Case Study 13: Vanuatu - Famili Blong Serah (Sarah's Family)

The Wan Smolbag theater company began as a live community theater group in 1989. It has now added drama videos, children's workshops on health and the environment, a youth drop-in center and sexual health clinic, and a turtle conservation network. It has also expanded beyond Vanuatu, to create a regional program throughout Melanesia. Peter Walker, Wan Smolbag's director, originally put the idea of a radio drama about reproductive health issues to Radio Vanuatu, but it was turned down on the grounds that it dealt too directly with sensitive issues. Ten years later, as AIDS spread through the Pacific region, Oxfam New Zealand offered funding and eight months after that the first episode was broadcast.

The drama deals with sexual and reproductive health, corruption, women's rights and rural water issues. It is also used as an informal teaching tool for schools, nurses and rural health workers. Famili Blong Serah centers around Sarah, her husband Edwin, and their son Simon. Sarah works as a nurse in a reproductive health clinic, Edwin runs a bar and Simon is a student. Storylines involve customers at Edwin's bar (alcohol abuse, prostitution, STDs, domestic violence), Simon and his friends (teenage pregnancy, contraception, AIDS awareness) and Sarah's work in the clinic where she distributes free condoms and advises women on pre- and post-natal care, STDs, family planning methods, and knowing their own bodies.

Famili Blong Sarah is the only drama series of its kind in Vanuatu, as most of the other educational output on radio is said to be boring. It is thoroughly researched and based on real-life stories. Being community theater people, the producers of Famili Blong Serah are well grounded, with a strong sense of listeners' tastes and problems. There are some complaints about the continual mention of condoms on air, and some objections to a corruption storyline, but appreciative comments far outweigh critical ones.

Radio is ideal for a nation composed of many scattered islands. The country is small enough to allow actors to travel to promote the show; however, operating in a 70-island nation brings unique logistical problems (transport delays and expense, and communication problems - Radio Vanuatu sometimes forgets to play the drama).

Management: The radio serial is part of the wider theater work of the Wan Smolbag Company. It is directed by Peter Walker, who reports directly to the donors. Other management decisions are made by the finance manager, a research officer, and core actors - all Vanuatu citizens. Sympathetic and involved funders allow Wan Smolbag to be an autonomous organization with freedom to maneuver.

Staffing: About 23 people work on the radio drama: 1 director, 4 technicians/writers, 15 actors and 2 research officers. Most are part-time. The actors have worked for Wan Smolbag for over 13 years.

Writing and Production Process: The writer, Jo Dorras, is an expatriate with over 13 years experience writing live theater pieces for Wan Smolbag. Some help with adapting live theater to radio has been given by the BBC in UK. The production team records the drama in batches of 20 episodes, three times per year. Wan Smolbag has a dedicated recording studio with good digital equipment. Storylines come from focus group discussions with as diverse a selection of islanders as possible. The educational subject matter for the radio is researched partly through the medium of theater, so the actors are not just performers but also researchers, development agents and animators.

Formative Research: The issues addressed in the radio drama have been derived from Wan Smolbag's live theater work, gathering audience feedback and facilitating post-performance discussions in villages. Formative research showed that AIDS awareness is low in Vanuatu. Most people do not know the difference between HIV and AIDS and have a hostile attitude towards PLWAs.

Monitoring and Audience Feedback: A participatory impact assessment process is currently being set up in two urban and two rural communities to get feedback about content and style. Two staff researchers gather feedback on a regular basis and actors run focus groups with audiences. However, the Wan Smolbag team is often so busy with all its other activities that they have little time to follow up on audience feedback to the radio drama.

Other Supporting Activities: The promotional element is a real strength. Weekly clinic-based quizzes both promote the show and add to the educational impact. A question is written on a clinic blackboard and visitors put their answers in a box. Winners receive Famili Blong Serah t-shirts. Wan Smolbag also runs its own clinic and youth advice center where advice, treatment and free condoms are distributed. To back up a rural water-supply story, Wan Smolbag distributed radios to the water committees of 15 villages that either have new water systems or recently repaired existing ones.

Sustainability: The drama series would not be sustainable without donor funding. Commercial sponsorship is sporadic and minimal. Oxfam New Zealand funding for Famili Blong Serah helps to pay for Wan Smolbag's other work because it covers staff's core costs. The presence of the director and scriptwriter - both expatriates - is probably crucial to the series at present but not sustainable in the long term. The hope is that some day Famili Blong Serah may be produced entirely by people of Vanuatu.