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) …

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Peacebuilding near Lainya, South Sudan

Following the Amplifying Voices training workshops in Yei earlier this year, CDC South Sudan held community consultations with 5 communities or Payams in the Lainya area. This area is between the towns of Yei and Lainya in Central Equatoria State. During the consultation events, CDC supported the community members to make some audio content.  Participants were excited by the event and said,

“We didn’t know how radio was made. It was just there on radios. Now we are making it ourselves.”

As a result of the consultation, 170 listening groups will each be equipped with a speaker box. The project is called Studio Salaam (or Peace Studio).

People in Lainya area told CDC that there is a big gap between the local people and the army responsible for maintaining order in the area. To address this, around half of the listener groups will be in the communities, made up of community members. The other listener groups will be embedded in the local structures, for example, there will be police listener groups, army listener groups and local government listener groups.

Listener groups also make media content, creating recordings as part of their meetings. CDC envisages that the community groups can share their experiences of government agencies, for example how they see soldiers coming in and destroying crops or other local resources. Community members will share how they want to be treated. CDC expect army and police groups to explore how they should play their roles. For example, police will be able to talk about things in communities that lead them to behave as they do – the things that they see as not right.

The speakerboxes are seen as a safe place to have these difficult conversations. To ease concerns about safety, these South Sudan speakerbox podcasts will not broadcast the names of people speaking.

Peacebuilding in Rhino Camp, Uganda

Meanwhile in Uganda, in Omugo 4 village of Rhino Camp refugee settlement, the Soot Semee project continues and is maturing. Soot Semee volunteers are learning to optimise and adapt as the project progresses from a pilot phase to an established community-owned media platform. For example, at the start, the Soot Semee podcasts were played on a loop on large speakers in the marketplace. Some people found this annoying and so now the large speakers will play Soot Semee at set times, and people will gather to listen.

In 2016 when the most recent large scale migration started there was rapid growth of Rhino Camp and Omugo Zone. They were considered as humanitarian emergencies and large numbers of international organisations came to the displacement camps to support the refugees. Now many of these organisations have moved on. But there are still large numbers of people who have resettled in Omugo Zone and other parts of Rhino Camp, who are still facing similar challenges to those faced by people in 2016.  Groups like Soot Semee, which are set up by refugees themselves, are taking long term approaches to their work. The project does not end. New volunteers need to go through training. Items that break need repaired or replaced, rather than signalling an end to the project.

Hearing from community members at SD Card collection point, Omuga Zone, Aug 2022

The Soot Semee council of reference meets regularly to review Soot Semee content and provide feedback to help the project evolve in a way that best serves the need. Because of this, fresh new content is being produced weekly, and people continue to gather in listening groups to listen, discuss, and respond with recordings of their own. People use these opportunities to share stories of what works for them and could work for others. For example, listeners heard several people explain that they return to South Sudan to farm for a while, but it is not safe to stay there long term so they return to the camp. Stories like these help Omugo 4 residents to make their own decisions on how to earn their livelihoods, or how they can best support their families.

Livelihood stories on Soot Semee are also connected to a ‘microgrant’ programme that CDC Uganda is running. Some people talked about using microgrants to set up businesses making and selling soap. Buying in a piece of soap from outside the camp currently costs about one quarter of one refugee’s monthly income. With soap so vital in the fight against Covid and other transferable diseases, there is clearly a need for a more affordable supply.

Another regular role for podcasts is in providing feedback from meetings at “Base Camp”. Base camp is the part of Omugo Zone where the representative of the Office of Prime Minister works. UNHCR and other camp coordination bodies have their offices there. Base Camp is also a long way from Omugo 4 village. There are many different meetings at Base Camp. There are different people who attend and are responsible for reporting back to the Omugo 4 village. However, residents found that information was often lost in this relaying process. Some people would favour their own families over others when passing on information, creating potential for conflict. So one of the volunteers, Joseph Idoru Lo Baba, now records the information at camp meetings which is then given out through the Soot Semee podcasts.

Soot Semee also helped to prevent violence during a recent UNHCR verification process. Refugees need to verify their registration every few years to ensure they have the right documentation to be supported and protected as refugees. Soot Semee informed community members about the need to re-register and advised them how, when and where they could complete the process. In other locations in Rhino Camp, lack of reliable information sources caused a lot of confusion. People were gathering around the camp managers premises, and many didn’t have the correct documentation causing delays and anger. Local police got frustrated and there were reports of people being beaten. However, when the registration people came to Omugo 4, there was calm as people were aware of how and where to register, and what documentation was required.

