“If the radio station was not there, we would feel insecure again!”

These words from a listener to Umoja FM were one of the many powerful testimonies we heard, as Johnny and I visited different communities in the chiefdom of Watalinga in the DRC’s conflict-affected region of North Kivu.  Story after story confirmed how this humble radio station has been a life-line to local communities, seeing them through war, a refugee crisis, an Ebola outbreak and the pandemic.  One listener told us: “Before Covid arrived in the DRC, Umoja had prepared us, so we knew how to protect ourselves.”

It’s been nearly 5 years since anyone from our team has been able to visit the radio station that Amplifying Voices helped set up in 2016, as part of an initiative to promote peace and development in this region. During that time all of our contact with the team has been through WhatsApp calls and text messages.  And despite many setbacks, including equipment failure, the team managed to stay on the air, continuing the community conversations.  Even the war couldn’t stop them.  As station manager Baraka told us, “When thousands were fleeing to Uganda because the rebels attacked the town, our team decided it was important to stay.  The army felt we were providing such an important service to the community that they even sent soldiers to defend our station.”

Accompaniment

An important part of Amplifying Voices’ work is to ‘walk alongside’ our partners as they support their communities, which are often facing challenging circumstances.  We call this “accompaniment” and while a lot of it takes place on-line, nothing beats face-to-face visits. Our recent visit to the DRC was a wonderful opportunity to build on our relationships with the local team as well as support them with training, technical advice and equipment.  As the Democratic Republic of Congo gears up for elections in December, an important part of our training workshop this visit was devoted to the role of Umoja FM in the run up to, during and after the election and especially how the station can contribute to a peaceful, democratic process. While training on conventional subjects like reporting, we placed an emphasis on ‘solutions journalism‘, which takes a different approach to conventional news reporting by focusing on how communities respond to and resolve social issues and problems themselves.

After completing a community-centred media workshop, the Umoja FM team proudly display their certificates of participation

Extending the Reach

During our visit we upgraded the radio transmitter. To confirm this was having an effect, we took the opportunity to visit some remote communities who feel disconnected from the wider community as they have little access to reliable information and no mobile phone connectivity.  When we arrived in one village, Kichanga, we were ushered in to join a community meeting led by the local chief, discussing their need for a school and a medical clinic. They were delighted that they can now hear Umoja FM in the village instead of taking their radios out to the high ground. Umoja presenter Sammy interviewed the chief, telling him that his voice would be on the radio that evening to amplify the voice of his village. We are still working with Umoja team to extend the radio signal to other villages who can’t yet receive it.

Umoja FM presenter, Sammy interviews local chief for the evening programme

New Studio Building

Besides the importance of extending the reach of the station to communities that are underserved by radio, the Umoja FM studio is itself facing major challenges. This old wattle and daub building, has been in existence for more than a decade, but it has finally succumbed to damage from termites, weather and war. To that end, Amplifying Voices in partnership with FEBC Australia, has committed to helping our local partner ESADER to build a new building. Albert, the President of ESADER says: “The construction of a new studio building to replace the existing one, will enable Umoja FM to operate sustainably into the future and is part of an ongoing process to help the radio station to increase its reach to communities that have little or no access to radio or other media.”

Construction of the new building is planned to begin in October.

The current Umoja FM studio affected by years of termite, weather and war damage

The post “The Radio gives us security” appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

There’s Bakar, the opinionated local carpenter and talented musician, who often feels free to dispense good advice, especially during the Covid pandemic. Orfoe is Saltville’s self-important chairman of the community bike riders who is always up for an argument; and then there’s Gibo, a young-man who’s had many so many setbacks in life he navigates his way on the street by getting hold of drugs from any place he can.

Bakar, Orfoe and Gibo are just some of the many characters in Freetown’s popular radio drama, which explores what happens when people make good (and bad) decisions about health and life issues.  Although Saltville only exists on the airwaves of our radio partner BBN, the plots for the drama come directly out of a community listening process in Freetown, known as ‘SALT’.

The 15 episode radio drama was designed not only to reflect the real challenges that people have been facing during the pandemic, but to stimulate further community conversations.

Street scene in Freetown, 2019

One enlightening feature of SALT community listening, is that a single seed question can lead to multiple different stories and topics that community members or households want to discuss. The SALT volunteers asked people they visited about learning to live with Covid and heard stories that wove this theme into different scenarios of real life in Freetown. When it came to plotting the radio drama, anonymised stories collected from these SALT visits were given to the producers. The producers then used the information to develop a plot that depicts specific interest groups or individuals relevant to the community.  Radio drama listeners have been shown to be more likely to consider new behaviours or attitudes if they identify strongly with the characters (Read this paper for a detailed study). So while the characters are fictional, their stories reflect stories of real community members.

Click play on the Audio Player below to hear a brief clip from Episode 1 of the radio drama which is in Sierra Leonean Krio.  This scene introduces the theme of Covid denial, interwoven with different views about self-employment.

If you don’t speak Krio, (or don’t have time to listen now), here is a synopsis of the scene,

Bakar is working on refurbishing a set of chairs and singing a nice song. A Councilor who is on his way to council comments on how good Bakar is at carpentry and singing. He jokingly tells Bakar that he should give up carpentry and become an artist so that he will become famous. Bakar tells him that he prefers to do his carpentry and if there is any luck for him, he will record some songs to see how people will receive them but he will not put carpentry aside. Councilor laughs and says Bakar is very smart and leaves. As he leaves, Gibo arrives looking and sounding as if he is high on drugs. Bakar stops working and ask him why after all the advice he has been giving him, he is still on drugs. Gibo denies and says that it is the system that is frustrating him as if those in authority do not care about the common man. Bakar tells him that he is always blaming others but yet still he does not make any effort to find some work to do. Gibo gives his opinion that there are no jobs for the youth to which Bakar responds by saying Gibo can learn a trade just like himself. He adds that he is always advising him to take good care of himself but even with Covid around, he does not take any precautions. An argument breaks out with Gibo saying that Covid does not exist. Orfoe comes along and meets them arguing. he immediately sides with Gibo saying that Covid does not exist and that Bakar always acts as if he knows everything when he does not know anything else but carpentry. Bakar retorts by asking Orfoe to tell him what he knows and Orfoe replies that he is the chairman of the bike riders in the community and therefore, Bakar should talk to him with respect. Gibo ends the scene by telling them to forget about the argument, after all he is the one who has the argument with Bakar and not Orfoe.

Later in this same episode, the writers also introduce several other characters in a series of scenes about street hygiene, the use of the health clinic, malaria prevention, and cooperation among religious leaders to fight against covid-19. Each scene addresses the life situation, while also introducing questions about Covid into the mix.

In this series there is an honesty about the dilemmas people face when confronted with controversies about Covid vaccines which was a major problem in Sierra Leone during the height of the pandemic (e.g. see this IGR Sierra Leone report on vaccine uptake and hesitancy). The radio dramas don’t provide neatly packaged solutions but provide information from respected sources woven into examples of difficult discussions that allow community members to make their own informed choices. Radio drama creates space to explore – and an appetite to do so.

SALT is a form of Ting listening in which teams of community volunteers visit households and neighbourhood meetings to learn from community stories and affirm local strengths. The letters S, A, L, T are used during team training workshops to stimulate conversation around words that illustrate SALT-y ways thinking and working … e.g. strength, story, support, affirm, attitude, appreciate, learn, listen, team, transfer. Visit Affirm Facilitators to learn about other communities using SALT approaches.

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In the UK, 65% of the population are already fully vaccinated. Even so, people are recognising that Covid19 is not going away soon. For many of us, learning to live with Covid means thinking about vaccine boosters, finding ways to mix with others, and carefully reopening for business. In Sierra Leone, where the effects of Ebola are still being felt six years on and the fragile health system is still recovering, it is also clear that Covid will not go away quickly. However, only 0.5% of the population have been fully vaccinated against Covid and a further 1.7% have been partially vaccinated. In order to try and manage Covid, people are constantly adapting to changing rules for living, working and socialising with others. Any thoughts of booster vaccines are a long way off. Learning to live with Covid is a big challenge.

We are working with BBN in Freetown to re-invigorate the volunteer team who had been doing SALT^[1] visits in 9 communities that are facing severe social challenges and deprivation with limited state provision. The SALT visits were interrupted as lockdowns restricted the ability to visit homes or facilitate community meetings. Community and team members are keen to see these visits restarted. The team also plan to extend the visits to another large deprived urban community in Freetown. BBN is preparing to re-focus radio content. They continue to support community efforts to stay healthy, build up local services and to sustain livelihoods, while also encouraging improved take-up of the Covid-19 vaccine as it becomes more available.

So far, Sierra Leone has imported enough vaccine doses to vaccinate 10% of the population (over 800k doses, and more have been promised through the COVAX system). Ransford Wright, CEO of BBN, told us that some of the reasons why more people have not been vaccinated are based on fear or lack of reliable information.  In July 2021, a survey by SierraPoll found that:

• 38% of the Freetown population have said that they will never take a vaccine, 38% say they are willing and 24% are unsure.
• Because:
  • People do not have time or don’t know where to get it (33%)
  • People are afraid of the side effects and that some people will die after vaccination (23%)
  • People think there is no point taking the vaccine – they will just follow precautions (10%)
  • People believe COVID is a hoax or not a serious threat (9%).

This has been further exacerbated by a very prominent pastor dying recently after having taken the vaccine.

We are supporting BBN to create and broadcast radio dramas, radio announcements and social media videos to help challenge the rumours and fears surrounding vaccines. SALT visits both inform and increase the reach of the radio content.

[1] SALT is a community engagement process that sees change happening in neighbourhoods and service providers through listening to household stories that unlock local strengths and connect local aspirations. Read more about Amplifying Voices through SALT.

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This presents a challenge … how could we honour our commitment to listening to community members, to hearing the stories, concerns and aspirations that will guide the project? We are delighted to be working with Hope for Relief and CDN who held a community consultation with members of Kawale community, on the outskirts of Chitipa at the end of July. Thoko from CDN and Richard from Hope for Relief worked closely with us to understand the questions we had for the community.

Some things that we learned …

• Around a third of the meeting participants use WhatsApp to communicate. These were mainly younger people, professionals, leaders and business people.
• People feel that the lack of a community radio station is hindering community development as it slows down communication.
• They like the idea of using speakerboxes to share community media … several people in the community already use speakerboxes for playing music.
• Another way of communicating in Kawale is through the chief’s messengers who go about in the village spreading information. They use a drum to get people’s attention. When people hear a drum they know that there is a special message from the chief about to come.

We used WhatsApp video calls alongside some pre-recorded training videos to introduce the community-centred media approach to five community volunteers and three project workers who met in the CDN office. The workshop participants sent us photos of flipcharts with their responses to discussion exercises. The participants spoke Lambya (the local language of Chitipa) during the discussions. This made it a very strange experience as a trainer – not being able to participate fully, and only seeing some sections of the discussion, it was a good exercise in placing our trust in the local partner to facilitate the learning process.

Thoko facilitates workshop in Chitipa, Aug 2021

But why the rush, why hold a remote community workshop not just wait until next year and go and visit?

Malawi, similarly to surrounding African countries, has just passed through the peak of a third wave of Covid-19 infections, which is of particular concern because of the impact and potential for further spread in rural areas coupled with the slow progress in vaccinations.

Malawi has so far received only a small about amount of vaccine (700k doses, for an adult population of 11 million). We also learned that people are reluctant to get the vaccine because of rumours such as:

• Coivd-19 is not for Malawians but for Chinese or white people.
• If someone accesses the vaccine he or she will become infertile.
• If someone gets vaccinated, he or she will be infected by the HIV virus.
• The vaccine is there to reduce the population of the people.
• If someone gets vaccinated he or she will reduce his lifespan.

The Kawale Community Voices project will initially focus on addressing the concerns or fears that drive these Covid rumours, by encouraging community dialogue about Covid vaccines based on access to reliable information sources.

Based on our experience in India and Uganda, we know that creating podcasts and distributing speakerboxes is a rapidly deployable and reliable way to get people talking, listening and taking action to reduce the impact of Covid-19. Speakerboxes are available in local markets, and podcasts can be created using voice recorder and a laptop.

However, we also recognise that radio is the community’s preferred media source. In the medium term, once we are able to visit the community in person, we hope to support Kawale’s residents and service providers to develop a community-centred radio station.

The post Workshopping remotely in Malawi appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

Sam from Seva provides training to project volunteer.

In Dhule district, Seva had trained a team from another partner organisation (much the way that Amplifying Voices has provided training and support to Seva) to support local community-led development using regular podcasts played over speakerboxes.

In a very encouraging report from community volunteers in the villages in Dhule district we heard the following comments:

“Earlier, the women of the village had not been vaccinated against Covid-19. After listening to the doctor’s interview in the audio program, 28 women from the village got vaccinated.”

 “We didn’t know the importance of wearing masks, so we never wore one. But repeatedly listening to programmes on importance of masks we have started wearing masks and we can see other people wearing masks.”

An important feature of the speakerbox programmes is that they form part of ongoing conversations about a wide range of community concerns, rather than trying to push through changes in a single message. Having the programmes available locally also means that people can listen to podcasts over and over and discuss the content with each other.

For example:

“Woman started sending their daughters to school as they listened to the program about the importance of girl education. Initially they were hesitant due to long distance to school, but now there is a change.”

Conversations on the speakerbox programmes are effective because they address concerns that the villagers talk to the teams about, and regularly tell stories from the villages. Interviews with experts such as doctors are effective because the questions are questions that community members want to ask, and the interviewers encourage doctors to speak in terms that normal people can understand and respond to.

In a world where vaccination programmes are hampered by resistance and distrust, we are delighted that these Adivasi communities are choosing to resist the virus and that local voices are promoting vaccine readiness.

Project worker interviews an Adivasi woman

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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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As India reels under the devastation of a second wave of the Corona virus, we are delighted to be supporting our partners, SEVA in Nashik, as they reach out to help the most vulnerable people in their city, which has been hit very hard. “We are trying to feed the most vulnerable people on the streets and in the slums as they are unable to get help anywhere else,” Shilpa said.

In addition to providing food, facemasks and hand sanitiser, the team have been making audio programmes for speakerboxes which are rapidly being deployed across the city in all the slums, in hospitals and health clinics. Ambulances are also carrying the programmes and even the municipal garbage trucks are broadcasting the message on their loudspeakers as they drive around the city.

And while the team provides practical help and reliable information to the people of Nashik, they have also continued their vital work reaching out to the indigenous tribal (Adivasi) villages. While the villages were somewhat shielded from the first wave of spread of Corona Virus due to their remoteness, the second wave has begun to spread like wildfire in these close-knit communities.

Sam from the Seva team explains how the speakerbox works to an Adivasi family. The speakerbox provides vital information for the family

“Indigenous communities are very vulnerable,” says Shilpa, “As they live in very close proximity to each other, where sanitation and hygiene is often quite poor.” Unfortunately Covid vaccine hesitancy is also pervasive among Adivasi communities, as many people believe the vaccine will do them harm and will even give them the infection. Other wildly misleading claims include that the vaccines contain pork products or a micro-chip that will control a person’s mind.

It is for this reason that the team has greatly ramped up audio production for the speakerboxes in the Adivasi villages, to try and dispel some of these myths and provide accurate information. But providing messages for the community will have little effect unless the community is central to and involved in the communications process. That is why Shilpa and her team spend considerable time listening to people’s concerns and fears about Covid and the vaccine and what barriers prevent them from wanting to be immunised.

