In an innovative approach to healthcare, Sunu Reew Medical Mission has collaborated with the Silicon Valley African Film Festival (SVAFF) to curate a ‘Celebration of The Arts and Culture’ event during the medical mission to provide a safe space where culture and digital story telling converge with healthcare.
This is Sunu Reew’s third medical mission in The Gambia and it includes hospital rounds and university lectures, a community health fair, a dinner on Valentine’s Day, and a cinema café. While Sunu Reew is established to contribute to bridging the gap in the provision of healthcare services in The Gambia, SVAFF , San Jose, California founded by Mr Chike Nwoffiah is a platform that celebrates culture and cinema. He created this platform which is in its 16th year because he wanted to showcase the authenticity of Africa by controlling the narrative. His theme is’ Africa through African lenses’
Ms Victoria Lissong Richards-Ohwotu, founder of Sunu Reew Medical Mission, said the collaboration between the two organisations is geared towards creating better understanding between the clinician and the people they treat’ He believed that listening to the patient’s story about whatever health concerns they have will lead to better diagnosis and treatment outcomes within various communities in The Gambia. This showcases the power of story telling within the medical community and the ability to draw from the African culture of story telling
Ms Victoria founded Sunu Reew in 2021 after helplessly watching her mother’s health deteriorate from undiagnosed dementia. “I decided to establish an organisation with the sole mission of contributing to addressing the critical health challenges in the country,” she said in an exclusive interview with this medium. “As a Gambian, I want to contribute to the development of the country that is why I named the organisation Sunu Reew.” Sunu Reew means ‘our country’ in Wollof.
A healthcare specialist herself, Ms Victoria is from a family of medical professionals who held prominent positions at the Gambia’s main referral hospital, the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital. Dr. Joseph Richards, her grandfather, was one of the first trained surgeons in The Gambia.
Dilating on the upcoming events, Sunu Reew founder explained that the 2025 Community Health Fair will provide free screening for hypertension and diabetes. People that are found to be vulnerable will be given schedules for follow-up care. The Fair will also include educative sessions on preventative approaches, disease management, and curative protocol.
The Hospital rounds and University lectures, Ms Victoria said, will serve as an avenue for the clinicians of Sunu Reew to engage in collaborative bidirectional treatments with patients while training staff and other personnel, including students.
Furthermore, as part of the mission, Sunu Reew is organising a Valentine’s Day dinner to celebrate harmony, empathy, gratitude, and love of humanity. The meal for the dinner will be provided by a renowned Gambian chef, Buba Yarbo.
Alongside these activities, Sunu Reew is collaborating with SVAFF to showcase the power of storytelling in medical treatment outcomes. SVAFF cultural promotes literacy through post-screening dialogues and community digital story telling with the goal of opening up thought provoking dialogues and stimulating conversations.
She further explained that as part of the celebration of Arts and cultural event, prominent figures who have made significant impact in the industry will be recognised and honoured.
The legacy of Njogu Touray, one of Gambia’s best-known and most respected artists, will be honoured. He is a gifted painter whose artistic journey transports viewers into a realm of emotion, symbolism, and storytelling.
Also, Daniel Laemouahuma Jatta, a Jola scholar and musician from Mandinary be celebrated. He pioneered the research and documentation of the akonting.
A Malian film director, extraordinaire, Souleymane Cissé, who is regarded as of Africa’s premier directors, will also be recognised. He is considered to be legend and his movie Yeleen has been critically acclaimed as the best films to have come out of Africa.