Peacebuilding across borders

At the border between the South Sudan and Uganda, in places near the border town of Koboko, yet another community-centred media project is getting underway. It is a border project so the speakerbox podcasts are multilingual, discussing farming and sharing natural resources in Kakwa and Aringa languages. The podcast project is called Voices A 2 Z, meaning that it includes everyone’s voices. The name is in English because this is the language that is shared between both groups.  

Through CDC’s work, community-centred media is becoming recognised as an important tool for peacebuilding on both sides of the border and across the border itself.

Click below to listen to the theme tunes of the two new podcast projects.

Theme tune for Studio Salaam

Theme tune for Voices A 2 Z

A 2 Z and Studio Salaam are peacebuilding components of a wider project, the PAMANA cross-border initiative which seeks to respond to immediate Humanitarian needs, while firming up foundations for the the longer term through Development projects working on sustainable use of natural resources, and through Peacebuilding activities, such as community centred media. (In tech-jargon, this is called the HDP triple nexus!) PAMANA is a collaboration between several local and international NGOs, including Caritas Switzerland, Agency for Accelerated Regional Development (AFARD), Community Development Centre (CDC), and Organic Farming Advisory Organization (OFAO), with technical advice from Swisspeace and BOMA Project. The initiative is supported by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). Amplifying Voices provides advisory and training support to CDC’s community-centred media work, along with some funding.

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Community mapping

Planning media content

Planning media content

Workshop exercises

CDC plans to integrate community-centred media as part of a larger project to promote peacebuilding and good natural resource management in Central Equatoria state. As the week progressed, it became more and more evident how great a need there is for this project.

With the backdrop of a stalling peace process in South Sudan and the war in Ukraine filling my newsfeeds, and my own feelings of helpless anger at the tragic situation, I also heard several local stories of conflict between cattle herders and farmers, of roadside robberies and of murders committed during the time I was in Yei, just a few kilometres from where I was staying.

Yei River county is rich in natural resources.

CDC in both Uganda and South Sudan hear these tragic stories daily as implementing partners for the Hagiga Wahid misinformation management tool. When someone reports a story or rumour to Hagiga Wahid, CDC passes it through a network of trusted sources in the places where the events are said to have happened to verify whether the stories are rumours or truth. Hagiga Wahid have been so successful at verifying stories in South Sudan, that one armed group accused CDC of using satellite spy technology. Getting the truth behind distressing stories through crowdsourcing information is one step towards preventing escalation of violence.

Because violent conflict is so prevalent to everyday life, Anthony and I found ourselves giving much more time in this workshop to the sessions on conflict sensitive content. I found myself learning a lot from doing these sessions this time round. Together we learned the importance of citizen journalists mapping out who the different actors are in a conflict. Then instead of reporting on the stated positions of each party which pit them against each other as combatants, local journalists should explore the stories behind each party’s needs that have driven them to take the positions they have, Conflict sensitive reporting would highlight the areas where differing needs reflect common ground or common humanity, giving participants reasons for dialogue.

Each day I would hear reporting styles on the Ukraine war that were the opposite of this, with journalists promoting the positions of the combatants and presenting stories in a way that encouraged polarisation and escalated anger. It helped me to see how difficult it might be to take the objective road of discovering truth and listening to all parties in the conflict, especially where a powerful party might be brutally oppressing others.

I wondered if the tools were over idealistic, especially for workshop participants who are not external observers to the conflict but who have to live with violent events affecting their daily lives. So I was very encouraged when the CDC team also shared some conflict mapping work they had been doing for the wider project using very similar tools. The workshop allowed us to bring together their tools for conflict mapping with media tools for creating conflict sensitive content.

Going forward CDC are identifying listener groups in areas around Yei most affected by conflict and pressure on natural resources. A community-centred media project in those communities would follow a podcast and speakerbox model, similar to Soot Semee, as the communities are beyond the range of the Yei FM stations. However, content could also benefit people closer to Yei and we are hopeful that the participants from the radio stations in Yei will persuade their organisations to carry community-centred content for much reduced rates, recognising that the media is sourced in the community rather than being top-down messaging from relatively well-off international NGOs.

