Radio Kwizera's Edutainment Programme

The project seeks to scale up a radio programme that has been running since the outbreak of COVID-19. In Northwestern Tanzania and Great Lakes region in general, there are very few schools available and scholars have to walk long distances to school.

The radio offers training of teachers and learners through remote means, yet interactive but non-meeting sessions. The radio too inculcates entertainment sessions within the lessons to break monotony and boredom.

As a result of the nationwide or global partial lockdown and minimization of movements and social interactions due to COVID-19, the best solution is to reach out to listeners/learners in families through the readily available means (radio).

My solution impacts directly the 1.5 billion school-going children worldwide who have been forced out of school or remain at home for an average of two years now. Formal education has been given little or no priority in the project area.

Lack of proper information among young people is a major problem in Africa. Latest statistics indicate that larger number of school-going children (adolescents in particular) living with HIV are found in sub-Saharan Africa (age-group 10-24 accounting for about 42% of all new HIV infections (UNAIDS Gap Report 2020). This means each day, more than 2,400 young people become infected and some five million others aged 15-24 live with the virus. It is estimated that only 10% of young men and 15% of young women in sub-Saharan Africa know their health status. And despite a 30% drop in the global number of HIV-related deaths over the last decade, HIV-related deaths among adolescents went up by 50%. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 85% of young people living with HIV worldwide. Only 26% of adolescent girls and 36% of adolescent boys aged 15–19 years have a comprehensive and correct knowledge of diseases in general and disease pandemics in particular. These disparities in knowledge are linked to among other things poor education and socio-economic factors. A widely acknowledged gap exists in the mainstreaming and dissemination of the available information through available channels of communication. This project seeks to change the story by offering long-lasting solution. 

• Radio programming: Daily classroom lessons transmitted on radio and social media platforms. Through Life skills training in addition to classroom subjects taught through the radio, the project seeks to have an empowered community collaborating in well researched, balanced, and traditional vis-à-vis new media programs that promote love for education, entertainment, transparency, accountability, business opportunities and good governance in less privileged or marginalized communities within the project area. 
• Conducting lessons on radio say 2 hours per day: 1 hour for English Speaking schools Curriculum and 1 hour for French speaking Curriculum.
• Specific programs for particular subjects to be produced, recorded and condensed and shared with teachers to enhance teaching capacity.
• In Classes 7, 8, 9, the common mode of teaching is more or less of general knowledge transmission other than practical.
• Grades 7, 8 and 9 are mostly used as catch up classes for the next classes hence the choice for classes.
• Subjects such as Human Sciences often require in-depth orientation for teachers, which makes it difficult to teach them through Radio Programming. These will require demonstration through short video clips, condensed and shared among trainers.
• Simple technology is required: a combination of analogue transmission of radio waves and internet.

Inequalities, Violence against women and violence against children are global epidemics. At least one-third of women across the globe experience different kinds of violence and the health and development consequences that this
violence brings. Such kind of inequalities cause great harm and cost to individuals, families, communities and governments, including multiple and long-lasting consequences for rights, health, education, productivity and participation in public spheres. For intimate partner violence alone, selected country estimates in the Great Lakes Regions of Africa suggest that out-of- pocket expenditures, lost income and reduced productivity can amount
to up to 3.7% of GDP – more than what many governments in developing worlds spend on primary education.

As already elucidated above, the program intends to continue providing necessary education with accurate information and knowledge on classroom topics related to human development, sexuality, STIs, HIV and AIDS and other disease pandemics including COVID-19; to educate school-going children and other young people through provision of life skills, abilities in critical thinking and correct values; to empower young people to resist negative peer pressure and assume the responsibility of promoting a healthy learning and living  environment for themselves and others, whether at home or in school; to encourage and assist youth in reducing their vulnerability to diseases, infection, alcohol, drugs and substances, and in developing their talents for better living; and to empower youth to lead successful lives and to support their communities wherever they may be. These will, in the long term, bolster individual spirituality, enhance positive social relations and reduce the economic burden associated with increased suffering among the populations thereby promoting Africa’s socio-economic development. Hence addressing the three vices of ignorance, disease and poverty, equity and equitable learning opportunities will be presented to all children in the world.

The project will work directly with 2000 targeted project trainers (1000 women, 1000 men-online trainers) drawn from 100 districts or administrative regions spread across the Great Lakes region of Africa, and particularly around Kagera, Kigoma, Geita, Shinyanga, Mwanza regions in Tanzania; Remera, Kirehe; Cyangugu, Rusumo and Akagera in Rwanda; Cibitoke, Giteranyi, Muyinga, Gishenyi and Bujumbura in Burundi; Nord Kivu; South Kivu, Balaka, Uvira and Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Mbarara, Bushenyi, Masaka, Ibanda and Mutukula in Uganda; Kakamega, Kisumu, Kitale, Eldoret and Nairobi in Kenya and the indirect number of beneficiaries which is expected to be the general audience of the regional community Radio which is about 8 to 14 million people (DW Akademie Research Findings of the Communications and listenership of Radio Kwizera in Refugee Camps within Kigoma Region and the host communities-2019) spread across the Great Lakes region of Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project targets entire community in the region (School-going children, women, youth, educationists, public-religious-cultural-political leaders, marginalized groups, migrants and refugees living within the region, security forces, farmers, business persons, transporters, medics, etc. On the scale up phase, the project will focus on collaborating with governments, Ministries of Education in specific countries of operation and like-minded institutions and individuals to achieve the overall goal.

This will trickle down to the learners who in turn will be trainers and the process will occur concurrently, generation after generation hence continuous training of trainers and learners year in, year out. This will benefit all youth at the moment and long after the pandemic. At the end of the training, whether online courses, webinars, videos, podcasts, e-library and a customized app we seek to put in place, our students will be able to access the necessary online resources at their convenience to accommodate their personal lives and share with others in their communities. This is a continuous program that learners will earn certificates, digital badges, and work towards completion of an e-portfolio, as well as gain hands-on work experiences in their desired fields of interest.

The challenge calls for solutions towards equitable classrooms. With COVID-19 pandemic, classroom assembly is not possible within the project area, or elsewhere under maximum observance of guidelines and stipulated measures. By using the only available means of communication in the project area (the radio), and that majority, if not all are attuned to this means, the solution becomes the best strategy as a maximum number of beneficiaries will be reached. This further solves the problem of scarcity of school facilities (classrooms) as no beneficiary is required to attend class under a common roof. It also reduces distance in learning.

An initiative of Jesuit Fathers founded in January, 2011 with an aim of empowering individuals and communities towards reduction of disease pandemics and life skills training targeting two categories. The primary target is young people ranging between 10 and 24 while the secondary target group comprises of parents/guardians, teachers, social workers and other community members, who are constantly interacting with young people, at home, in families or schools or any points-of-contact.

The program has been piloted in seven countries in Africa whereby 31 Trainers have been trained in Kenya, 22 in the Central African Republic, 15 in Nigeria, 20 in Togo, 21 in Burundi, 40 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and 15 in Zimbabwe adding up to a total of 184 trainers having received training. This program is geared towards providing accurate information and knowledge on topics related to human development, sexuality, disease pandemics and critical thinking/life skills.

Radio Kwizera's Edutainment Program goes beyond mere classwork or formal education. It is a well harmonized, coordinated, more participatory program involving the youth to evaluate and reflect on themselves deeper while addressing constant vulnerability among themselves, especially adolescents. It is a holistic formation. In this predicament, this program comes in as one of the best endeavours to make a difference in the light of acceptable values rooted in the Gospels, belief systems and world religions including elements of Ignatian tradition, particularly its spirituality and pedagogy.

The regional radio employs 46 full time journalists all trained in online data management, community empowerment and project management skills. The team also boasts at least two reliable reporters in every region trained in various capacities who reach out to the target population and entire listenership providing hands-on practical solutions based on the current technology and the radio's online platforms while at the same time remain available to physically reach those in need. The major concern for this project which aims to strengthen community participation in promoting new media vis-à-vis the traditional media and to collaborate in cleaning fake news is inadequate funding. Therefore, in seeking support for teachers to adapt the Ignatian pedagogy, one that facilitates personalized instruction, and communicates with students and their families in remote and hybrid settings, while at the same time enabling access to quality learning experiences in low-connectivity settings such as most part of Africa incorporates various learning formats including imaginative play, collaborative projects, and hands-on experiments of tutors.

