News

With Kenyan schools now unlikely to reopen until January 2021, radio has become an educational life-line for many families across the country.  Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Amani FM, HCR’s partner station in Eastern Kenya, in collaboration with Zizi Afrique Foundation, has been delighting children and parents across Tana Delta, with a variety…

In a world suffering from too many strong people using their strength to enforce their will on others, its really exciting to find this Pakistani youth group who are using their strengths to listen to their community. These young people from a church in the small city of Jauharabad said they had felt despair about…

This is Refugee Week. In Northern Uganda, refugee voices are at forefront of the battle against the problems Covid-19 brings to their communities. We heard about some places where the only information comes through megaphones. After a while this can seem a list of do’s and don’ts and people in those communities say they feel…

As the number Covid-19 cases begin to rise dramatically in Kenya, health authorities have been urging communities to stay at home, observe physical distancing and not to go back to work. However there is a major concern that many young people, particularly in Nairobi’s informal settlements, are not heeding the warning. To that end, Mtaani…

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.

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.”

One of my earliest experiences in community centred media took me to Banda Aceh a number of years after the tragic tsunami in 2004. Five years on and the devastation was clearly still visible. Research by colleagues with disaster response found in that initial critical phase of the disaster, people weren’t necessarily prioritising items that we would associate with primary needs such as food, water, shelter but the most important need was information.

Our partners at Amani FM in Tana River County, eastern Kenya, report that rumours, fake news and misinformation about the Corona virus, are causing fear and panic. They are working hard to ensure that good information is being disseminated, that constructive dialogue is happening and that community fears and concerns are being heard.

We asked yesterday how the Radio MAMA content on Coronavirus is developing and what community members make of the radio content. Radio MAMA is limiting their information sources to Government and WHO to avoid confusion. As a community-centred project, Radio MAMA recognises that reliable information about the virus is only part of the picture

In a health crisis, fear can spread faster than a virus, and with that, the potential for hatred and violence. Clear, actionable and trustworthy communication is essential to combat this. It is also essential for service providers and government officials to listen. What have people actually heard and understood from the health messages? What are…