PPF creates awareness about healthcare through film, Living Funeral

Orode Ryan-Okpu

ADA DIKE
As the saying goes: “Health well spent is wealth,” that is why the need for everyone to take care of their health should be their top priority especially, these days cancer is killing a lot of people.

Liz Ameye

According to World Health Organisation (WHO) report in 2010, cervical cancer kills one woman in every two minutes worldwide and kills a Nigerian woman every one hour. In Nigeria, about 10,000 cancer deaths are recorded every year while 250,000 new cases are recorded annually.

It is on this note that some concerned Nigerians including Mrs. Orode Ryan-Okpu have continued to deny themselves some comforts and travelled to many parts of Nigeria to create awareness and sensitise women on the need to live a healthy life.

As part of its numerous activities, Pink Pearl Foundation (PPF), a charity organisation set up in 2007 to create awareness for breast and cervical cancer for women, last year, premiered Living Funeral, a film which captures the life of a breast cancer patient. 
Directed by a prolific Nigerian film maker, Udoka Oyeka, the founder of Pink Pearl Foundation, Mrs. Orode Ryan-Okpu is the executive producer of the film which was premiered at Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos on Ocober 27, 2013 and in Asaba, Delta State on December 3, 2013.

The film explores a story of a young, beautiful girl, Yvette (Stephanie Wilson) who’s diagnosed of having cancer of the breast, though responding to treatment has few weeks to live.

Viewers are taken on her incredible journey of hope, bravery and despair told through the eyes of the lead character’s sister (Wilson) and her hard-hearted mother, who refuses to come to terms with her daughter’s illness. To help her family deal with their grief, Yvette holds a mock funeral while still alive.

Yvette becomes so emotional when she recalls the good days and her closeness with her family members. “I miss the boredom, the freedom and the might of the world,” Yvette said.

She watches her mother, Mrs. Dakup (Liz Ameye) weep each day as clock ticks. It is painful for parents to see their daughter dying gradually. “Do you know what it feels like seeing your coffin? Love people while you can,” said Mrs. Dakup.

The less than 30 minutes’ film received a resounding applause at the end of its screening. It indeed raised a confidence for a family to deal with the pain of losing someone through cancer.

Speaking to some newsmen at her office in Lagos last week, the producer of Living Funeral and Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Pink Pearl Foundation, Mrs. Orode Ryan-Okpu, said the film was dedicated to creating awareness about breast cancer and to sensitise the public to embrace early pretention because when one person is affected by cancer, it will psychologically affect her family members and the society at large.

Oyeka

“Living Funeral is evidence to the organization’s dedication to increase public awareness through education about symptoms, prevention, diseases processes and the importance of regular examination for early detection of breast and cervical cancer.

“The film, which was written by Akpo Kegho, directed by Udoka Oyeka and produced by my humble self, aims to give hope to breast cancer patients. It has a very emotional story which after reading the script many times, I decided to produce it based on its content. Full of intrigues and suspense, the film which is on digital video disk (DVD), will soon be aired in many television stations across Nigeria, cable television and YouTube,” said Ryan-Okpu.

Speaking further, the daughter of Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan said the film aims to create more awareness and raise more focus on prevention of breast and cervical cancer and adds: “When someone is mentally stable, it helps in healing process.

“Initially, we started the foundation by creating awareness for only breast cancer but realised that cervical cancer is another cancer that affects Nigerian women. In almost seven years, Pink Pearl Foundation has been able to screen over 7,000 women for free, across Nigeria including Edo, Cross Rivers, Lagos, Abia and Delta States, respectively. In March 2013, Pink Pearl Foundation visited Kumbo, Cameroon; over 160 women were screened for free.

“We have been able to do more than 60 events which include screenings and rallies, walks, university campaigns, tours, market campaigns, cycling and so on.  Some years ago, 44 women were diagnosed with lumps. We also had the case of some ladies who had cancer and needed assistance to commence treatment. We handled that as well. We had the Pink Ride - a bicycle ride from Asaba to Benin and Warri. We have done quite a lot of events in seven years.

