Health and Agriculture Community Radio Network

The programme used a grant from GenARDIS to organise a health and agriculture community radio network for women who had completed its training. The participants were organised into six radio listening groups, and were trained in the use of audio and video recording equipment to enable them to exchange information on farming techniques and to raise public awareness about HIV/AIDS.

The groups were also trained in photography and the use of drama and traditional oral storytelling as tools for learning, education and development. A radio cassette player and a mobile phone were distributed to each of the groups, and the participants were encouraged to communicate with national FM radio stations to respond to programmes, obtain information, and share their experiences with a wider audience.

Each group prepared and recorded a presentation on tape that included a song, poem, role-play or story on a relevant topic of their choice. One women's group performed a play about farming and the preparation of nutritious food for people living with HIV/AIDS. Another group sang traditional songs on planting, harvesting and the preparation of sweet potatoes. The tapes were then exchanged among the groups so that each group was able to learn about the work of the others. Each group also set up an information kiosk stocked with the tapes they had produced and other information.

Project organisers also drew on interpersonal communication strategies in establishing community-based informal learning centres, called nutritional field schools, in 6 of its 28 project sites in western Kenya. Each field school caters to 30 participants, giving priority to widows, low-income women, orphans, and vulnerable children from HIV/AIDS-affected households. Participants learn about nutrition and receive training in relevant skills and techniques to enable them to care for people living with HIV/AIDS, to maximise crop yields, and to become economically and socially empowered.

HIV/AIDS, Women, Agriculture.

KAIPPG hopes to translate the tapes into English and French, and to release the content on diskettes and CD-ROM.