Radio Sigida Joli kicks off with a radio drama on the municipal elections
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Apr 15, 2009 Posted by Christopher Moynihan
Hey! My name is ADAMA KOUYATE. I am studying English at the University of Bamako. I am in my fourth year; I have an internship with MHOP since June 2008. So I am the responsible for communication and coordinator for the radio project. These last four years have been really busy since I have been conducting many surveys in some respects.
First; it was the survey in ten slums of BAMAKO. The survey consisted in doing focus groups with ten young persons and three old persons in each of the ten slums. We ask them questions about the most pressing problems of their community, what they did to solve these problems, what they expect of the government, what they know about their health rights. This survey allowed us to know that cleaning up, health care and the lack of purified water are some of the most pressing problems slum's inhabitants are facing today. It also allowed us to determine that more than 85 percent of the persons in slums don't have access to health care and that 80 percent of them don't know their rights concerning health.
Secondly; it was the survey in Sikoro Sourakabougou where we work. This survey consisted to interview 100 persons about what they want us to talk about during our broadcastings and what radio station they preferred the most and what time they can listen to a broadcasting that will treat problems in slums so that we can find solutions together instead of refusing to pay taxes. This surveys revealed that among the persons we interviewed, 70 percent wished we talk about health care ;cleaning up ,their duties and rights to the government, explanations about the using of taxes since. 75 percent of the persons declared that they have no idea of how their taxes are used. 60 percent of them said that the Radio station "DJEKAFO" is what they listen to most often.
After all the surveys, as part of bringing slums inhabitants and local elected representatives together, I have written with the help of CHAG ( committee health action group) a serial of 3 episodes, 20 minutes each episode. The serial is about the local elections in Mali. It has been interpreted by the members of CHAG and myself. It will educate people about the necessity to vote for somebody because of what he could bring as good changes for the welfare of the community and not because of what he offers you as present. As the people in slums think that local elected representatives are at the town council just to profit of the taxes they pay and not for working. The serial will also educate people about the fact that elected representatives have been chosen by themselves, that they are their brothers and sisters and that they are there to work for the welfare of the community even if it is not always easy for them.
As I was novice in Radio production, the project jugded necessary to pay somebody to train some members of CHAG and me in the radio production. Now I consider myself as a journalist even if my studies were not about that for I know almost everything about that job. I have also been trained in mixing methods since we started our broadcasting on 5 April 2009. We have got as guests Caitlin Cohen, MHOP's coordinator, and Modibo Niang, Mali director. They talked about the aims of the project and why they have decided to establish a Radio project as their mean of communication. In fact, our aim is to use health to organize the community by increasing the number of meeting between the local elected and the population so that they can know one's expectations.