This pandemic has been the first in history in which technology and social media have been used on a massive scale to keep people safe, informed, productive and connected. However, the very technology people have been relying on to keep connected and informed has enabled and amplified an ‘infodemic’ that has caused confusion, rumours, misinformation and has even endangered lives. For that reason alongside the practical help of food and hygiene support, Seva’s media work is vital. It enables people to make informed choices, take decisions that keep them healthy and know what to do when things go wrong.

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“Indigenous communities are very vulnerable,” says Shilpa, “As they live in very close proximity to each other, where sanitation and hygiene is often quite poor.”  Unfortunately Covid vaccine hesitancy is also pervasive among Adivasi communities, as many people believe the vaccine will do them harm and will even give them the infection. Other wildly misleading claims include that the vaccines contain pork products or a micro-chip that will control a person’s mind.

Shilpa’s team has greatly ramped up audio production for the speakerboxes in the Adivasi villages where they are working, to try and dispel some of these myths and provide accurate information. But providing messages for the community will have little effect unless the community is central to and involved in the communications process.  That is why Shilpa and her team spend considerable time listening to people’s concerns and fears about Covid and the vaccine and what barriers prevent them from wanting to be immunised.

Meanwhile as our partners work hard to reach out to indigenous communities in remote parts of Maharashtra, their own city Nashik is one of the worst-affected cities in the country.  With a shortage of medicines, oxygen and hospital beds, the team is reaching out to and feeding many Covid-affected families in the city’s slums each day.

If you’d like to support SEVA’s Covid Relief work, you can donate here

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Communities in Sierra Leone are feeling it too. Ransford Wright, Founder and Chief Executive of our partner the Believers Broadcasting Network (BBN)* gives us an update:

‘Currently, we are on restricted movement in and out of Freetown. The major feeling in the community is still around mental health and economic challenges. There is no government bailout here, so making a living is a serious challenge.’

Wright says there has been a reduction in the sense of community togetherness and trust.

Physical distancing not only prevents people from seeing loved ones; it also heightens feelings of isolation and separation. Due to increased restrictions, the regular SALT project community visits have been stopped. Community members have expressed how much they miss these visits.

The SALT team of volunteers continue to reach out to their actively engaged communities. While Covid has prevented some community initiatives, new stories are emerging about the resilience people are showing at this challenging time.

SALT volunteers continue to help communities struggling through Covid isolation. This image was taken before coronavirus hit Sierra Leone.

Community-centred initiatives

In one of the nine communities, the Mohtomeh neighbourhood, a women’s group has started a cooperative to help each other through the crisis. Pooling together shared resources; they are distributing food, healthcare, and supporting small businesses. They are also actively caring for the most vulnerable in their community.

BBN radio has amplified their story as it is an excellent example of a community-centred initiative. Mohtomeh was an area decimated by the 2017 mudslides, but people have banded together to improve their community. BBN radio hopes to encourage other communities to start building up their initiatives again.

Feeling heard in a crisis

BBN is looking to start a new radio drama series to help communities. The radio drama will focus on relevant social issues, such as unemployment, poor mental health, teenage pregnancy, and water shortages. These are the topics that come up in conversations when listeners phone into BBN’s phone counselling service. Continuing to talk to, listen to, and support the local community members is more critical than ever.

Storytelling and radio drama work really well in Sierra Leone as it evokes a lot of listener response. In a context where many feel unheard, community-centred media helps people feel heard:

Someone heard my concern. It mattered. And they talked about it on the radio.

To read more news about our partner-led project in Sierra Leone, click here.

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*BBN set up the SALT ministry in 2015 in response to the devastating Ebola outbreak which heavily weakened Sierra Leone’s already fragile health system. SALT is a strengths-based approach to improving health and promoting community healing, integrated with radio broadcasts.

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