“Reaching the Hard to Reach” from Malaysia bound for first international community film-festival
KUALA LUMPUR, 8 September 2006 – A mini-documentary produced by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which features Malaysia’s successful Sarawak Village Health Promoters (VHP) Program will be screened at the first International Community Film Festival in Northampton, England from 15 to 17 September 2006. Titled “Reaching the Hard to Reach”, the documentary highlights how innovative and simple ideas can be turned into beneficial programs to reach invisible and excluded children and their families. It is made by Malaysia’s young filmmaking duo Ahmad Yazid and Lydia Lubon. “We are thrilled that this documentary will reach a global audience. UNICEF chose to make a documentary about this particular Government program because we felt it was an important story to tell and others would be inspired by it. For it be screened at an international film festival certainly helps us to meet our objective”, said Gaye Phillips, UNICEF Representative to Malaysia. According to Phillips, the Program is also highlighted in UNICEF’s global website as well as UNICEF’s State of The World’s Children Report for 2006, as a best practice example to provide health care services for hard to reach children living in remote areas. Healthcare at the doorstep “Reaching the Hard to Reach” introduces the Sarawak Village Health Promoters Program through the eyes of a twenty-seven year old Iban mother, Umba anak Kujat who lives in a longhouse deep in the heart of Sarawak’s primary rainforests, along the banks of the Rejang River. Her nearest health facility is in the bustling town of Kapit, at least an hour away by speedboat. Thankfully for Umba and her family, basic health care services are available right at her longhouse doorstep thanks to the Village Health Promoters. The Sarawak Village Health Promoters Program which has been carried out since the early 1980s helps improve the health and wellbeing of indigenous people in Malaysia, through community empowerment and community participation. Village Health Promoters or VHPs, are individuals from remote villages, who are trained by Government hospital staff, to bring basic health care awareness back to their own community members. Today, there are more than 2,500 trained and dedicated VHPs currently in service to their communities. According to the Ministry of Health, the VHP program reaches nearly 2,000 villages in the state of Sarawak, benefiting over 300,000 people. The fifteen-minute documentary is shot in Belikau Longhouse, Pulau Raya and Kuching and is directed, edited and written by Lydia Lubon and Ahmad Yazid. A director and film editor in the industry since the tender age of 9, Yazid is not only a community filmmaker, but he also directs commercial videos including short films and corporate videos. Over the past three years, both Yazid and Lubon have been producing documentaries together, all of which feature social themes which focus on education, HIV/AIDS and indigenous communities. Excellent film-making qualities Festival director Dr Ian McCormick highlighted that the films selected for screening at the inaugural community film festival are all unique: "The emphasis from the start has been on films made by local people that record life in their community. We were looking for films with excellent film-making qualities as well as a strong message that is most effectively delivered”. The 2006 International Community Film Festival received more than 100 entries from 33 countries from Asia, Europe and Africa. However, only 44 films are selected for screening at the Festival. Aside from “Reaching the Hard to Reach” from Malaysia, the Festival will also screen four other films from the East Asia and Pacific region: two from Vietnam; and one each from the Philippines and Australia. “I feel truly blessed and grateful to UNICEF for the opportunity to create a socially conscious film about a great Government program. As a Malaysian filmmaker, it is incredibly rewarding to be able to give back to my community through film,” said Lubon whose father is Iban. According to Phillips, UNICEF is not only a firm believer in community-based programs, like the VHP program, and community self reliance but also supports opportunities that give young people a platform to participate and share their talent. “We’re very proud that two young Malaysian filmmakers were involved in this project. We believe in engaging young people and in supporting them to apply their talents towards a good cause. There is a lot that young people can contribute if only we choose to give them the chance,” added Phillips.
Village Health Promoters Related Links 6 April 2006: 26 May 2006: 8 September 2006: UNICEF Malaysia - Child Protection Program Malaysia - Ministry of Health, Family Health Development Division |
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