“It made people uncomfortable. Our leaders still don’t like airing our dirty laundry or smearing the community’s name. Here, HIV is taboo,” admits the chairman of Kipini Integrated Community Enterprise (KICE), who first invited Vox Radio to get involved with the local community.

The village elders believed that talking about HIV treatment would encourage promiscuity.

The resistance is rooted deep in tradition. The chairman recalls how, in one local village, they were nearly chased away when introducing HIV awareness campaigns. The village elders later explained that in the past people who looked sick and showed leprosy symptoms were locked away and left to die, their bodies burned to prevent the spread of disease.

Despite the backlash, this bold move and the bravery of women to speak out, has cracked open a door to new conversations. By bringing these issues into the open, the conversation around HIV-and the poverty fueling it-could no longer be ignored. For many women, the fight against HIV begins with economic survival. 

Poverty and gender inequality, however, remain complex challenges. Many of the women involved in sex-for-fish trades are young mothers, abandoned by older husbands who go on to marry younger wives. With limited education and job opportunities, survival often means taking risks that increase their vulnerability to HIV – a pattern seen across Kenya, where female sex workers face the highest HIV rates, with nearly one in three living with the virus.

A few weeks after the story was featured, KICE was invited for a radio talk show to discuss their advocacy efforts -not only on HIV and gender inequality but also on economic empowerment. Since then, hundreds of women and youth have applied for KICE’s blue economy entrepreneurship training. Their current cohort numbers jumped from 450 to 750 participants.

“It’s a joy to see the community embracing alternative livelihoods,” the chairman reflects.

Thanks to Vox radio raising awareness through community outreach, and the courageous work of volunteers and survivors, the taboo around HIV and gender inequality is slowly breaking. More people are coming forward to get tested, and patients are learning to live openly, supported by families. By addressing poverty and opening up new economic opportunities, Kipini is taking real steps to change the HIV story-one conversation at a time.

Nyambura Wamaitha has been working as a consultant with Amplifying Voices, which helped set up Vox Radio in 2017 as a peace building partnership with the Amani Centre CBO and Sentinel Project.

Kipini Intergrated Community Enterprise (KICE) is a community based organization that rallies over 50 community groups to fight HIV/AIDS, TB, and poverty in Kipini in Tana River County. 

The post Airwaves Shatter Silence, Spark Action appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

As part of our ongoing support for Simooya Community Radio, Amplifying Voices recently helped install solar power to provide reliable electricity and consistent broadcasting hours. As important as this will be for the radio station’s future, we find that sustainable community radio depends hugely on the attitudes of the people who run the station. As you read these interviews with volunteers (or “facilitators”), Renny and Mickey, and station manager, Kelvin, where do you see seeds of sustainability?

Renny: This is something I can do to help my community

I live with my husband here in Simooya, I left my own family to come and live here. I arrived in Simooya about 4 years ago. Before I came to Simooya, I was living in Livingstone and made my living from selling and transporting goods from Zambia, to Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana.

Back in April 2024, I had asked the volunteers what their hopes were in joining the radio station team. Renny had said that she wanted to be a radio presenter, and a cleaner. So I was interested to hear Renny say she is now working a cleaner and a radio presenter.

Why had you wanted to be a cleaner?

I enjoy cleaning and keeping the studio premises in good condition – I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon – it makes me happy to do it. The equipment in there belongs to the community, and it is being used for the benefit of the community. I have a heart for the community. The equipment is expensive, and this is something I can do to help my community – to make sure the equipment is well taken care of, and making sure the environment is tidy.

What topic are you presenting on the radio?

I make programmes about marital issues, encouraging couples to take care of each other well, to talk to young people who want to get married about what is involved in getting married, what should they expect before going into marriage.

What kind of feedback have you heard from listeners?

Several people have been very appreciative to me. When they meet me they tell me that the things that I’m teaching them are very beneficial to them, especially those who are already married. They said it has improved their standard of living because they know what to do and what not to do.

For yourself and your family, what are your hopes for your future.

I want to see now that my family begins to benefit from some of the things I am getting now, but also, to help others, neighbours, to understand the importance of radio in their community.

