“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.

Soon after the Gaza-Israel war started in October of 2023, every radio and TV station inside Gaza was confirmed to be off the air.  In many other countries, we might not notice that our favorite station was gone, or we might quickly switch to listening online without a thought.  As I read the media listening research about Gaza before the war I saw that Gazans are radio listeners and own radios.  Their internet was very slow even before the war with 2G internet being the fastest signal you could get on a mobile phone. Also, not as many people watched TV as on the Palestinian West Bank.  So in the first week of the war I spoke with my friends from Amplifying Voices and other partners and we started to ask if there was a strong role for Humanitarian Radio?

I have been working in the humanitarian world for over 20 years now and I have never seen a room full of UN staff and humanitarian workers who were so depressed as we all felt like there was nothing we could do to help support the people in Gaza while the doors were still closed to humanitarian relief and workers coming in from outside Gaza.

One local Gazan gave me hope that we might still be able to do something to equip those in the community.    Providentially, 2 weeks before the war started, a friend of mine introduced me to Mohamed al Sabe (Sabe for short).  He is a Gazan and has studied and worked in the humanitarian world for many years.  His family home is in Gaza City and we met on a Zoom video call before the war started.  Given the history of conflict in the area, it was only a matter of time before a humanitarian radio capacity would be needed again soon, so we started talking about how to equip him for this work.

My aim has always been to connect local communities with each other and with humanitarian responders by getting a radio station on air within 72hrs of a disaster happening. In supporting teams to respond to over 40 disasters, I have seen time and again that planning ahead is key, so we equip and train local community members to be ready with our “Suitcase Radio” to get on air, in the disaster area, as quickly as possible.

Before Sabe and I could work through that equipping process, the war had started. It quickly became clear that a 72hrs response would be impossible in such a complex conflict. We also realized that the equipment needed to be even more flexible than the suitcase radio; something that would not attract too much attention, that could be packed up and carried easily in an evacuation. We designed a studio for Gaza that could be built into a backpack and sent it to Sabe thru our UN partners. 

Another challenge is that normally we would deliver equipment and hands on training all at the same time, but this time we could not do that, but only send the equipment in.  Knowing that Sabe would have to assemble the studio bit by bit, by himself we created a set of “IKEA style” instructions and a step-by-step setup video that was sent on the included laptop.

A really positive thing has been the number of really clever and very resourceful people we have encountered in Gaza.  Basheer, a medical worker at local hospital lost his job when his hospital was destroyed.   He has proved to be a very handy volunteer and helped Sabe set up and test the studio.  Sabe also found many young “bloggers” who are experienced at interviewing and bring their own mics and cameras. 

Despite the many constraints, we are now hopeful that this growing team of Gaza staff and volunteers will be ready to start broadcasting humanitarian radio content very soon.

Amplifying Voices has worked in partnership with First Response Radio – founded by Mike Adams, now operating as Rapid Response Radio – for many years. We are supporting the Gaza radio project with equipment costs and advocacy, and stand ready to support further with training if requested by the local partners. Our crisis response toolkit, Amplifying Voices in Disaster (AViD), supports community voices to play a central role in crisis responses.

The post Backpack radio for Gaza 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.

The post Tree planting to restore dignity and peace appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

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.

In 2022, Amplifying Voices Pakistan helped a local pastor and his wife to start sewing classes in a rural village to help women to build skills for earning. These Roshan Ghar classes also became a place for talking about problems many of the women had in common – especially issues affecting the health and wellbeing of families. Some of those conversations led to health camps and a mobile health clinic to take conversations into people’s home. Other conversations were recorded, as were interviews with health professionals, and then put together into conversational education programmes. Women would listen to the programmes on speakerboxes during the sewing classes.

