Bright Home – Sargodha

Roshan Ghar (Bright Home)

Amplifying Voices Pakistan is working with community activists in Sargodha district in Punjab province, to create new opportunies for women and young people. New Hope is one of the Bright Home group of projects, integrating community-centred media with vocational skills classes and other off-air activities

Bright Home (Roshan Ghar in Urdu) provides vocational classes for women or young people. In partnership with regional health care providers, health camps provide advice, medical checkup and basic medication.

Some class participants go on to do Media training as an additional route for building skills, self confidence, and for participating more widely in community life and wider society.

Women and young people from the community use media skills to create audio content that promotes social developments, good health and hygiene, and supports livelihood development. Content is aired via speakerbox and WhatsApp. As of 2023, some Roshan Ghar content is also broadcast from a local FM radio station.

Background:

When first invited to Sargodha district to implement a community-centred media project, Amplifying Voices Pakistans started off by listening. They heard women's aspirations for improved education opportunities for women and girls, opportunities for women to use their skills to earn a living, better health services, and better access to clean water and hygiene facilities.

Around this time, the first Bright Home pilot in Nowshera was proving an effective way to engage women and young girls in improving their own future, while engaging sensitively with local power brokers. Media activities are important for building local self-confidence and awareness, but local power-brokers want to see evidence that local concerns and goals are truly respected before they offer their buy-in. Bright Home projects start by creating livelihood opportunities and addressing health concerns to help create foundations for trust.

Our Role:

Provide support to Amplifying Voices Pakistan for project planning, including funding proposals and design of participatory community-based research and learning.

Related stories: