Tonight on KQED: "Lumo"A young woman struggles to heal from the aftereffects of a traumatic rape in Lumo, a moving documentary about a tragically common occurrence in the Congo, "where rape is used as a weapon of war." In Lumo's case, she develops a fistula (which makes her incontinent) and may never be able to achieve her dream of being a mother -- plus, her family shuns her. Fortunately, she's welcomed into a hospital for rape survivors, staffed by kindly doctors and counselors, and populated by other women who've been through similar traumas. There's hope in recovery -- but as the film points out, the horrors of violence against women in unstable nations is an ongoing, urgent problem.
Lumo airs tonight as part of the P.O.V. series on KQED Channel 9 at 11 p.m. For more information about a local organization working to help women like the film's subjects, visit the web site for the International Pediatric Outreach Project.
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Comments (1)
What I really loved about this film, as mentioned by one of the directors interviewed at the end of the showing of LUMO, was the idea of these women healing each other. Once the women are physically healed, they are able to work on psychological or spiritual healing. In turn, they could possibly be healing the Congo from within.
I would encourage anyone interested in learning more about how they can help to check out the website at healafrica.org. In addition to the fistula repair program, they have a cooperative training program with pediatric MDs from UCSF (IPOP). Much good work is being done to assist the Congolese people to create their own sustainable infrastructure. Check it out!
Posted by jennifer | September 20, 2007 10:15 PM