Hazeen Latif and his team from Amplifying Voices Pakistan supported the group by teaching interview skills, recording skills, and editing skills. As the quality got better and better, Hazeen introduced Roshan Ghar’s programmes to a local radio station. These weekly 10-minute slots became popular and the station invited the group leaders to join them for a live show on International Women’s Day in March this year. The sewing teacher went along with Rimshah, the health worker. They were a little nervous about being live on air, so Hazeen joined them.

The live show received lots calls from listeners who were excited to hear women from villages like their own in the studio alongside the professionals. The Roshan Ghar women were creating an atmosphere of possibility.

The radio station called them back for another live show in June. This time focussing on the Roshan Ghar project and the partnership with Amplifying Voices. The local station started to invite the Roshan Ghar team for monthly live shows.

A show in August focussed on neurological conditions. The mobile health clinic had found several families with children suffering from epilepsy but who did not understand what was happening to their children. Two of these women came and spoke on the show. One lady shared about her son being excluded from school because he had fits. They also shared about the advice and treatment they had received from the lady health worker and volunteer doctors visiting the village.

The women spoke with Hazeen later saying:

“before we felt ashamed [of our children’s conditions], but now we can talk about taking care of our children.”

… not just in the sewing class but live on air.

More women from the village are now taking part in monthly live shows accompanied by local project leaders, but no longer needing to have Hazeen or anyone from the Amplifying Voices Pakistan team with them.

“Before we could not talk to other men or people outside our village, but now we get such a confidence that we can talk to anyone.”

Listeners also feel like the Roshan Ghar women are opening new doors for them:

“You talk about things that are taboo – like skin rashes in private areas, and intestinal worms – we learned a lot from you.”

“Especially about toilets – the importance of keeping toilets clean. Most radio programmes are about glamourous topics and don’t touch on things like this.”

Yet, these are topics that make a difference in rural communities. In recent years there have been several projects or campaigns to provide latrines for village homes, but often without a corresponding rollout of advice on care or maintenance. As a result, toilets had become unhygienic and a source of illness. These women, who are not afraid to talk about the unpleasant, are helping people stay healthier.

The programmes continue. Often drawing out the wisdom within the villages as well as accessing the medical experts.

“Next we want to hear about smog and lung diseases, and especially about home remedies for building resistance to the effects of smog.”

The post Opening doors in Sargodha 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.

Simooya Community Radio, Pemba District

Amplifying Voices partnered with the Chibozu Community Trust, an NGO registered in Zambia and the UK, to set up Simooya Community Radio station which went into its testing phase in April 2024.  The station provides education for children and adults, culturally relevant entertainment and dialogue, covering the Pemba district of Southern Zambia and serves a rural population of 81,000 people.

Chibozu Community Trust has employed a station manager and recruited a team of enthusiastic volunteers from Simooya village.  The radio team is responsible for engaging community members and local service providers to create content and develop the station as a locally sustainable non-profit community resource.

Context

Simooya Village is rurally located in the Southern Province of Zambia, where high levels of poverty create significant health risks. The nearest town to Simooya is Choma, on the main road from the capital Lusaka. Choma is quite accessible. Simooya and its 12 surrounding villages are not. The majority of people in these villages are subsistence farmers. Due to drought, and increased food prices, families spend around 65% of income on basic food needs.

However, Simooya community members want to change the outsiders' perception that they are too poor to help themselves. Their new radio station aims to equip villagers' own development initiatives, working towards “fullness of life” instead of poverty.

Our Role

Amplifying Voices

• provided studio equipment and support to repurpose unused premises into studios
• facilitated a community consultation and media training workshop
• and is providing ongoing project accompaniment

... to build the station’s long term sustainability by working with staff, board and volunteers to develop their skills in local media production, ongoing community engagement, station management (building partnerships), and volunteer training.

Due to ongoing electricity shortages we are also seeking funding so Simooya Community Radio can install solar equipment to keep the station running during powercuts. The solar will also power the village borehole and the school classrooms.