Stop Press: The project team and a few other community members have proposed the name "Studio Salam" meaning the Studio of Peace, for the community-centred media serving Yei and the surrounding area.

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Sometimes looked down on as the poor relation of television and certainly considered old-fashioned compared to social media, radio is still the one to watch.  That may sound like a bad pun, but the influence of local community-centred radio is rising like never before.  It is still the most pervasive, accessible, affordable, and flexible mass medium available. In rural areas, it is often the only mass medium available.  Combine it with modern messaging apps like WhatsApp and social media like Facebook and put it in the hands of communities themselves, its power to influence change is unquestionable.  It expands the spaces for conversation where people can talk, listen and take action.

In conversations recently with leaders of the radio stations we helped set up, they recounted numerous stories of how community-centred radio has helped kick-start micro-enterprises, stopped a terrorist attack from taking place, become a forum for trauma-healing after violent conflict, combatted rumours and misinformation, empowered girls against sexual predators, helped improve food security, and become the only school for children during the Covid pandemic.

Central to all of these stories is that community-centred radio puts communities at the heart of the communication process, where they become agents of change not objects to change.  It helps connect communities with the expert service providers who are wanting to support positive change. It helps them to determine their own path to development and well-being.  It amplifies the voices of those whose voices have been lost or drowned out by those more powerful.

As our Amplifying Voices team anticipate a post-pandemic world, where we look forward to physically engaging again with partners, we’re excited about the many opportunities that are presenting themselves across Africa and Asia for community-centred radio and allied media projects.  Besides the misinformation that we witnessed during the pandemic, we also saw a plethora of unhelpful, top-down communication, rooted in telling, not listening. For that reason I am convinced, more than ever, that  Amplifying Voices has a really important role to play today, to challenge and redress this situation.

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These elections are held every two years so that refugee communities can govern themselves while also contributing to stability in the wider Ugandan society. This year Soot Semee podcasts helped encourage participation while also promoting peace during the process.

To encourage participation, Soot Semee programmes provided information on how the elections work. They described how people could apply to be candidates and what qualifications they would need. The podcasts provided a timeline for the elections and announced who the candidates were.

Soot Semee podcasts also encouraged community members not to become divided but to keep together in peaceful co-existence. To support this, one thing that was not allowed on the podcasts was campaigning for votes. This helped maintain impartiality.

However, we were encouraged to hear that several of the volunteers who lead listener groups or organise groups to create content, ended up being voted into community leader roles, including the roles of Omugo 4 Refugee Welfare Council leader and deputy, and the Youth Secretary. When I asked Barnabas about this, he said that people wanted leaders who would ensure that their voices would be heard – and who would also push for good services in the community. The Soot Semee volunteers were not traditional big names, but they had been nominated because people had appreciated their engagement and service to the community. Barnabas told me that some business interests had tried to inject money to push for their choice of leader, but the people had chosen to go with someone they knew cared for the good of the community.

My own community in the Scottish Borders is running council elections this month and I’ve been helping to publicise the timeline and application processes, so I’m getting a taste of how much there is to try and communicate. The Soot Semee experience has got me thinking about how we could encourage more participation here.

The Omugo elections have gone ahead peacefully. In fact based on this recording of election winners being announced, sent to us by the Soot Semee team leader, Barnabas, the elections may even have been enjoyable!

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Getting energised at the workshop, Omugo zone, Sept 2021

However, Soot Semee don’t just repeat these sayings as mantras in the workshops … For the Soot Semee team, “make your shoes dirty” is an authentic way of working. At least twice a week, Soot Semee team members make the 1.5hr (or more) trip each way to the Omugo zone refugee settlements taking recording equipment to listen to stories and feedback, to support local groups making podcast content, and of course to hand over the latest podcasts on SD Cards to the Speakerbox listening groups.

When Barnabas, the project leader first mentioned the Council of Reference to me, I was a bit curious. After all, CDC is a registered charity and has its own board, so why did they decide to have a Council of Reference … who are they and what will they do?

Barnabas, told me, “They are like the board of the Soot Semee project”.

The Council of Reference is made up of respected community members from within the refugee settlements in Rhino camp and the surrounding area along with representatives from local service providers. Members of the Soot Semee core team are also part of the Council.

