ALIMA - Bridges of Stories
With roots in Dakar, Senegal, ALIMA is redefining humanitarian care across sub-Saharan Africa, championing the health of the most vulnerable. Since 2009, ALIMA has transformed maternal healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa, treating over 13 million people across 15 countries, with a focus on the mothers and children most vulnerable to conflict, displacement, and crises. Their recent campaign, “Ode to Strangers," was inspired by stories of strangers stepping in to help, exemplifying that acts of compassion can bridge distances and save lives, and its visual storytelling, brought to life by artist Rohan Eason’s raw, emotive illustrations, emphasizes urgency and humanity, ensuring that these powerful narratives resonate with audiences. Read on to hear more from Charlie Kunzer of ALIMA USA and Rohan Eason.
Where are you based?
Charlie Kunzer: ALIMA (the Alliance for International Medical Action) is based in Dakar, Senegal. ALIMA is a locally-led medical humanitarian organization transforming health conditions with innovative solutions. We work primarily in sub-Saharan Africa. I am based in New York because I lead efforts to build support and visibility for ALIMA in the U.S.
Rohan Eason: I’m based in London. Tottenham, North London to be precise.
What inspired the creation of your new campaign “Ode to Strangers?”
Charlie: ALIMA has been providing quality health care in sub-Saharan Africa since 2009. We have treated over 13 million people in 15 countries, and many of our patients are mothers and children who disproportionately are affected by displacement, conflict, and other crises. Every mother deserves to give birth safely, and with the necessary care to raise a healthy child.
Many of us can think of a time when a stranger stepped in to help us in a small way. Those gestures add up. “Ode to Strangers” was inspired by the people who stepped in to make a difference in the lives of mothers–people they did not know–because it was the right thing to do. We worked closely with the creative marketing agency Nazar Works on the concept and decided that by focusing on the lifesaving kindness of strangers, we could encourage audiences to step in from thousands of miles away to support mothers and have a similar impact.
What are the main health challenges that mothers in sub-Saharan Africa face, and how is ALIMA addressing these issues?
Charlie: ALIMA provides maternal health care–before, during, and after birth–in Sub-Saharan Africa. Many women in the countries where we operate face unique challenges in safely delivering a child. Often, health centers are too far away, or ill-equipped to meet their needs, with a lack of doctors, nurses, and midwives to provide much-needed maternal care. More than 60% of the world’s maternal deaths occur in this region.
One of the “Ode to Strangers” campaign stories highlights a woman in Cameroon who delivered triplets far from the nearest hospital. That’s an incredibly high-risk birth–one that typically requires extensive medical attention. A good samaritan contacted ALIMA for help, and the mother and her newborn babies were transported to a nearby health center for immediate medical care. Under ALIMA’s care, two of the triplets thrived against the odds.
ALIMA works to expand and transform maternal health care with innovative solutions. In the Central African Republic, maternal mortality rates are the fourth highest in the world. To meet the pressing need for care, ALIMA has helped launch a research program called Wakabo-ti-koro. The program empowers matrons, traditional birth workers, to use an app to track high-risk pregnancies through a mobile app. It’s technological innovations like these that help us reach more women with essential care.
The illustrations for “Ode to Strangers” are striking and evocative. How did you approach capturing the emotional depth of these stories?
Rohan: I try not to overcomplicate my approach to creating artwork. The reason I wanted to be part of the project was because of the emotional reaction I had when I was offered the commission. Sometimes projects just feel like worthwhile endeavors regardless of the usual extraneous gains. The power of people and the deep-rooted goodness inherent in humanity are ideas I like to champion whenever I get the opportunity, and this project sat perfectly on that line. With this starting point, I approached each story as I would any narrative, and really let it orchestrate how the work developed and looked in the end.
The animations for “Ode to Strangers” bring the stories to life in a powerful way. How did you decide on the visual style for the animations?
