Scarlet Gomez, the lead actor in Showmax’s telenovela, reveals that the impoverished state of the Iperindo community when she visited to prepare for her role in Wura helped her channel the mean nature of her character.

In an interview with Netng, she got teary as she explained how hurt she was to see the status of the community and its people, in comparison to the natural resources they are blessed with.

“I remember the first day we went to Iperindo, I was a bit hurt to see the kind of life that they live in the village itself knowing that they have so many resources and they are not being taken care of. Imagine having gold and living poor, and they are coming to mine gold in your community, yet your community is not developed,” she told me.

According to Gomez, seeing the community did not only help her get a better understanding of lines not to cross while trying to tell the story of the Iperindo’s, but it also helped her understand how greedy her character was.

“It helped me understand how wicked Wura could be because for you to have all the good things of life and not be able to share it or even give back to the community made me understand how vile she could be. It helped me show how mean I should be in translating the character.”

Although it was an intense story to tell, and she sometimes lost herself while playing the character, she disclosed that she is privileged to be lending her voice to the people.

“I’m happy that we are telling this story, and I’m happy that it is set at Iperindo so that people can know that these people need our love, these people need our attention. There are so many other communities that are going through the same thing that needs to be spoken for, and I’m glad that we can tell the story and draw the spotlight on them,” Scarlet added.

Showmax’s Wura tells the story of Wura-Amoo Adeleke, a perfect wife, a loving mother of two, and the ruthless CEO of the fictional Frontline Gold Mine. The 260 episodes series features cast members like Scarlet Gomez, Yomi Fash-Lanso, and Ego Iheanacho.

The telenovela was set in Iperindo, a community in Atakunmosa East local government in Osun State, where gold was first discovered in 1945. The community, despite sitting on a gold deposit worth over $5 billion in 2017, is plagued with poverty and a lack of basic amenities, including access to potable water, motorable roads, and functioning health facilities.