Station Goals:

• Voices of Simooya (and surrounds) will be amplified.
• People will develop through ...
  • Learning new skills
  • Learning about agriculture
  • Improved productivity and livelihoods

• More specifically ...
  • Easy access to news and information (eg announcements, local news)
  • School can reach parents more easily - announcements.
  • Business will be boosted (advertisements)
  • Education for young people
  • Opportunities for young people (eg volunteering)
  • Inform authorities about disasters.
  • Support the work of local churches.
  • Entertainment
  • Improve people’s health by sharing health advice and announcements.

Key Radio Station Policies

• Information/ News values -
  • Be objective – consider all sides
  • Be neutral/ impartial – no bias to one side
  • Be accurate – verify sources
  • Promote peace – don’t stir up hate/ or violent conflict
• Politics     - Equal representation to different parties – no favouritism
• Music         – 60% local, 40% non-local, including international music
• Culture     – Promote progressive local culture -Challenge harmful cultural practice
• Language     – mainly in Tonga and some English (other Zambian languages to be included if requested by speaker or audience)
• Religion     – All local churches will be included, and will be given slots throughout the week
• Inclusion    – actively seek out and partner with minority service providers, e.g. organisations working with blind or deaf people

Recent updates from Zambia

The right people

As part of our ongoing support for Simooya Community Radio, Amplifying Voices recently helped install solar power to ...

Going on air in a drought

We are pleased to announce that Simooya Community Radio is now on air on 94.3 FM. The new ...

Transforming life in the village

"Radio will help me with my missing animals," a local headman told Johnny when he visited the village ...

The post Simooya Community Radio appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

At Amplifying Voices, we use the term "speakerbox" to talk about a digital audio player with a built in speaker, suitable for group listening for around 10 people. Speakerboxes come in various shapes and sizes and most have a variety of options for playing stored digital audio content.

Amplifying Voices partners use speakerboxes with a microSD card slot (also called TF card, flash card, or μSD), and distribute new programmes on microSD cards to listener groups. We provide two microSD cards for each speakerbox so that one card stays with the group while the other goes to the partner to get the next programme downloaded.

Several hours of digital audio content can be stored on the tiny microSD cards. Digital audio can also be stored on USB sticks, on a phone or laptop.

Most speakerboxes also have USB ports to play audio files from a USB stick and can connect to a phone, laptop or MP3 player through an "Aux" input. An Aux cable has two 3.5mm jacks, which you connect between the Aux input and the headphone socket of your other device. Some speakers have Bluetooth for playing music or content from a phone.

We now encourage partners to source speakerboxes that have an FM radio receiver built in, especially where projects have developed agreements to play programmes on local FM stations.

Why do we use Speakerboxes?

We started using speakerboxes in communities where it was not possible to set up a community radio station. However, we have since found that speakerbox projects can also offer some advantages over a radio station project.

Speakerboxes provide a very flexible way for groups of people to listen together to focussed programmes at a time of their own convenience. Groups can discuss content together, explore ideas for responding to advice or stories they've heard, and in many cases the groups also make content for future programmes.

 

Listener group gathers for a speakerbox session in Northern Uganda

Speakerbox content can be tailored to very specific audiences, and listener groups can work with producers to develop topics that are most important to the group.  It can also cover topics a radio station might not see as profitable or even too risky or taboo to handle. As the speakerbox audience is usually smaller, and often know the production team personally, there is more scope for newly trained production workers to build their skills by making speakerbox programmes until their content is good enough for broadcasting on a partner FM station.

In Pakistan and South Sudan, content which is used on speakerboxes is also broadcast on local FM stations. This allows partners to increase reach and impact without having to set up their own radio station, while still benefiting from the flexibility and focus of speakerbox listening groups.

New Dawn health worker with speakerbox for women’s listener groups.

What is Digital Audio?

For the purposes of this post, digital audio means audio content including music, and talk show recordings, that can be stored as files on a computer, phone, or memory device.  Digital audio can also be "streamed" over the internet. You might be familiar with MP3 files. MP3 is a form of digital audio.

