SOUL BEAT : Community Radio

Where community radio is central to Africa's social and economic development

COMMUNITY RADIO| Approaches| Tools| Issues| Regions/Countries| MDGs| Polls / Discussions

Tuvuge Rwatu (Speak Openly)

Country

Uganda

Region

Africa

Programme Summary

Tuvuge Rwatu, is a radio programme developed by the Straight Talk Foundation (STF), and broadcast in the remote Kisoro district of Southwest Uganda. The programme, which airs in the local language Lufumbira, is based on the English language model of Straight Talk, and is a serial programme that promotes sexual and reproductive health issues for youth.

Communication Strategies

Each programme is 30 minutes in length, pre-recorded, and built around interviews with adolescents. Journalists collect material for 13 shows on field trips every four months. According to the organisers, journalists strive to get a balance of opinions between boys and girls. Scripts are written first in English, then reviewed, modified and translated into the local language. When ready, the show is voiced in STF's studio, mixed, burned to CD and sent out to stations. In addition, STF has 41 monitors around the country, mostly students, who listen to every show and make sure it is aired on time, in full, with no interruptions.

Every show contains a quiz question and 4 songs, each dedicated to three listeners. Listeners’ personal questions are also answered on-air. At the end of the show interviews are conducted with adults to provide advice and to contextualise the issues raised. The show regularly features local health workers, which according to the organisers, has led to increased attendance at health units, particularly for voluntary counseling and testing (VCT).

As programmes are developed with the help of extensive interviews in the field by journalists, these journalists have also taken on the role of HIV educators, relationship counsellors, community animators, and condom demonstrators, depending on the situation and conversations they have with youth and community members.

Development Issues

Reproductive Health, HIV and AIDS, Youth

Key Points

According to STF, Tuvuge Rwatu provided them with a unique case study for developing communication projects. The community in Kisoro is both geographically and linguistically isolated, so their exposure to STF radio programmes was limited, and listenership was very low. An STF study on the programme showed that by February 2008, listenership had increased significantly. It also showed that young people had taken important messages around sexual health from the show, and were acquiring knowledge about basic HIV-related behaviours that seemed new to them, such as the importance of HIV testing. In addition, the study found that 35% of listeners formed listening clubs as a result of the show so that they could learn and discuss the issues together.

Contact

Straight Talk Foundation - Uganda

Plot 4, Acacia Avenue
Kololo
P. O. Box 22366

Kampala
Uganda
Tel: +256 312 262030/1
Fax: +256 414 534858

Stephen Kasoma
Assistant IT Officer
Straight Talk Foundation
Kampala
Uganda
Fax: 256 41 434858

Source

Email from Stephen Kasoma on August 15 2008 and Straight Talk Foundation Annual Report 2007 [PDF].


Placed on the Soul Beat Africa site September 16 2008
Last Updated September 16 2008

How useful did you find this page to your work?

1 - not useful    5 - very useful

Feel free to leave us comments

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Help Seed The CI Network

Register and Participate

Subscribe to Soul Beat e-mag, Get poll results, Contribute to Forums, etc...
New to CI? » Start here

Development Classifieds

Managing Radio Stations

How are community radio stations in Africa managing to sustain themselves?