A Walk to Beautiful

The ABC in Australia shows some remarkable documentaries. I have written about the Merry Makers some time ago. Last weekend the ABC program Four Corners screened A Walk to Beautiful. Shortly after writing my post on dolphins, sharks and dead people I sat down to watch the documentary.

Source: ABC Four Corners’ website
The Four Corner’s website notes that:

It’s been 50 years since an idealistic young Sydney couple, Catherine and Reginald Hamlin, spotted an ad for doctors to go to Africa, then took a punt. Little did they know they were about to make the world a far, far better place.

The program discusses how Catherine Hamlin works with women who have obstetric fistula as a result of obstructed labour. The documentary introduces a number of women amongst the thousands treated at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital each year. All these women “have been ostracised by their husbands and communities. Left untreated, they face a lifetime of shame and rejection.”
The program will be available for a short time on the ABC’s iView. I thought the didactic content of the program was enormously powerful. It put my thinking about networked communities into sharp focus.
What if we exist to help and support each other? Imagine how powerful such a community could be.
Postscript
On 9 May 2009 the ABC reported the 50th anniversary of Catherine Hamill’s work in Ethiopia. The ABC reported the realisation of Dr Hamill’s dream to have a Midwifery School in Ethiopia.
r248736_1019519 Photo source: ABC

4 COMMENTS

  1. Hi Keith – I think there is a difference between a network and a community. A community is also a network, but a network is not always a community. A community requires a level of commitment and responsibility that does not necessarily occur in a network. For me this course has opened my eyes to the possibilities for making extensive connections and for tapping into those connections for information, but from my own experience to date (and I’m here to learn, so I might change my mind) learning in a community is more powerful.

  2. Yes, I agree Jenny. Perhaps we are involved in networks and are committed to communities?
    Thank you for making time to post a comment.
    Keith

  3. I think the difference between a network and a community is a critical point and is representative of many assumptions made in both web and ‘live’ environments.
    To me the essence is people. Networks are structures. Communities are networks with people. Connections are latent until people use them to create collaborations.
    My question is, what is the relative importance of a network and the people who can turn that into a community?

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