Mickey: Every voice is welcome

Tell me something about yourself

At the moment, I live with my mother. My father has passed away. She’s the one who takes care of me. I have lived in Simooya for about 10 years. I am one of the facilitators at Simooya Community Radio station.

When I am not on duty I like to go to the garden, do agriculture and farming. And also in my free time I like to sing gospel songs. I’m a gospel singer.

What is your role at the radio station

I record, package and present radio dramas for on-air broadcast. I’m also a presenter, I talk on farming and encourage people to do farming. I also teach about family life.

What are your favourite programmes to present?

I like drama presentation because that is what I am much involved in. I have about 7 community members from around the village who take part in the dramas.

What opportunities are there for disabled people to get involved?

Every voice is welcome. I try as much as possible to involve everyone. When we conduct community visits, disabled people have an opportunity to speak, to air their voices on the radio, through our visits into homes. If they want to air their concerns, if they want to implore the authorities to do something for them, they can talk through us as we go into the community to interact with community members.

What kind of feedback have you heard from listeners.

People are saying that they now have easy access to information and they are able to air out their views. They can give information about local events to the radio station through the facilitators, so that they can be aired, or if they want to call for assistance from the authorities they are able to do that. After having sports events or organising fixtures, the community members are coming to the radio station to air the announcements.

What changes would you like to see in Simooya?

I hope young people will see facilitators as role models and as they grow up they will take on the work in the radio station so that there is no need to import people from outside. They will be eager to come and learn from the facilitators.
I expect to see a changed community through the programmes we bring, where there should be no more GBV cases, no drug abuse, and no cases of not having access to information.

Hope for the future for you and your family?

It is my first time to work in the media industry. I want to see myself as an empowered person, in terms of academically and also to have more knowledge to empower the community as I do the family life programmes. I also want to see that my family benefit from some of the things that I will benefit from, from the radio station.

Kelvin Muzelenga – station manager

Tell me a bit about yourself…

I am 27, originally from a village called Simanga in the south of Choma district. I grew up in the village as a farmer. I grew up with someone was really interested in listening to the radio. My grandfather used to listen to the radio almost every day. So I also grew up as someone who really loved radio from my early childhood. Sometimes I would go to the extent of making a radio programme on a cassette for others to listen to.

Where do you live now?

I live in Batoka  with my wife – we got married in June last year. Batoka is about 18km from Simooya. I travel to the station by motorbike which can take 50 minutes if I take the route through jungle, or 1hr20minutes if I take the safer route through the villages.

What were you doing before you came to Simooya?

I was working at Byta FM. It’s a commercial radio station in Choma, broadcasting to most parts of Southern Province. I worked there for seven years. I started my media career there under a project called Speak Up Youth, sponsored by Alliance for Community Action, funded by the EU. I worked with Byta first as an intern after completing studies in mobile citizen journalism and public resource management. Some of my friends stopped after 1 year, but I continued for another 2 years as a volunteer. I started doing extra learning in the station and became a Tonga language newscaster and radio presenter.

How did you support yourself as a volunteer?

It’s possible if you have passion. I had passion for radio. I grew up in a home where radio was our source of information, and I had that feeling to say, one day I should be on radio. One day I should be heard. That drove me to continue offering my services as a volunteer. I wanted my voice to be on air one day. I wanted to speak for someone else out there. So how I survived, I could do other things too, like I was helping my uncle to do bricklaying. When I was off air I would go to his construction site, and he would give me a token income.

What made you decide to change from a big commercial radio to community radio?

So, I reached a stage where I could do anything, anywhere at Byta, but I felt it was time for me to find something that can challenge me to grow further, and I didn’t want to go outside media industry. But I thought coming to Simooya, where I was going to start something up – that would be another challenge for me.

But also, I think having a passion for the community. Byta is in town and here we’re in rural. I grew up in the village. I understand the village set up. So I felt OK. I think this is my opportunity to offer my services to the community. But I think it’s now time to do what I can do in the community.

How can the Simooya Community Radio help the community here?

The radio is already helping. I’ll give an example of this. Recently there was a national warning from the Disaster Management and Mitigation [regarding unseasonal rains] to say those with crops they should harvest and store them well. And as Simooya community we brought it to a community perspective to say how are you going to use these rains which are late coming? To prepare for the next farming season but also how you going to ensure that these rains are not going to damage your crops?

This community radio station is something that is going to empower their generations in future. But it might not seem like its empowering the people yet.

In Tonga, we have a proverb which says “the root that you have is the rabbit that you would have”. It teaches that when you have something, don’t let it go because it could be what you need survive. So, the community should take care of this radio station for the future.

What sort of things can people in the community do to help the radio?

So, I think the most important thing is to support the radio station. How? By giving it feedback. Where the radio station is moving in a wrong direction, they should freely come to give feedback.

Where possible, they should also try to convince people to come and do business with the station. Of course, that is more critical because for the station to survive going forward. By the help of the community, it will become sustainable.

I think the community, as they do their activities, should also think of how to involve the radio station in those activities so that it can be a two-way thing. Where the station is benefiting, the community is benefiting.

Can you explain that a bit more?

OK, so there are times when there would be, let’s say there are meetings which are called by the chiefs, the traditional chief here. Instead of him going round to say they will be meeting here, the chief can start now adapting to say we have a medium which can spread that information within seconds.

Or maybe they have work activities to do but they also want to go and watch football, they can have the radio station go and broadcast the football. They just have their phone to listen while they’re doing other stuff.

And if you if you were to meet somebody who wanted to start a new community radio station in Zambia in a rural place, what one piece of advice would offer?

The biggest thing is, let them not go with their own people. Let them get the community involved. For example, if I want to open a radio station, I could recruit my people from Choma and bring them to work with me. But instead let’s have the community do it. Let me show the community how it is done and that way the community will feel that they are part of that station. If you bring your professionals it will be a challenge to adapt to the community and difficult for the community to accept the new station.

We are privileged to work with people like Kelvin, Mickey and Renny, and the rest of their team. We look forward to hearing how Simooya Community Radio becomes a sustainable community radio station. You can also follow Simooya Community Radio posts on Facebook and learn more about their community.

The post The right people appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

In recent weeks in Europe, we’ve seen how natural resources, that should provide sustainable livelihoods for local people, are being repurposed to placate aggressors. In Morobo county, years after villagers lost swathes of their valuable teak and fruit trees to conflict, trees are now changing role again – from placating aggressors to building sustainable peace.

In the Southern border regions of South Sudan, armed groups, either from the South Sudanese armed forces or from opposition groups, were often posted from the North and left for months without any wages, or senior leadership. To provide for themselves, some of these groups would confiscate harvests from locals. In the process they also destroyed lots of the mango and jackfruit orchards. Some went beyond simply seeking sustenance and plundered the valuable teak plantations, leading to widespread deforestation.

Over the last year, the Hope Village community-centred media project produced several speakerbox and radio programmes on natural resource management, exploring the causes and the far-reaching effects of deforestation. Listeners groups contributed their own thoughts to programmes and got a wider conversation going. Listeners heard how deforestation is linked to changes to local climate, such as reduced rains, and increased dust and heat. They also acknowledged that the reduction in local resources had led to new conflicts between neighbours or neighbouring communities. Lack of food or income sources for families led to girls being married off early and increased the number of school dropouts.

The Konakimungu listening group took on the challenge. They agreed together to start up a campaign on the plantation of teak trees, mangoes and jackfruits to replace destroyed trees around their home stead.

With support from our partner Community Development Centre (South Sudan), the Hope Village radio programmes also provide advice and support for how communities can go about a campaign like this. This includes conversations about gender equality so that men and women, boys and girls, would work together to plant new trees and so that all would benefit from the tree planting activities. They want to improve the lives and rights of girls and prevent them being the first casualties should communities faced difficulties in future.

Listeners to Hope Village are following the Konakimungu group’s progress and we expect more communities will be planting trees soon that bear fruit now to feed their families, and sustain peace in the long-term.

Amplifying Voices has supported Hope Village with community-centred media training, and with equipment including speakerboxes and a mobile studio to help more community voices take part in making the Hope Village programmes.

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Today, on World Radio Day 2025, we celebrate the power of radio in addressing climate change. And there’s no better example than Vox Radio in Tana River County, Eastern Kenya, a community station that was set up by Amplifying Voices in partnership with the Amani Centre and Sentinel Project in 2017.

Tana River County faces devastating impacts from climate change: frequent droughts, floods, saltwater intrusion, and food and water insecurity. But amid these challenges, Vox Radio is turning the tide by empowering the community with life-saving information.

Every weekday from 2 to 3pm, Vox Radio’s climate segment, hosted by Yoash Festus, delivers vital weather updates and expert insights. Farmers, fishermen, and pastoralists tune in to hear simplified forecasts and practical solutions to cope with unpredictable weather patterns. The station bridges the gap between complex scientific data and community needs, ensuring everyone understands how to prepare for and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Collaboration is at the heart of Vox Radio’s approach. Through a partnership with BBC Media Action under the Bridges programme, Vox Radio unites meteorological experts, journalists, and local communities to co-produce informative broadcasts. This three-year initiative involves farmers, fishermen, and pastoralists who help to shape the content they need most. As part of this effort, journalists Kulah Nzomo and Ferdinand Muthui have received specialised training to produce tailored climate programs that truly resonate with the audience.

“We are doing this so that our community can make informed decisions about changing weather patterns,” says Ferdinand Muthui, Vox Radio’s Operations Director. “Our goal is to empower listeners with knowledge that helps them adapt and build resilience.”

On this World Radio Day, Amplifying Voices salutes Vox Radio for turning up the volume on climate action. Together, we amplify hope, solutions, and resilience for a better future.

The post Amplifying Climate Solutions in Tana River appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

Nyambura and others think harmful stereotypes have been around so long that many people in Tana River now believe them. She traces this back to the early days of Kenya’s independence, when President Jomo Kenyatta prioritised developing regions with rich agriculture, leaving drier areas like Tana River neglected. “This neglect,” Nyambura explains, “allowed damaging labels to stick—terms even used by aid groups and the media.” Over time, phrases like “unproductive and unskilled,” “conflict-prone,” “backward and isolated,” and “dependent on aid” have unfairly defined the region. Nyambura warns, “These narratives create a victim mentality, making people feel powerless to change their circumstances or challenge those in power.” 

Even journalists at Vox Radio sometimes reinforce these ideas. “It’s too easy to see Tanarians as victims instead of resilient people overcoming challenges,” says Nyambura. That’s why Vox Radio focuses on “solutions journalism,” which highlights how communities are solving their problems instead of only reporting the issues. “We need to listen to people, let them tell their stories, and showcase their strengths.”

Nyambura shared a story about Yoash, a Vox journalist whose farming show is helping change perceptions. One destructive narrative he challenges is the idea that pastoralists (from the Orma community) and farmers (from the Pokomo community) are enemies competing for resources. Yoash’s programs bring members of both groups together to discuss shared challenges and find solutions. He also highlights success stories, like a pastoralist couple (pictured above) who had set up a business of turning the parts of the animals that are usually discarded, like horns, bones and hoofs, into stunning ornaments and jewellery. After appearing on his show, they received many calls from listeners eager to learn more or buy their creations.

When Amplifying Voices initially set up Vox Radio in 2017 (formerly Amani FM), in partnership with the Amani Centre, its purpose was to build peace and disrupt the narrative of conflict that had plagued the region for many decades. With peace now taking root in Tana River County, the airwaves of Vox Radio are alive with a renewed sense of purpose and a new mission: to inspire Tana River’s communities to thrive – with a new narrative. One where farmers share sustainable practices, young entrepreneurs showcase their ideas, and elders envision a brighter future. Vox Radio has become more than a platform—it’s a symbol of hope, encouraging people to dream beyond peace and work toward lasting prosperity.

The post Tana River – a new narrative appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

The new radio station in Pemba district of Southern Province, Zambia, started airing test broadcasts on Monday 8^th April. Johnny was happy to be present at the switch-on, along with Milden Choongo from our partner organisation, Chibozu Community Trust. In the week leading up to the switch-on, an enthusiastic team of volunteers took part in a media training workshop. They used community mapping exercises to build a picture of their communities’ various resources and challenges, and to develop ideas for how media could bring out their local strengths to tackle the challenges. New media skills included reading the news, making short educational announcements (CSAs), and preparing for interviews with local dignitaries.

Volunteers give feedback on their community mapping exercise. Simooya, 2024

There was a powercut when we went to practice working with the new radio studio. But this didn’t deter the team. One person took the role of presenter, another sat at the guest microphone.

Learning to use a studio during a powercut, Simooya, 2024

As the presenter moved the faders on the mixing console and interviewed the “guest”, a third person sang along to provide music for fading in and out between the speech segments.

It was a lot of fun, and when the power came back on, the lesson progressed quickly under the tutelage of Kelvin Muzelenga, the new station manager.

However, all this happened in the context of the worst drought Zambia has experienced in many years. The Zambian government has introduced scheduled power outages (loadshedding) to cope with a reduced electricity supply capability. The country is reliant on hydro-electric power, but the rains failed between November and March, leaving rivers and dams at very low levels. This means that government needs to ration electricity supplies until the rivers have been replenished by the next rainy season.

Underground water supplies have not yet run out, so there is still water for irrigation on large farms, and for communal water tanks supplying drinking water in villages like Simooya. However, the drought has ruined maize crops in rural communities where small-scale farmers don’t have irrigation equipment. Small scale farmers grow crops for their own food supply, so lots of households face a year of hunger if they can’t find money buy food instead.

One commercial farmer I visited, on learning that I had come to help get the radio station on air, said my time would be better spent digging boreholes to provide water as that is the real need. As you read this post, you may well feel the same way. It’s the sort of dilemma we are often confronted with.

Maize crops in Simooya, destroyed by the drought conditions. April 2024

The farmer went on to say how sad it is that so many farmers are selling their cattle and goats because there is a lack of good pastureland, and farmers need to sell to get money to buy maize for their families. The flood of livestock on the market has depressed prices, making this an inefficient way to raise money. The farmer also told me that the Tonga cattle, a breed native to this area, are very hardy, adapted to the harsh climate and resistant to local pests. When the drought is over, farmers will want to replenish their stock, but will have to buy in from other regions and the new herds will not be so resistant to local livestock challenges, causing further losses. She thought it would be good if local farmers could work cooperatively to protect their breeding stock.

I realised we were having exactly the kind of conversation that works so well on community-centred radio. An idea is born, and community members talk it over on the radio and in their homes. People are drawn together to work out the details or to adapt the idea and develop a workable solution which is also shared over the radio.

This also goes for conversations about boreholes, raising awareness that boreholes don’t have an infinite supply and could dry up during drought. Water should not be wasted, so radio can help build community consensus around prioritising water use.

We don’t yet know how the people of Simooya will respond to these challenges, but we have seen how innovative the volunteers are in their first attempts at creating content, and how much they want to see their communities flourish. Another commercial farmer from the district has already provided the station manager with sample radio programmes he is making with small scale farmers in the region, discussing ways to maximise productivity despite the drought. We are confident that Simooya and the surrounding village will use the new radio station as one of their primary tools to respond to the drought together, and to ensure as many people as possible can benefit from solutions they develop.

The post Going on air in a drought appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

We were in Morobo in South Sudan, visiting the Hope Village project and providing a media training workshop for people in local villages, many of whom had recently returned from refugee camps in Uganda or Congo. Since arriving we had felt constantly confronted by the scale of challenge faced by the returnees, the oppressive background of political instability, and the smallness of the part we could play.

Yet, as we spent time with community members, we saw and heard stories in Morobo that shifted our perception from futility to sharing in the hope felt by these people, who are willing to risk so much to return and to see potential in such a fragile place.

We had arrived in Morobo following the same route as many returnees, by road via the Kaya border crossing point. The distance from Kaya to Morobo is relatively short, only 16 miles by road, but until very recently that short distance would have seemed very long to travellers because of the risk of violent robbery, or sexual assault.

Rows of buildings that were once shops are now shells. People find new places to trade from. Morobo County, South Sudan

As our vehicle made its way along the rutted and eroded road, our companions pointed out the burnt-out car of a bishop who was robbed last summer, and then to a place where they themselves had been robbed and narrowly escaped a worse fate. Many of the brick buildings lining the roads had been abandoned during South Sudan’s conflict in 2016. The valuable roofing sheets had long since been removed.

Returnees were building homes, but using traditional methods with grass roofs instead of steel sheeting. These newly built houses were harder to see, many of them further back from the roads, reflecting a preference for finding concealment in the bush.

Hope Village started about a year ago. Our partners, Community Development Centre in South Sudan (CDC), provided speakerboxes to listener groups in several villages between Morobo and the Ugandan border at Kaya. Each group consists of around 10 families. The CDC team in Yei, supported by volunteers in Morobo, have been creating and distributing monthly podcasts which the listener groups play on the speakerboxes. The podcasts include interviews, stories, and songs from community members. Our workshop was aimed at helping community members discover more ways they could use media to mobilise their communities and build for peace.

During and following the conflict, soldiers in this area have usually been posted from another part of South Sudan and belong to other tribes. This has often led to soldiers abusing or oppressing local villagers, especially on the roads, or by plundering crops at harvest time. Bravely, the Hope Village team had decided to give a speakerbox to the local army barracks and include them in the community conversations.

During our visit we attended a community meeting and heard that this has been a good decision. One person from Kimba community told us –

“The community is living together well. It [the podcast] has encouraged people to cultivate [because crops won’t be plundered]. Before the [podcasts], we couldn’t travel far. But now there is less fear of soldiers – more peace – we are even able to greet soldiers in passing on the road.”

A woman then stood up and gave her perspective –

“Before the [podcasts] there was no unity or love. Now when we meet someone on the road (even men) we greet in peace. Because men … have realised that GBV (gender-based-violence) is wrong.”

Not every story was so positive. One man told us about his village, close to a camp of opposition forces. It is currently too dangerous to give a speakerbox to soldiers in the opposition forces camp and this village continues to face robbery and plundering. But his story led to a conversation among the leaders. Something must be done. This story must be heard too.

Some young people were passing the meeting and stopped to listen. One of them, a youth leader, spoke up, saying that he likes the entertainment –

“The songs have good meaning. War has led to rape, turned people poor, but songs give hope.”

Losing the culture of greeting one another in the road may not seem like the worst effect of war, but the stories of people finding it safer to greet again symbolise the hope of people on the road to peace.

You can listen below to the Hope Village theme song (written and performed by Barnabas Samuel) …

The post Safer to greet appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

Amplifying Voices is working with Zambian NGO, Chibozu Community Trust, to set up a community radio station in Simooya. The nearest town to Simooya, Choma, is on the main road from the capital Lusaka to the tourist centres at Victoria Falls. Choma is quite accessible. Simooya is not.

In earlier conversations about logistics and resources for the project, the term “but they’re in the village” seemed to suggest limitations. However, the implications were not clear to me, coming from a UK context where the term suggests an alternative lifestyle choice from urban living. In Zambia’s Southern Province, we soon recognised that “in the village” is a euphemism for isolation and lack. Life for people “in the village” is very different to life for people in towns like Choma. People in Choma have access to reasonable healthcare, toilets and running water in homes, but it’s often not so “in the village”.

Simooya is made up of several settlements each with its own headman. I went to visit some of the headmen and their households, to get a better understanding of what they hoped for in a radio station. I also wanted to introduce myself so that when I return to do installation and training, I’m not a total stranger. Three men and two women from the local charity came with me to translate, and probably also to vouch for me. Building trust is really important in community-centred media projects.

At each place we sat around until a few members of the household gathered. Some might exchange pleasantries, and then there was, what seemed to me, an awkward silence. When I tried to break it and get the conversation going, my companions cautioned me to wait, “it’s different here in the village from the town. We don’t just dive into things.” Then eventually there would be a lift of a chin in my direction and eyes glancing to one of my companions – it’s the cue for “so what’s he got to say then?”

After asking about who lived in the compound, how old were the children etc, I could ask about the radio station. What did the community members hope it would offer them? What kind of shows were they looking forward to listening to? And what if anything should the radio station not do – what mistakes should we avoid?

And so, we came to this man who told us that radio would help him get his missing animals back. These smallholdings don’t have any fences and cattle and goats roam freely, with some teenagers or children keeping an eye on them. The man said that whenever one of his animals goes missing, he has to go to Choma, (which is difficult for villagers to get to), to put out a notice via a commercial radio station (which is expensive and not very local). He is looking forward to having a local radio station to go to place his missing animal notices.

Other families were looking forward to sports updates, to educational programmes and to farmers being able to share ideas and advice with each other. One woman warned us that we should be careful that the radio station doesn’t become a source of misinformation.

People “in the village” don’t want the phrase “in the village” to always have the connotations of poverty that it has now. Our hope is that the radio station plays a significant role in villagers experiencing “fullness of life” instead.

The post Transforming life in the village appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

“After four years of devastating drought and food insecurity, no-one was ready for this,” says Fatma. “Even the authorities were poorly prepared and only days before the flooding started, the President said that he anticipated that the rainy season would be short and not have much impact on farmers,” she added. Thankfully before the rains arrived, Vox Radio had already begun preparing communities, advising them what to do in the event of flooding.

Partnering with the county government and service providers such as the Kenya Red Cross, Vox team members have been reaching out to flood-affected communities, giving them a voice. “As we meet community members, we listen to their concerns and needs and we also engage with specialists who can answer their questions,” says Fatma.  “For example we have discovered that a lot of people have been traumatised by the floods, and so we have been helping people understand how to identify trauma and giving them ways to cope.”

Fatma Mzee accompanies the District County Commissioner and other officials during a food distribution to displaced communities.

Vox Radio Chairman, John Otunga who has also been supporting the team in their emergency response described how the Vox team responded when the scale of the disaster became apparent: “We realised the importance of reliable information and immediately took action. We rallied community leaders from the government, religious groups, and the broader network of development workers to share messages of hope, give direction, and reassure the affected communities. We also restructured our programming to address community concerns and facilitated community discussions. We placed a lot of emphasis on engagement with community leaders and health experts in our radio programmes, which has fostered a sense of connection and support. These platforms of dialogue have contributed to the unity and kindness we are witnessing in Tana River, even as people grapple with the aftermath of the floods. Leaders are showing more accountability, and slowly, hope is finding its way back into the hearts of our people.”

The authorities have also acknowledged the valuable role Vox Radio is playing, even in supporting their rescue efforts.  One family whose home had been submerged under water called the radio station to tell them of their situation, which alerted the authorities who were able to rescue them.

According to Fatma, the floods came at a terrible time for both pastoralists and crop farmers. “Most farmers had already planted their seeds, but these have been washed away,” she said.  “The pastoralists likewise had brought their livestock from the hinterlands to graze by the river, so many animals were swept away, and those remaining are now suffering from diseases caused by the Tstese Fly.”

Going forward John believes that as the flood waters start to recede, the radio station will have a critical role to play as the communities will face many challenges.  On top of the existing challenge of food insecurity, which has been exacerbated by the floods, there is now a threat of a cholera outbreak and mosquito-born diseases like Malaria.  There is also a risk to communities from wild animals, whose habitats have been washed away, which often brings them into direct contact with people.

While thousands of people are now living in temporary camps, Fatma is thankful that many people are listening to Vox Radio.   “We have found that people in these IDP camps are very vulnerable, especially young people, and so we are running special mentorship programmes for boys and girls,” she said.  “Vox teams have been moving from camp-to-camp having conversations with young people about the risks that they face and about how they can keep safe.”

Meanwhile John says that Vox Radio’s commitment to serving the public during this crisis underscores the vital role that local media plays in times of disaster. “By leveraging its influence and reach, which is now almost county-wide, Vox Radio has not only disseminated critical information, but also fostered a sense of community resilience and unity, proving that even in the darkest times, the power of community-centred media can bring people together and help them rebuild.”

Photo credits: Kevin Odit (Nation Media Group) and Kulah Nzomo (Vox Radio)

The post From Drought to Deluge: Vox Radio Becomes A Lifeline appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

“Love your enemies! Do good to them.” ~ Jesus

“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” ~Nelson Mandela

I have been deeply troubled to see the terrible loss of life that has happened in Israel and Gaza in recent days, as violence provokes more violence, with no peaceful end in sight to what seems the world’s most intractable conflict.

