Posts by Stephanie Mooney
Sierra Leone: Learning to live with Covid
Amplifying Voices is supporting our radio station partner BBN in Sierra Leone as their team of 30 community volunteers visit homes in 9 Freetown neighbourhoods to hear what local households are saying about living with Covid. BBN’s “Amplify” radio programmes provide a platform for the communities’ stories and voices, especially where people are finding ways…
Read MoreMisinformation harms the most vulnerable
Working in collaboration with Stop the Child Witchcraft Accusations (SCWA) partners, we have been analysing community feedback about Covid-19 and misinformation from trusted contacts in 12 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Three key themes emerged …
Read MoreResponding to Covid-19
Countries around the world are struggling with the COVID 19 pandemic. HCR and our partners are continuing to reach out to local communities to respond to this crisis. Our partners are engaging with individuals, families and communities around COVID 19, ensuring they receive clear and accurate health information and practical support that will save lives and give hope to people in these challenging times.
Read MoreFinding hope during self-isolation
Stephanie writes about her self-isolation experience and reflects on stories from Sierra Leone, “I started thinking about what could encourage me through this time. I remembered a story from Ebola survivor, Aliu, who I met in Sierra Leone and whose story stayed with me. Even in the darkest of times, facing grief and trauma, Aliu had hope and reached out to others.”
Read MoreThe stories of women and girls matter
Day 16 of #16DaysofActivism Gender based violence is a multi-faceted issue and can encompass physical, sexual, economic, cultural and emotional mistreatment based on a person’s gender. Among the root causes of gender-based violence are existing social norms and the imbalance of power between men and women. Gender roles are learnt through socialisation beginning in early childhood and can limit what we think we can do, who we think we are and who we think we can be. Societies with rigid gender roles often deny women…
Read MorePromoting safer communities for young girls
Day 15 of #16DaysofActivism The Amplifying Voices Project was set up in 2015 as a collaborative venture between HCR (now known as Amplifying Voices), Feba UK and the Believers Broadcasting Network (BBN), a Christian radio station in Freetown. BBN forms multi-stakeholder teams with partners including churches and local health clinics to visit people in their…
Read MoreImproving the lives of street living children
Day 14 of #16DaysofActivism Any form of abuse leaves scars. A few years ago I participated in some focus group meetings with street living children, aged from 6 years to 16 years, to explore starting a radio project for Feba UK for these children in Kinshasa, DR Congo. It was particularly difficult to get street living girls to participate but we where able to include a small group of teenage girls. I…
Read MoreHelping women and girls in Kenya
Day 13 of #16DaysofActivism Combatting gender-based violence can take courage, sensitivity and wisdom. I met Mary*, an ordained minister working in a rural area in Kenya, who showed all of these qualities in her work to help women and girls. In this particular area of Kenya, the challenges facing families include limited access to food and water, and high levels…
Read MorePrecious: Her Story
Day 4 of #16DaysofActivism I believe every person has a story to tell and it is often the people who have suffered the most whose stories can affect us the most deeply. I met Precious* in Kenya and she is a truly courageous and inspirational woman. She was married at fourteen and had to stop attending…
Read MoreAmplifying Voices of opportunity
Day 3 of #16DaysofActivism HCR is working with a large Christian Radio station and counselling centre in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on the “Amplifying Voices” Project. This project, which was launched by Feba UK, is increasing the engagement of local people in conversations with their communities, which are amplified by radio broadcasts that address the health and…
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