time to reveal future forests. The causes & symptoms of Climate Change has failed to dominate the political agenda in Finland. This experience holds a microscope to this issue.

Role: Writer, Researcher, Producer & Project Manager.

You can watch the 360 degrees video rendering of the experience below:

COMIC: Migrants on the Margins in Harare (Zimbabwe)

Productions

Migrants on the margins, is a three year project involving researchers from UK universities, international research partners and Graphic Novella specialists – Positive Negatives. The project focuses on the vulnerability and opportunities of migrants in some of the world’s most pressured cities, including Colombo (Sri Lanka), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Harare (Zimbabwe) and Hargeisa (Somaliland).

UPDATE: In October 2019, the Migrants on the margins resources were awarded the 4-star award, in the Curriculum Impact category, of the Teach Secondary 2019 Awards.

DETAIL:

In January-February 2018, I was commissioned by Positive Negatives to travel to Harare to document the experiences of people living in informal settlements across the city. Working in line with the Positive Negatives methodology, I interviewed a number of people who shared a range of rich stories. A selection of these stories were developed into a final comic.

Below you can find the finished comic and a series of photos from the trip, including: travels to Hopley and Porta Farm, script development exercises and discussions with local artists.

TAWANDA’S STORY: