A Drop in the Ocean
When Doctors without Borders, the humanitarian medical aid agency, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999, Dr. Claudette Picard was in Liberia. Her first mission with the agency had begun in this small country of West Africa six years before. In the meantime, she had practised medicine in other wartorn countries such as Zaire and Afghanistan, always in extremely hazardous conditions. What impels women and men like Dr. Picard to leave their easy lives behind and go off to do what little they can to alleviate human suffering? Whatever the motivation, the doctors are in the field, providing medical care …
When Doctors without Borders, the humanitarian medical aid agency, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999, Dr. Claudette Picard was in Liberia. Her first mission with the agency had begun in this small country of West Africa six years before. In the meantime, she had practised medicine in other wartorn countries such as Zaire and Afghanistan, always in extremely hazardous conditions.
What impels women and men like Dr. Picard to leave their easy lives behind and go off to do what little they can to alleviate human suffering? Whatever the motivation, the doctors are in the field, providing medical care and helping to draw attention to distant places often forgotten by the world's media. Places like Harper, a small town in Liberia devastated by a decade of civil war. This is where we follow Dr. Picard on her rounds. With her halting English, her comforting presence and a few scarce drugs, she sometimes manages to do the impossible. But not always...
Some subtitles.
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participationClaudette Picard
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researchLise Éthier
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scriptLise Éthier
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directionLise Éthier
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cameraJorge MartinhoFrançois Vincelette
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location soundSerge BouvierDiane Carrière
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editingHélène Girard
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production assistantRyofa Chung
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sound editingLeopoldo Gutierrez
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foleyLise Wedlock
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original musicYves Chamberland
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re-recordingJean Paul VialardShelley Craig
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music recordingStudio M. Dusty
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administrationColette BrodeurDenise DesLauriers
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administration assistantDany DelpyJosée TrudelMarie-Christine GuitéBrigitte Sénéchal
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technical coordinationRichard ClicheJean-François Laprise
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distribution officerJoanne Carrière
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online editingSylvain Desbiens
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titlesNFB Postproduction Image Service
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translationClaude Dionne
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subtitlesClaude Dionne
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assistant to the producerChristiane GermainJohanne Bergeron
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producerYves Bisaillon
Warnings: Trigger warning – sick/dying patients
Lesson Launcher/Inquiry Questions: This documentary follows Canadian doctor Claudette Picard as she works at health clinics run by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontieres in Liberia during a civil war. Students can benefit from discussion, debate, essay writing or preparing presentations after viewing this video. What are some of the challenges faced by the Doctors Without Borders team at work and personally? Communication issues were a problem in 2001; is that still the case today? The clinics in this documentary have very little in terms of equipment and testing. How does this compare to health care in Canada? What action can Canadians take to assist with health care in developing or war-torn countries? The doctors and filmmakers weigh the risk involved in working in parts of the world where conflict takes place. Are there other situations of risk for filmmakers? Is the work of Doctors Without Borders a drop in the ocean?
More educational content
A Drop in the Ocean, Lise Éthier, provided by the National Film Board of Canada