Rohan: I chose to engage in a rather more organic and free-flowing inking style for this set of illustrations. Instead of the more precise and clean execution, I allowed mistakes and smudges to remain, hopefully further instilling a human frailty in the images, and a raw unencumbered flow to the narrative. My work has always been very much about control, but I wanted this project to have an energy, and pace which could be further exaggerated by the brilliant animators I was working with. The stories have a real sense of urgency and panic, so the drawings needed to reflect that, the impact had to be instant rather than gentle and patient.
How did you approach balancing the artistic expression in the animations with the sensitivity and gravity of the stories being told?
Rohan: This project was guided by a great art director, Malu Lara, who helped maintain a balanced continuity to the whole project. As an artist it can be easy to run away with certain ideas and take new directions when they present themselves, which is when a good art director comes in, to shepherd the energy down the same road. Obviously, the importance of the people behind the stories needed to be faithfully portrayed, and keeping them at the forefront of the work was really integral to how it turned out in the end. They were the inspiration and the driving force behind the work.
Charlie: It was important that we treated these stories with great care. We did not want to exploit these mothers’ deeply personal experiences. Instead, we wanted to amplify their voices to engage audiences across the U.S. with these compelling stories. So, it was a combination of mindfulness in storytelling and accurately conveying the severity of these circumstances–and those in which many women are giving birth in sub-Saharan Africa. By sharing first-person narratives brought to life with Rohan’s incredible illustrations, we felt like we struck that necessary balance.
You have a lot of beautiful stories included in this series. How did you find the stories you decided to feature?
Charlie: Thank you! The stories we chose really do make “Ode to Strangers” so special. We worked with the boutique marketing agency Nazar Works to bring the campaign to life. Early on in the creative process, the agency’s managing director, Neda Azarfar, was talking with a friend who shared the harrowing story of their mother giving birth on a remote island during a terrible storm. That story became the inspiration for “The Woman On A Rainy Night.”
We know from personal experience that all moms can relate to being in a vulnerable situation where they need help and compassion. So, we set out to collect more of these stories. We reached out to parents and caretakers in our own circles: friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances. We even used a story directly from an ALIMA patient, highlighting the real experience of a mother we cared for. We got so many incredible stories; it was hard to narrow it down to just the four we used for our films.
The story of the mother who got separated from her daughters on the train is so scary. How is forced migration impacting the women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa?
Charlie: That story is scary and it reflects the isolation and panic that so many migrants feel in strange, new lands. Issues of armed conflict, climate crises, or unstable political conditions leave families with little choice but to leave their homes. These conditions also make it difficult for communities and aid workers to respond to health challenges and build sustainable health systems. When a crisis hits, it becomes even harder to intervene with the necessary aid. Due to limited healthcare access, thousands of people die each year from preventable causes, with displaced women and children being the most at risk.
What challenges does ALIMA face in providing medical aid in sub-Saharan Africa, and how do you think storytelling through art can help overcome those barriers?
Charlie: Conflicts and climate crises can make it difficult for communities and aid workers to respond to health challenges. It can be extremely tough to intervene, especially when traditional models of humanitarian aid often rely on flying in medical talent from wealthier countries. While well-intentioned, this leaves out local qualified health workers and doesn’t encourage the growth of a sustainable health system. ALIMA’s approach is rooted in community partnership and alliance. By building long-standing partnerships with ministries of health, local organizations, and staff from the countries of intervention, ALIMA is able to access hard-to-reach areas and respond proactively when crises arise.
It is hard for people to understand the individual impact of large-scale issues like forced migration or climate disasters. Through “Ode to Strangers,” we’re sharing unique stories of human connection in moments of crisis. Storytelling through art brings audiences in and invites them to consider someone else’s experience–honing in on one tangible story while considering the broader impact of many.
How does the “Ode to Strangers” campaign build upon the success of “Breath for All”?
Charlie: “Breath for All” focused on access to medical oxygen in sub-Saharan Africa, where oftentimes facilities are not well-equipped to diagnose and treat respiratory illness. While medical oxygen is a separate issue, we found ourselves thinking about some of the same themes this year: helping patients get access to care when and where they need it.