“In 2012, we started with university campaign in four schools where we organised seminars, screenings and so on. We also went to a mosque in Ogba, Lagos. We did not concentrate on breast and cervical cancer alone but started another project in 2012 by giving out new and fairly-used clothes, shoes, food items and so on to the less privileged. We are committed towards saving the lives of Nigerian women, through various awareness campaigns and provision of high-quality breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services for women who are undeserved.

“Every year at Pink Pearl Foundation, we make it a point to assess our past engagements, establishing a scorecard on the things we did well and where we need to improve or exert more energy,” she said.

The 24-year-old lady and mother a beautiful one and half years old girl stressed that one of the challenges she is facing in ensuring that breast and cervical cancers are curbed is resistance by both educated and uneducated women who shy away from being screened.

She revealed that whenever they go out to screen women, most of them will refuse to be screened and say: “God forbid! I cannot have breast cancer.” According to her, resistance sometimes discourages her, but being what she decided to dedicate her life to do, she always summons courage and pleads with them from time to time to turn up for free screening and treatment.

The director of Living Funeral, Udoka Oyeka, who produces socially inclined films such as Down & Out, said he met Mrs. Ryan Okpu several years ago. “The success of the film which was more about using my craft to sensitise people about breast cancer was a fulfilled journey,” he said.

Also speaking, one of the Nollywood beautiful actresses, Liz Ameye, said she decided to act in the movie best on the storyline.

Formerly known as Liz Benson, Ameye who advised the media to remove Benson from her name and address her Liz Ameye because she is formally married that’s why she changed her name, said that the script was striking unlike some scripts she had come across some years ago.

“It took me time to read and understand the script. The story was interesting with a sense of suspense,” Ameye said.

On the impact of the film on her life, she said she always looks for a story that has a depth and something that creates an enlargement of understanding. “This was what I saw when I was invited to participate in the project. I once lost a family friend through breast cancer so the film is dear to me.”

She advised everyone to check their breasts on a regular basis.

The evangelist corrected the notion that she was away from acting in movies for some years and revealed that as a minister of God, she still acts to sensitise the public on issues like health, morals, good and righteous living and added that she recently acted as a nurse in a movie ‘Dry’ which deals with child marriage and its consequences, produced by her fellow actress, Mrs. Stephanie Okereke-Linus.

 A couple of years ago, the amiable actress who has featured in more than 40 movies including: Glamour Girls, Wisdom and Riches, Inheritance, Bridge-Stone, Diamond Ring and Political Control become a Christian evangelist.

She is happily married to Bishop Great Ameye of the Freedom Assembly in Jesse, Ethiope Local Government Area of Delta State.

Within a short period of time after its premiere, Living Funeral has been nominated for eight awards at the annual AfricaMagic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCAs). The short, but touching film has been shortlisted in eight of the 27 categories and they include: Best Movie 2013 (Orode Ryan-Okpu and Udoka Oyeka); Best Movie-Drama (Orode Ryan-Okpu and Udoka Oyeka); Best Movie Director (Udoka Oyeka); Best Actress in a Drama (Stephanie Wilson); Best Supporting Actress in a Drama (Liz Ameye). Others include: Best Writer-Drama (Akpor Kagho); Best Cinematographer (Idhebor Kagho); and Best Lighting Designer (Godwin Daniel).

According to the organizers, viewers have the power to select the winner by voting via SMS or online at www.amvcaawards.dstv.com. The winners in the other technically focused categories will be selected by an expert panel of judges. General public can vote for Liz Benson (Ameye) as the Best Supporting Actress in a Drama, by texting the code in bracket (4C) to: +2783142100415; Stephanie Wilson as the Best Actress Living Funeral, by texting the code in bracket (3A) to: +2783142100415 or visit the link – www.amvcaawards.com/nomineeslist to vote in other categories.

The award ceremony would hold on Saturday, March 8, 2014 to celebrate all who have contributed to Africa’s film-making industry over the last 12 months.

The announcement was made by AfricaMagic representatives (Vimbai Mutinhiri and Lawrence Maleka) during its 10^th Anniversary celebration event at the Landmark Village in Victoria Island, Lagos.