So is a speakerbox programme rather like a podcast?

We have used the term "podcast" when talking about speakerbox programmes, because podcasts are a very close equivalent for most of our readers. However, podcasts are delivered over the internet, and speakerboxes do not have access to the internet. In the communities where we work, the term podcast is less well known, and listeners prefer to just call the programmes "radio programmes". In fact, in Northern Uganda and South Sudan, community members call speakerboxes "radios".

Is a Speakerbox basically an MP3 player?

So you remember MP3 players! They've more or less been replaced by phones now. In a sense, yes a speakerbox is a kind of MP3 player, but the term "MP3 player" usually means a small device designed for listening to with headphones. Some had small speakers on them, but they would not be suitable for group listening. MP3 players also have a lot internal storage where people could keep their music collections, and a user interface for navigating the different files. Most of the speakerboxes we use have no internal memory, no internet access, and very limited buttons for moving from file to file. This keeps the cost per speakerbox down, so more listener groups can get one. With bluetooth enabled speakerboxes, and distribution of programmes via WhatsApp (or in India, via the Adivasi Voices App), listener groups can use phones to control the speakerbox, getting the flexibility of an MP3 player and the volume and simplicity of a speakerbox.

What about power?

Solar powered radio speaker, Zambia

The early batches of speakerboxes we supplied to projects had built-in rechargeable batteries, and charged with a USB cable. However, in remote locations or refugee camps, access to power for recharging was problematic. We now work with partners to buy speakerboxes with solar panels. One partner told us they found it advisable to buy models with a removable solar panel, so that the speakerbox can be kept safely indoors while it is charging.

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Find out which Amplifying Voices projects use speakerboxes

Read news updates from communities using speakerboxes

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Anil and many other stories like his are beginning to emerge from the more than forty villages that are now participating in the Adivasi Voices Project, which is becoming an important catalyst for social change among tribal communities that have often felt marginalised and who suffer with what recent research describes as “the quadruple burden of disease.”

The key to the success of this project is that it starts with a process of listening to the stories of the community, appreciating their strengths, working with them to grow belief in their own capacity for change and to care for each other.  But now the teams feel that it’s time to go deeper.

Earlier this year I travelled with Dr Ian Campbell from Affirm Associates to work with the Adivasi Voices Project (AVP) teams to reflect on their work over the last few years and to train the team on how they can go deeper with communities using a story and “strengths-based” approach called SALT. I’ve witnessed the power of this approach first-hand, in a project Amplifying Voices was involved in, in Sierra Leone.

In India, going deeper will involve more regular and intensive visits, where AVP members will go into people’s homes to hear their personal stories, understand their concerns and build on their hopes and strengths, involving them in the creation of content that will help to transform their lives.

During our time of working together the AVP teams practiced doing “SALT conversations” with total strangers in the local town, amazed how everyone they spoke to felt valued and appreciated being heard. The team reflected on those conversations:

• We are all humans and we all have pain’
• ‘We learn through talking.’
• ‘I recognise myself – who I am and I can help people understand who they are.’
• ‘I realised I have strength in me and I can see strength in others.’
• ‘We are looking for change in ourselves and in our communities.’
• ‘When you hear people’s story, you can bring hope and learn hope.’

Since the workshop, more than 75 families have been visited which is bringing deepening connection in communities and increasing understanding of people’s concerns and hopes for their families. From these conversations, we know that there is real desire for people to live well, to earn a sustainable living for their families, and to help their children access an education. What’s more is that they are willing to work hard to achieve this. There is also a deep concern and desire to change the problems that are common among Adivasi communities. These stories will inform what people will hear on the monthly speakerbox programmes and will amplify their voices and their concerns.

*Village speakerbox programmes are produced every month with participation from local communities.  Programmes are distributed on SD cards in more than 40 villages by Adivasi Voices Project Teams. This is an initiative of  Seva Social Welfare Foundation in collaboration with Amplifying Voices.

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