Shout Gladi Gladi

In Africa, where the maternal mortality rate is high, Scottish philanthropist Ann Gloag is working to make a change. Narrated by Meryl Streep, Shout Gladi Gladi begins in Sierra Leone with a look at Nurse Ami, who looks after mothers in overcrowded Kroo Bay, a poor area where malaria, malnutrition, and drug abuse run rampant (the drug of choice is brown-brown, a mixture of cocaine and gun powder). From there, co-directors Adam Friedman and Iain Kennedy move on to Gloag, a former nurse who founded the Fistula Foundation, which oversees the Aberdeen Women's Center that employs Nurse Ami. Obstetric fistula, Gloag explains, results from rape and improper care, including lack of access to surgical options. Over two million women worldwide suffer from the condition, which—says Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka—also leads to social stigma, since women find the leakage hard to control due to a scarcity of available products for dealing with incontinence. The filmmakers also incorporate the stories of patients, including 12-year-old Mary and 70-year-old Vanesia, the latter suffering for 40 years before an operation restored her health and good humor. Unfortunately, Mary proves insufficiently mature for the operation, so doctors postpone it (an epilogue notes a successful outcome). Philanthropist Melinda Gates also talks about vocational training to help ensure that patients are able to provide for themselves after treatment. The title comes from the Gladi Gladi celebration in which women participate after surgery. Turning the spotlight on a heartbreaking medical crisis, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)