“Action!”: Stories from Ghana

Our second patient for the film, Mabila, also makes hats for the local collective. She’s had lymphoedema since she was a girl. The LF parasite damages the body’s lymph system. This means that lymphatic fluid isn’t carried away and also affects patients’ immune response. Just a tiny scratch or cut on an affected arm or leg causes an attack with sudden swelling, throbbing pain and fever.

But because Mabila has been following Martin’s training – wearing shoes and keeping her leg scrupulously clean and elevated – she hasn’t had an attack for some time. This means that she can even dance, as she demonstrates with Josh.

Mabila’s mobility means that we can meet her in Bolgatanga to film her shopping for materials to make more hats. This involves another pre-dawn start but it’s worth it to witness the market waking up with vendors laying out their pots, pans and a wide selection of different reeds used to make hats, baskets and even coffins.

On our return to Bongo, Mabila takes us to her local water pump and we take her photo under one of the impressive baobab trees that patrol the landscape.

We spend the rest of the day filming Martin – following him on his motorbike with a drone as we drive behind. He is a slow, thoughtful speaker and gives us a great interview at the local reservoir at sunset. He clearly cares a lot about his patients and he gives us some amazing soundbites, which can be used in the final film.

We just have time to film our last patient, Akambole, selling her vegetables at the side of the road. Her husband had hydrocele but has now recovered following surgery. Martin diagnosed her condition early and because she is managing it well, her leg is barely swollen – a testament to Sightsavers’ work.

As the sun sets, we’re surrounded by children. Everyone’s trying to get on camera. The only person with no interest in our circus is Akambole’s one-year-old daughter, who just wants to sit in her cardboard box.

Back at the hotel, in between a hundred other jobs, Gilbert is trying to track down our bird. Has anyone had it for dinner? Is ‘fowl’ play afoot?

On our final morning, we sacrifice a visit to the women’s hat-making collective to pick up some extra shots. Gareth and Josh have become obsessed with trying to film one of the mosquitoes that spread LF outside Martin’s house, which has involved patrolling their bathrooms with a large jar borrowed from the hotel.

I feel a little sorry for the dead insects as Gilbert checks to make sure they’re the right species and Josh carefully positions them onto a leaf with tweezers. After they lose their initial stock in the morning breeze, Josh returns from Martin’s bathroom, proudly displaying more mosquito trophies, and we finally wrap up filming.

It’s a hot and bumpy three-hour drive to catch our return flight to Accra. At the airport Gilbert gleefully flourishes a foil box packed with guinea fowl meat. Much to his disappointment, Josh and Gareth are not enthusiastic. We wrap it in a plastic bag and Gilbert tucks the prize into his suitcase, he’s earned it.

Watch the BBC StoryWorks film ‘Martin’s story’ below.