All too often these days it seems our media are awash with news of an assault by this or that group against another, often driven by some flawed ideology, misguided zealotry, or ultranationalism.

Fatma Mzee is the Operations Director of the Amani Centre in Tana River

Media, especially social media, often pour fuel on the raging fire and before too long you have a conflagration. It concerns me greatly!

However I am also greatly heartened when so often, acts of savagery and brutality result in a surge of love and kindness, as people rise to help the victims of violence or vendettas and people open their homes to refugees and outcasts. As usual when systems and processes fail us, we tap into our own resources, and friendships. It’s what strong communities do. Growing up in eastern Kenya, I have seen this happen, in fact it is one of the reasons I became a journalist. I believed media and communication could help communities, especially divided ones, connect better. And it can!  I have experienced it first hand in Tana River, in the eastern part of Kenya, where I live.

I was working for Nation Media group after the 2012 massacres in Tana River  and it was really bad, there was such hatred especially between the Orma, pastoralist community and Pokomo, land farming community.  The place was rife with rumours and misinformation and the situation was tense, as one act of violence provoked reprisals which left many dead and thousands displaced. But rather than dwelling on the past, let me fast forward to today because Tana River is a very different place.  Sure there are still many problems, but the divisions that were common then, are hard to find now. Former enemies have now become friends, there is greater understanding and dialogue and people even intermarry across ethnic groups. How did it happen?  It would be naive to say there was one reason, but I have no doubt that one of the main influences has been Vox Radio, formerly Amani (which means peace) FM.   Set up as a collaborative venture between the Amani Centre, Sentinel Project and Amplifying Voices (formerly HCR) to promote peace, Vox serves as a beacon of hope and a platform for dialogue, amplifying the voices of local communities, allowing them to express themselves and engage in constructive conversations.

Orma pastoralists, Tana River County (Photo credit: Cafod)

Take the case of Yusuf for example. He was a pastoralist and hated the tribe that farmed the land. But through our farming programme ‘Sauti ya Mkulima’ (the Voice of the Farmer), which brought pastoralists and land farmers together to discuss their shared challenges, they discovered they actually had a lot of common ground, not least of all that they were all in fact farmers. Over time, Yusuf, encouraged by his new crop-growing friends, decided that he would try his hand at growing watermelons along the banks of the Tana River.  He was so successful that he is now investing in an agri business, while still rearing cattle. Together pastoralists and land-farmers are gradually realising that to overcome the enormous challenges Tana River faces, such as the effects of the climate emergency, they need to find solutions together. It will take time, and patience!

A key to Vox Radio’s success is that we have built a lot of trust.  Trust takes a long time to build but just one second to destroy, so we cannot be complacent. But I do believe we are seen as an impartial champion of well-being for all the communities of Tana River. We have done this in several ways:

• By listening – to understand the hopes, aspirations and concerns that people have and providing a space for them to be heard
• By involving all communities – literally moving from one village to another and inviting villages to meet with each other.  We have even taken politicians with us, so they see first hand what people are facing and listen to their concerns
• By fact checking and challenging rumours and misinformation head on
• Through excellent radio programmes that engage the communities – talk shows, ‘phone-ins, dramas and programmes that hold the political classes to account
• By helping the communities to find common ground, rather than focus on their differences.
• Through sport and other community events – people who have fun together, can reason together.
• By using all media-platforms that support the radio, including social media, posters, banners and campaigns.

I believe that if we want to see sustainable development come to Tana River, it must go hand-in-hand with peace-building. We therefore need development solutions that prevent conflict and extremism and promote peace and security.  For that we need to keep the communities at the centre of all that we do and involve them at every stage. We need to promote peaceful narratives and behaviour that strengthens health and mental well-being. And we need to strengthen gender equality so girls have the same opportunities as boys.

I’m convinced that in today’s interconnected world, even in more marginalised regions like Tana River, radio and the internet are emerging as powerful tools for building peace, fostering understanding and promoting unity among diverse communities. I believe that peace is possible! I pray the Israelis and Palestinians will discover this too.

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Fatma Mzee is Director of the Amani Centre in Tana River and is a guest speaker at this year’s Build Peace Conference in Nairobi

Picture credit: Re-imagining New Communities 

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