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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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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Dennis is from the New England area of the capital. His neighbourhood is teeming with people. After hundreds of thousands flocked to Freetown following the civil war, people made do with homes lacking basic facilities like running water or electricity. Unemployment remains high, and the economy struggles on. Dennis could see the need but wasn’t sure what he could do.

Amplifying Voices partners with the Believers Broadcasting Network (BBN)* in Sierra Leone. Together, we’re supporting a community project named Amplifying Voices through SALT to strengthen community health, wellbeing, and resilience.

Gathering together a strong group of volunteers from the community, clinic, and churches, the SALT team goes out to seven areas of Freetown and regularly meets people in their homes. The team listen to people’s concerns, strengths, and hopes.

It was during one of these visits that Dennis met the team. The SALT ethos – Strengthen, Amplify, Listen and Transform – resonated with Dennis, and soon he became a regular volunteer.

Speaking to his community, Dennis was passionate to do something about the water situation in the New England district. But he knew he couldn’t do it alone. It takes a shift in community mindset to make lasting change.

Dennis began encouraging other young people to get involved. The SALT team, BBN, and Amplifying Voices continues to help people build on their strengths to influence change. BBN featured Dennis on a few of its radio programs, where he echoed local stories and challenges people faced with the lack of water. By representing his community, he invites others to become part of the change they want to see.

Since coming on board, Dennis has proactively engaged with the Ministry of Water to get access to more deprived settlements of Freetown. As a result, this has recently lead to the installation of several water tanks and wells.

Celebrating Dennis’ enthusiasm and example, the SALT team is reporting more community members engaging in these kinds of initiatives.

Stories like this encourage the other communities to invite the SALT team in, demonstrating the power of community-centred media to others. People are being empowered to champion their own social change.

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The featured image of this article is representational.

*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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Another community in Freetown, Sierra Leone is benefitting from the Amplifying Voices through SALT project (AVS)! Young people in Sammy Town have taken up the challenge to repair the damaged roads in their neighbourhood following a chance encounter with project volunteers. Sammy Town is a community in the hills overlooking the centre of Freetown.

Two months ago, a leader, Pa Joseph, from Sammy town was visiting relatives in nearby Sumaila Town. While he was there a team of volunteers working with HCR’s partner, BBN, came by on their house to house SALT visits. During the conversation, the leader heard the story about Sumaila Town residents taking action to repair their own roads. Intrigued by the positive impact, he took the notion back to Sammy Town to explore whether they could emulate that example and improve life in their own community. Sammy Town youths quickly galvanized resources through household contributions and started work repairing their beat-up roads. Two months down the line, Pa Joseph came to a SALT Plus community meeting organized by BBN. Beaming with smiles he proudly narrated the story of how the community-mobilising initiative was beginning to take root in Sammy Town and the road work is near completion.

SALT volunteers listening to community stories. Freetown. BBN, 2019

Freetown has grown fast since the civil war ended in 2002. Many new neighbourhoods were built around informal road systems. Poor road surfaces make it very difficult for residents to travel to and from work or to access markets outside their own community. Without vehicle access, people with limited ability are confined to their homes. It gets much worse during the rainy season. Repairs to road surfaces will improve safety and quality of life for hundreds of families in a community.

 

Amplifying Voices through SALT

In 2016 HCR supported BBN to start up the Amplifying Voices through SALT project (AVS), in partnership with Feba UK and Affirm. SALT is a community listening process which leads to better relationships and improved services within neighbourhoods (including more effective radio programmes!). Revitalised community confidence often leads to community-led development initiatives.

 

SALT Plus

Interviewing community member for radio show. Freetown. BBN 2019

In January 2019, facilitators from HCR and Affirm introduced the BBN teams to SALT Plus, which extends the listening process beyond household visits to

community wide meetings. SALT Plus helps community members to channel their strengths and resources in response to challenges they can face together.

Sharing community stories on the radio, in SALT or SALT Plus meetings, often results in the process transferring from community to community. If Sammy Town adopts the SALT process, it will become the 8th Freetown neighbourhood activated through the Amplifying Voices projects.

 

AVS on the Radio

BBN want to produce a radio drama series that will encourage more communities in and around Freetown to follow the examples of these pioneering neighbourhoods.

HCR and is seeking funding to support the AVS project. You can come alongside BBN and the SALT volunteers by donating to the project here.

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