Currently we are serving 2,000 people directly and 8 to 14 million indirectly (radio Listeners). This is due to the fact that the available resources do not allow us do much. Consumption of online services is still a new phenomenon and getting people to buy the idea has taken more than enough time to accept. In one year alone, we have managed to trained and equip school heads and leaders of institutions of higher learning with skills and equipment to manage the pilot phase. We intend to serve a total of 80,000 people directly online and more than 15 million people in the coming year. This will depend much on worldwide travel restricts being imposed by governments. As a result, the concentration will be in the Great Lakes Region of Africa where the radio broadcasts. In five years time, we plan to collaborate with all the 15 countries in East and Central Africa including those of the great lakes region, than means, 70% of their average total populations combined, about 300,000,000 to 500, 000, 000 people will be reached. We also plan to collaborate with local stations to ensure the visibility of the project and adoption of simple learning techniques in addition to the more complex online formats. This will depend on governments' reception and the already existing school programmes such that implementation is done in all the 54 African countries in due time as a continuous process and once completed, it is expected to be sustained by specific governments.

Content developers monthly meetings help in adapting existing material, reviews, and translated in different languages to suitable curricula,, recorded and made ready for airing. Scripts for new material in selected subjects are contextualized according to the various curriculums. Daily post mortems on aired radio programs while adopting best practices for program improvement have increased efficacy. Feedback constantly collected from children/students/ teachers/educationists/Education Working Groups/stakeholders, during field trips help improve programming. Journalists weekly field visits to refugee camps for example, continuous production of educational programs in English and French Curriculums to cater for both speakers has seen about 160,000 school-going children in refugee camps alone to have access to radio messages and lessons aired one-hour daily (Monday to Friday) in each of the two curriculums per day, hence 20 programs being aired per week, 1,040 programs every year (piloted since 2011) led to the estimate amount of lessons required to cover the entire syllabus. Weekly studio discussions gives feedback and sets appropriate pace for radio listening for school going children. Through interactive, educative programs  with entertainment component, has motivate teaching and learning (for both students/teacher). Live radio programs for teachers have promoted inclusive pedagogy and improved teaching technique stimulating pursuit of formal education thereby encouraging parents and educationists to promote integral education through short audio and video clips where experienced teachers tackle certain difficult subjects and share with other teachers to improve on teaching and learning. Panel discussions aimed at engaging parents, community and stakeholders have promoted project aims and objectives.

25 Full time

20 Part time

50 Volunteers

10 Support Staff

5 Contractors

2 Consultants

Radio Kwizera has been in existence for 26 years now providing education to the community in the great lakes region. The establishment of the radio was a direct response to the huge deficit in information and education among the rising number of refugees fleeing from the Rwandan genocide. 

The project team consists of an overall coordinator, 2 education consultants, 2 assigned journalists in every region, an production officer and his team of producers in each country, 2 drivers in each region, and 100 coordinators selected from the 1000 listeners' clubs, in every region. The coordinators at grassroots levels help in organizing community conversations in schools and villages, send guest speakers for live studio discussions while journalists organize monthly field trips to urban and rural areas to collect community voices. Project coordinators produce monthly progress reports and annual final reports. The Production officer and team, project coordinators together with Executive Directors help to coordinate all activities of the project. Financial administrators and accountants monitor project funds. Logistics office handles procurements and supplies related to projects. All financial outlays are on written requests, and subject to approval by the Executive Director, for which the cash is issued by the Accounts Department and verified by financial administrators. All major procurements take place after convening procurement committee meetings and recommendations from meeting mandate the logistics officer to do the required procurements. All these are professionals in their own capacities having been identified from a pool of managers and leaders from our network. 

Over the years, the staff has been diverse including volunteer workers from  Africa, Europe and America. The Tanzanian government continues to thank the Radio for promoting peace and security. UNHCR acknowledges it for promoting and upholding human rights, refugee protection, security, welfare, and settlement. UNICEF has appreciated it for encouraging children to produce programs by themselves. The team at Radio Kwizera is diverse. From international staff employed,  a number of men and women, volunteers and support stuff, the team is guided by a gender policy audited by the network. Observance of the gender rule, guiding policies and code of conduct is always at play. A training for example comprise of 50 participants, 1 coordinator from each of the RK Salaam Clubs and community members, 30 journalists (15 from RK, 15 from other Community Radio Stations) to provide quality, researched, balanced, credible reports and coverage. Policymakers and local government agents/other leaders are often invited for monthly live–studio discussions and engaging them with Radio Kwizera listeners on good practices of governance, accountability, and transparency. Benchmarking among journalists is a routine activity with at least 5 community media houses in Eastern Africa to learn from each other on how to promote, disseminate, quality media content on transparency, accountability, financial literacy, etc. Dialogue is usually the form of conflict resolution and amicable settlement of any arising issues. Women, children and people with disability are also given priority due to the context of majority of African cultures who seem to favour men over women.

