[cr-india] MALAWI: MBC nurtures local voices

[Frederick Noronha (FN)]

MALAWI: MBC nurtures local voices

By John Masuku (Radio World International * October 2003)

BLANTYRE, MALAWI: The Ndizathuzomwe communications campaign for social
change is the brainchild of the recently-established Development
Broadcasting Unit (DBU) of the Malawi Broadcasting Corp (MBC).

Funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the DBU is
managed by Radio for Development (RfD), a UK-based media consultancy group,
with MBC as a co-implementing partner.

According to project manager Hassan Nkata, the mission of the campaign is to
use civic education to help people better understand their rights and
responsibilities, in a country that endured a one-party state for decades
after its independence from the United Kingdom in the early 1960s.

PROBLEM SOLVER

Ndizathuzomwe does this through a weekly 30-minute radio program, "Kanthu
N'khama". The program name comes from a Chichewa-language proverb meaning
"hard work pays". Ndizathuzomwe translates as "they are all ours".

Marginalised communities benefit from "Kanthu N'khama" by actively
participating in the production of the program by contributing their views on
developmental issues pertaining to farming, women, youth, health, HIV
awareness and other concerns.

According to DBU policy guidelines, the objectives of the project include
improving access to the airwaves for the disadvantaged, so that they can
articulate their problems and thus promote the democratization process in
Malawi.

In addition, the project aims to promote dialogue between marginalised
communities and social-service providers, to promote gender equity and
social inclusion in development initiatives at the district and village
level, and to strengthen the role of the MBC in the democratization process.

Structured along the lines of the Radio Listening Club project in Zimbabwe,
the Ndizathuzomwe approach to development initiatives is geared towards
promoting community participation and wide consultation, making the village
voice heard loud and clear.

"Thirty radio listening clubs, given a recorder and a radio, are facilitated
directly by the project and tasked with recording material pertaining to the
development of the communities for the benefit of national listenership via
"Kanthu N'khama", Nkata said.

The program tackles one issue at a time, Nkata said. Prioritizing the issues
coming from different community groups is handled as a mapping exercise with
the listening clubs identifying various demographic groups who later raise
issues affecting them.

When recording the issues, an outline of their origins, effects and actions
required is analyzed in what is called the "village voice", contained in a
cassette that is then taken to social service providers by project
production staff.

Discussions with the communities affected are then organized and a plan of
action is drawn up to try to solve the problem once and for all.

Nkata said he believes the DBU effectively facilitates participation at all
levels of society, contributing to the identification and implementation of
appropriate and sustainable policies, programs and technologies aimed at
reducing poverty, and improving livelihoods.

In this regard, action and advice from everyone involved benefit the whole
project. The program facilitators go to rural areas to learn about problems,
successes, aspirations and fears.

The main elements of the DBU program are the 30 radio listening clubs across
Malawi and an advisory panel which provides guidance and support from
experts from various professions.

Program quality has improved as a result of the use of digital production
facilities and the training of producers.

The DBU team of producers, facilitators and social development professionals
has developed skills in community mobilization, which is extremely important
in promoting sustainable development at the community level.

The real value of the DBU, however, stems from its close connection to
ordinary people.

The value of the Ndizaihuzonwe project has been recognized internationally.
In 2000, the project won the Rolls-Royce Awards for Excellence in
Broadcasting Innovation in Management Award from the Commonwealth
Broadcasting Association. (###)