We were thrilled to bring “Ode to Strangers” to life with the help of both new and familiar faces. MassiveMusic, who created a beautiful and immersive sound experience for “Breath for All,” brought their expertise to “Ode to Strangers” to create the original music composition and sound design. We were excited to work with Rohan for the first time. His talent is remarkable, and we love the way he’s brought these stories to life with such emotion and care.
What message do you hope audiences take away from the emotional nature of the campaign?
Charlie: We hope that audiences see the impact they can have, regardless of where they live. The mothers whose stories we’ve shared didn’t know the person who assisted them, yet their lives were altered forever. Those strangers had no personal reason to help but did so anyway because it was the right thing to do. Mothers in sub-Saharan Africa live through harrowing experiences like those in “Ode to Strangers” all the time. But we can all do our part to improve maternal health services. Through participating in the campaign, anyone can be a stranger who cares.
Rohan: I hope people feel a connection to some aspect of the stories, whether personal or objective. I think the notion of fear, and the desperation of being alone, somehow being overcome by love, hope, and humanity, are ideas that we all aspire to feel a connection to. These stories highlight the good in all of us and hopefully help us be more aware of how we can make a difference big or small to the lives of those around us.
Are there any upcoming projects you would like to share? Will we be getting more “Ode to Strangers” videos?
Charlie: While we do not have any more videos planned, we’re thrilled with how the campaign turned out and we will continue to spread the message until Feb 2025 when the campaign ends. With the support of strangers everywhere, we can keep bringing essential maternal health care where it's most needed.
Rohan: I've just finished working on a really big project for a London Museum, but I can't really share anything more about that! It will be going live in 2026, so a little while to wait. I'm also still working on something of a passion project with a friend of mine. He's a writer and we are composing a graphic novel together, which will be my first, and it is really quite a wonderful thing to do. With all going well, that should be published at the start of 2026.
It has been a crazy past few years, how have you been staying positive?
Charlie: It definitely has been a crazy past few years, but I’ve been staying positive by prioritizing self-care in both physical and mental ways. I make sure to stay active by running or swimming—being outdoors and moving helps clear my mind. Mentally, I focus on taking time for myself, making sure I get enough sleep, and, most importantly, turning off my cell phone to give myself a break.
Oddly, there were some parts of COVID that my family will actually miss—how we were all together, all the time. We took that time to slow down, hang out, cook and bake, watch old movies, and play board games. It was a rare opportunity to reconnect, and we all loved it. But above all, spending time with my loved ones is what truly keeps me grounded and positive. Whether it’s hanging out with my kids and husband, or connecting with my family and friends, those moments are priceless. There’s really nothing better than hugging your loved ones, and that connection is what fuels my positivity.
Rohan: My mental health is something I think about a lot. My profession can lead to long stints of alone time, and although I do now have my own family around me, I can still feel quite isolated working in my studio alone till the early hours. During COVID and lockdown, I had a very hard look at my life. I asked a lot of questions about the way I was living and the cost of my work on my state of happiness. When lockdown began to ease, I started to engage more in the wider community. I began doing ad hoc lecturing in the universities, sharing my knowledge and skills with the next generation of illustrators and artists. I also host illustration courses for the Royal Academy of Arts and make myself available via my website to answer any questions that I can to do with being an illustrator. Engaging with people changed everything for me, my confidence grew, and my love for my work returned. I think there is always craziness in the world, and we are so attuned to hearing about it, sometimes the only difference we can make is in our immediate worlds, and if we can influence those around us in a positive way, hopefully, we can make a bigger change together.
What is your motto in life?
Charlie: The needs are great, but so are the opportunities to make a difference.
Rohan: Never give up, but make sure you balance belief with business!
To learn more about ALIMA, please follow the links below:
ALIMA’s "Ode to Strangers" landing page
ALIMA’s social media:
X: @ALIMA_ORG
Facebook: @ALIMA
Instagram: @alima_org
LinkedIn: ALIMA
Credit list:
Creative Credits for Ode to Strangers Campaign:
Managing Director: Neda Azarfar, Nazar Works
Creative Director: Malu Lara, Nazar Works
Illustration: Rohan Daniel Eason
Animation: Motionauts
Composition & Sound Design: MassiveMusic