For more connection, linkages and networking

For small grants to scale up my solution

For advice and business skills from like-minded stakeholders 

To be at the world platform to search for communal solutions together

For grant opportunities

To make known what my challenge offers, hence visibility and attract partnerships

To raise awareness on what is happening at the community/Grass root levels

Historically, Radio Kwizera was established as an emergency response instrument for refugees who were struggling to trace and track their families and community members during the genocide in Rwanda and thereafter. The experience of separated families and lost children was traumatizing and therefore, the need to design some intervention. The Radio's leadership and implementation team has adapted community-centred radio programming to address emerging challenges among community members and particularly in the lives of marginalised people, refugees and those left to the margins. Similar initiatives have been undertaken for the past 25 years, raising awareness and responding to the never-ending demand for sustainable community driven interventions.

As a new and developing strategy, the Radio Kwizera Edutainment project would need both expertise and resources to ensure smooth running and implementation of its programmes, both online and in practice. This could be in form of Expertise both personnel and material support are requirements in equal measure.

In terms of data, collection, analysis, protection and storage is another aspect. A project based online is prone to cyber insecurities and malicious attacks. The radio doesn't so far have secure platforms to fully rely on in order to smoothly run this project. Up-to-date mechanisms are therefore crucial.

 In terms of technology, the project runs on new but simple technology hence up-to-date, more sophisticate and upgrades are equally important. Hardware and software are among other requirements.

Professionals in the education sector.

Implementors of online resources and programmes

Computer techs and other IT technicians

Mentors ready to offer or share their knowledge and skills

Organisations working in the humanitarian fields

Faith based organisations and NGOs

Donors and well-wishers/Benefactors

The US is renown for its diverse and developed ultra-tech services. If Africa would be raised to a similar standard, the Radio Kwizera Edutainment program would benefit from both expert advice, personnel and technology based education currently experienced in the United States. Most of the technology the program uses come from the US or the west hence this will make it easy to run and get trained on. It will be a continuation of what is already on the ground. The US too have Innovation Hubs. With this kind of technology, my solution is prepared to benefit from such rare opportunities.

By making available information to refugee children, in schools or out of school, in camps or integrated within host communities is one form of amplifying the voices of the oppressed. In an attempt to promote justice and co-existence of both factions, awareness creation to the concerns and plight of refugees has been our greatest concern. Our package of services include:

• Support for refugees and migrants trying to cross the borders in search for better living conditions or seeking to re-unite with families having been separated by wars or ethnic strife. Our project offers a set of interventions which include: Radio programs, Pastoral and psychosocial care, financial support, expertise, temporary custody, Medical care, economic empowerment and income-generation, Support groups, Home visits, Hospital and prison visits.
• Protection of rights through awareness-raising, empowerment, human development sessions, provision of resources for prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases through sensitization, post-conflict counseling and referrals. 
• Care for women and the oppressed in a community that is highly volatile against its own people (women and children in particular).
• Care for orphans and vulnerable children through provision of education, psychosocial care, nutritional and medical care, vocational training and temporary residential care.
• Advocacy for universal recognition of human rights, access to equal treatment, dignity and self-sufficiency, sensitization against injustices that are root causes to conflicts and abuses. 

The project will examine systemic issues that make women, girls, and children to have fewer resources, say in decision-making processes. By educating individuals and communities against violence against women and girls, including physical, sexual and psychological harm empowers women, girls, refugees, migrants, and marginalized persons to access justice and acknowledge their intrinsic human rights and dignity. Most projects don't dare challenge the status quo as the culture values men more than women and girls. Gender remains one of the most fundamental sources of inequality and exclusion cutting across all private and public spheres.

