News

When it comes to community empowerment, service providers often look at what resources and strengths THEY have and what THEY can do to meet community needs.  But it is too easy to overlook what the community already has, to meet its own needs, even among poor and marginalised communities.  As a core value of HCR,…

It’s hard to find many places on the planet today that don’t have access to some form of media.  However in remote parts of India’s Maharashtra state, many indigenous tribal or Adivasi communities don’t have access to radio, television or even mobile ‘phones.  Many can’t read.

It’s for that reason that Amplifying Voices, in partnership with Seva Social Welfare Foundation, has begun a project to distribute “speaker boxes” with content that will transform lives.

There is an old proverb that says, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”   At Amplifying Voices we’ve come to realise that if we really want to help alleviate poverty, we need to go even further – we…

By Celeste Larkins Last week we were invited by the Bunidyarra Irra Wangga Language Program to a language workshop in Mullewa (about an hour’s drive east of our base in Geraldton), held at the Mullewa Aboriginal Arts Centre. The language program aims to preserve, revitalise and maintain Aboriginal language and culture. It was a great…

With family and domestic violence a major issue worldwide, in Australia, and the area we work in the Mid West of Western Australia, HCR jumped at the chance to help a local women’s health organisation with a community campaign. We helped local champions to develop radio messages to speak out against family and domestic violence.

One of the many strengths of community media is being able to record local stories addressing local issues. A great example of this is in Geraldton, Western Australia, with a video project aimed at addressing the stigma of mental health and suicide.

Celeste had the privilege of meeting Jason Bartlett at Royal Perth Hospital, after a local partner organisation, the Western Australia Centre for Rural Health (WACRH), at the request of Jason, asked HCR to produce a film sharing his story.

“I never realised how the Orma people came to be in this region of Kenya,” said a retired teacher from Tana River, “but since I started hearing their stories on the radio, I have begun to understand them better.” The man, from a rival community, was responding to a series of cultural programmes he had…

By Hazeen Latif Sahib Gul is 25 years of age and has never been able to walk. He uses his arms to go places in the community. The ground is covered with dust, stones, glass and rubbish. Sahib Gul’s hands get dirty, cut and blistered. He never thought he would be respected in the community.…

By Ross James and Jon Hargreaves Amidst the turmoil on the southern Philippines island of Mindanao, following clashes between government forces and Islamic militants, a voice for peace continues to ring out.  Radio Gandingan, an HCR-supported community-centred radio project, is providing critical information to residents and displaced people from Marawi city, where the fighting first…