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Social distancing – a term that most of us were unfamiliar with pre-2020. These days, we can hardly have a conversation without mentioning it. Though it is essential to keep the virus from spreading, it is taking its mental toll. Communities in Sierra Leone are feeling it too. Ransford Wright, Founder and Chief Executive of…

As far back as she can remember, Sunita has been collecting water for her family. Instead of playing as a carefree child, she had to walk to the river, fill up large vessels, and carry them back to the small Maharashtran village of Kobada, India. This arduous task would become one of her lifetime duties.…

Amplifying Voices partner in Pakistan recently hosted a workshop for women to learn more about health and hygiene. It was a great opportunity to give some hands-on help, so after the event the women received free check-ups from health workers and medicines were provided through Amplifying Voices Pakistan. The local partner based in the Khyber…

Coronavirus has severely impacted our lives – from pressuring our healthcare to keeping families apart. Though we’ve been persevering through the global pandemic for nearly a year, it is hardly a new ‘normal’. Sierra Leone had its first reported Covid-19 case at the end of March 2020. However, in the first seven months of the…

Welcome to Amplifying Voices! To kick off a new year, we’ve changed some things around here. As of 1 January 2021, our HCR teams in the UK and Pakistan are operating as ‘Amplifying Voices’. We’ve got a new name, new logo, new colours, new website, and new stories! But why the change? Our previous name,…

A couple of weeks ago HCR Pakistan held a competition in a village primary school near Charsadda. The competition got children thinking about sickness and how to prevent it – especially Covid-19. It was community-centred media – but not as we know it

COVID19 has highlighted the vital role of communication for disseminating health and hygiene advice in a crisis, and for building cooperation across diverse populations. Although we have had to adapt working practices to observe physical distancing, community-centred media remains our primary tool in responding to Covid19. We have also provided some emergency funding so our partners…

Soot Semee is helping refugee communities in Northern Uganda to protect children at risk. A large child protection NGO has been working with Soot Semee volunteers to help community members recognise abuse and know how to report it.

Community-centred media helps people facing disadvantage or injustice to speak out and be heard by those in positions of power. Local stories are powerful, as HCR Pakistan’s partner, New Dawn, saw recently when responding to a scam that was hurting low income families. A few years ago in Pakistan, the government started to roll out…

Despite Covid-19, Amplifying Voices’ partner, Community Development Centre, Uganda (CDC) continues to bring communities together. CDC’s Soot Semee project uses community-centred podcasts to overcome physical distancing challenges caused by the pandemic. Physical distancing not only prevents people from seeing loved ones, it also exaggerates the separation between people from different community groups. Barnabas Samuel, from…