The project intends to empower individuals to know their fundamental rights and dignity and participate in overcoming discriminations. With community conversations through interactive Radio dialogue about issues relating to human rights and protection mechanisms and good governance, the project aims to educate the public on rule of law, civic rights and responsibilities, thereby creating the context where the community can voice and dialogue on issues affecting their fundamental existence, aimed at increasing freedom of expression.

The project seeks to collaborate in well researched, balanced, and traditional and new media programs that promote transparency, accountability, business opportunities and good governance in less privileged or marginalized communities. By working directly with 2000 targeted beneficiaries (1200 women, 800 men) spread across seven countries with indirect number of beneficiaries expected to be the general audience of the Radio more than 15 million people, targeting entire community (women, youth, educationists, public-religious-cultural-political leaders, marginalized groups, security forces, farmers, business persons, transporters, medics, etc.

Improving women’s access to land is one way of increasing gender equality and addressing other important development goals. So far, efforts to improve women’s access to land have focused on agricultural land. This focus needs to be broadened to include access to other resources linked to land such as forests, water, minerals, and urban space.

Hence, by empowering women to access justice and acknowledge of intrinsic human rights and dignity increases agency in decision making. Most projects don't dare to challenge the status quo that currently exist within the project area. The culture in the project target area values men more than women and girls, hence, gender mainstreaming remains one of the most fundamental sources of inequality and exclusion in Northwestern Tanzania and the larger part of the Great Lakes region. Dehumanization of women and girls cuts across all private and public spheres, manifested both formally, through laws and government institutions, and informally, through community and familial relations.

Radio Kwizera is renown for being the voice that speaks on behalf of women ensuring their rights are respected. In some of its projects, Radio Kwizera has given priority to women over men so that they too have equal chances to participate fully in leadership roles and communal decision making processes. A special program specifically for women (Funguka Mwana Kwetu: a Swahili phrase that translates to 'open up and speak' discusses issues affecting women in the society. This program seeks to advance conversations and stimulate further actions on other matters as well.

Given that my project is majorly based on utilization of online data. AI Humanity Prize will be beneficial in the use of data exchanged across the platform, which may in turn be used to leverage and segregate data across the entire Africa and the world at large. This data can be used for Scientific purposes, analyzing and making use of the outcome to improve and mainstream the learning/education systems.

Machine learning furthermore improves learning in places with no schools available or inaccessible places due to natural calamities, wars and other factors that would otherwise hinder learning processes. Machine learning therefore becomes learning point or best practice for those planning to venture into similar technology based education. Data solutions have been proved to be beneficial in the current world and utilizing it means furthering the impacts.

The world is quickly shifting from analogue, hand driven techniques into a more sophisticated, machine-based technology. This form of digital shift is being embraced, with personnel constantly trained on machine learning and Artificial Intelligence, there will be a reduction in the cost of running the programmes. Once the team is equipped with the necessary skills to operate the funding will ensure that my solution sets standards. The introduction of this kind of learning is presumably new as there are no known organisations within the region currently employing the technique. We ought to be pioneers in the field, with engineers who have lacked jobs getting an opportunity to get involved in the profession.

Radio Kwizera has been in the media industry for the last 25 years. This year marked the historic 25 years since 1995 when the radio made its first live broadcast. Essentially, RK has had a good record for broadcasting well-researched, balanced, impactful stories that promote positive change in the Radio’s coverage area. The radio’s success story is a result of lessons learned and best practices attained over a period of time. 

Due to RK’s diverse collaborative relationships with partner organizations such as UNICEF and UNHCR, the radio has managed to establish a strong base of listenership and a wider audience. It has also managed to strengthen continued collaboration involving the community to confront unhealthy social mishaps; to stimulate actions for change against diseases, environmental degradation, political decay and to advocate for good governance, peace and reconciliation; creating awareness on climate change, outbreak of pandemics such as HIV/AIDS and has spurred prevention programs as such, entrepreneurial skills and desirable standards of living.
The radio has a wealth of experience including admirable personnel comprised of 31 staff; 24 fully contracted journalists (8 women, 16 men); 16 reporters/correspondents who are paid per story produced (1 woman, 15 men); 5 volunteer workers (2 international, 3 locals).

Despite the lack of adequate educational background, all the journalists and reporters have worked for more than 7 years in the media industry. UNESCO and BBC Media Action (the BBC Media Bureau in Eastern Africa) have always contributed immensely to building the capacity of the journalists and reporters.