The question
Amref Health Africa helps increase sustainable health access to communities in Africa through solutions in human resources for health, health services delivery and investments in health. They are the largest health organisation in Africa that's helping the continent blossom. Rather than creating a concept and story that showcases what they do (because the list is endless) they asked us to build a narrative that showcases who they are, in an honest and authentic way.

Our approach
With this question in mind, we went on an adventure to talk to a myriad of different people from the organisation, armed with questions like: If Amref was a person, would it be male or female? Which personality traits of Amref do you love, which do you find more difficult to deal with? How would you describe Amref as a person? What is the most unique part of Amref? What's the most important part of the work Amref does? The different answers to these questions inspired and formed the basis of the concept and script. The aunty was born. It was then Franka's (illustrator/animator) turn to get to work. She illustrated the storyboard, developed the colour schemes and brought Aunty's story to life. We worked together with Caitlyne Wangi for the voice over. 

Our belief
You might be wondering why we chose to personify Amref; to tell an honest, personal and authentic story. We truly believe that personifying an organisation like Amref through storytelling can have positive effects. It helps people identify; it puts a face to a name; and people want to be part of the community. Stepping away from stories of anger and angst is important too; we must dignify the people who are seeking help rather than exploit them. Aunty's story showcases what Amref truly stands for; who they are; what they believe in; and what they're good at. Negativity and fear cause people to shy away from helping, whilst hope and honesty tap into emotions that instigate action. We chose for the latter because it's proven to be effective. This new type of narrative is what we need.

The results
We're busily keeping an eye on the impact of this animation on Amref's audiences. We're looking for longterm results rather than quick fixes, so stay tuned.