The Council of Reference’s job is to review the Soot Semee podcasts and also feedback they hear from the community to ensure that the team continues to be responsive to local priorities, and also that they are inclusive of people across the community. We love that Soot Semee are going above and beyond “getting their shoes dirty” and are truly holding themselves accountable to the communities they serve. We also love that they are equipping the Council of Reference to really understand and engage with the Soot Semee work. This is a fantastic example of building local sustainability through good governance and accountability.

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Standard-size speakerbox

Rose is part of a listener group made up mostly of women which gathered to listen to Soot Semee podcasts on a standard-sized speakerbox (see picture). Members of this group are also regular contributors to the podcast content. Rose is the main voice speaking in a recent community service announcement (CSA), giving Covid-19 health advice in the South Sudanese dialect of the Omugo 4 residents. With a recent resurgence of Covid cases in Uganda, and new lockdown restrictions, these CSAs are vital and timely.

The ’talking shop’ speakerbox listener group have also created CSAs to pass on advice about the importance of clean water for health, produced features about living in peace with neighbours from different ethnic backgrounds, and recorded discussions on other issues that are particularly important to women in Omugo 4.

Rose’s shop is situated close to the food distribution point where villagers come to get monthly food packages provided by relief organisations, so other people were stopping so they could listen to the podcasts coming from the speakerbox in her shop. The Soot Semee team and Rose saw an opportunity to help more people engage with the podcasts, and her speakerbox got upgraded to a big loudspeaker that can be heard by many more people as they visit the food distribution point, or stand around the shop to discuss the latest news from South Sudan. A larger speaker also allows people to stand further apart as they listen.

This happened as part of a recent extension of the Soot Semee project. In the last month, Amplifying Voices supported our partner, Community Development Centre (CDC), to purchase an additional 140 speakerboxes which were distributed among more vulnerable families in Omugo 4 settlement. 10 speakerboxes were also given to Ugandan families from the host community that live around and among the Omugo zone villages.

Speakerboxes ready for distribution, Omugo 4, June 2021

CDC worked in partnership with local community leaders and international NGOs, such as IRC, to assess which households were most vulnerable due to lack of access to reliable information and would most benefit from having speakerboxes. People like Rose also help to extend the reach of the podcasts and get more people involved. Others come and download copies of the podcast on to their phones.

Laura, CDC Community Support Representative, coordinating distribution plans. Arua

You can follow stories about this project on Facebook by clicking on the #SootSemee tag.

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In one location, a foster family was abusing a child refugee who had been placed with them. Some neighbours realised what was happening, and as a result of the Soot Semee podcasts, they knew how to report the situation. The NGO was able to remove the child from the abusive situation and place them with a new family.

In such sensitive situations, it is vital that community members know they can trust the NGO. By bringing community members and NGO workers together to develop podcast content, Soot Semee not only provides a channel for reliable information, but facilitates essential relationship building. As a result, people know they can trust the service providers as well as the information they provide. For children in Omugo zone, this is literally life-saving.

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Physical distancing not only prevents people from seeing loved ones, it also exaggerates the separation between people from different community groups. Barnabas Samuel, from CDC told us that the lack of regular face-face interaction between the host communities and refugee communities has led to an increase in misunderstandings or even conflict between people from the two communities. Before Covid-19, Ugandans and South Sudanese would meet each other and socialise in the market areas. This had helped to build trust and common understanding, but it is not happening at the moment. When people have gone out to the farming areas or to collect firewood, they sometimes encounter people from the other communities and misunderstanding or suspicion has led to conflict.

So, with support from the Soot Semee team, community members started making new content to help the different groups understand each other. Refugees are making content that discusses some of these issues. They tell their stories about why they might need to be in the areas where host community members are. Ugandan community volunteers are also taking voice recorders to their own communities to let Ugandans tell their side of the story.

People can hear the podcasts on speakerboxes which have been distributed in the settlement area, Others download the content on to mobile phones.

In feedback Soot Semee has heard that the refugee community is beginning to understand more about why the incidents are happening and how to prevent them. Some host community members can also listen to the speakerbox content, but at present most of the speakerboxes distributed by Soot Semee are in the refugee communities where the need has been greatest.  Soot Semee hopes to enable more host community members to hear the Soot Semee podcasts, either via mobile phone downloads, or by getting some more speakerboxes to the host community.

This is a critical time in which trusted communication channels and opportunities to listen to others are much needed.

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