Waking up to a changed world article

An article I wrote with my colleague Kripa, to be published on the UNESCO newspiece mailshot thing they send out- bit cheesy (it was our first attempt at writing for UNESCO!)but gives an idea of one of the projects I am involved in..

Waking up to a Changed World!

When she entered the Chetana Sadan (Awareness Centre) of Vijaya Development Resource Centre at Gaidakot, (Nawalparasi District, Western Nepal), little did Apsara know that the next seven days would change her perceptions of herself and the community she lives in. The date was Aug 1 2005 and it was the first day of the Radio Reporters Training for a new program by Equal Access, an international non-governmental organization, that produces development communications programs for positive social change.

The new program, Changing Our World, is an Equal Access/UNIFEM Initiative. The objective is to empower young girls and women by training local women to provide content for a weekly radio program on women, for women. This is the first time that Equal Access has drawn so heavily on locally trained reporters, to generate locally relevant content. So far 12 women from the four districts of Nepal (Dang, Banke, Makwanpur, Chitwan) have been trained to find, collect and record stories from women in their community. These will then feature in the 26 episodes of the program. Apsara Khanal is one of these 12 newly trained reporters. “I was always curious while listening to the news and other radio programs, how the material was collected and recorded”, says Apsara, an Admin/Finance officer at General Welfare Pratisthan, Banke Office (a developmental organization committed to making positive changes in the lives of marginalised communities.

This interest and the challenge she saw in collaborating with local women to let her record their stories for the program, led her to venture into this completely unknown field. Since the training, Apsara has been collecting the ‘voices of the voiceless’; going into the communities, visiting police stations and other organizations working with women and trying to find real life stories of issues covered by the “Changing Our World” program. “I have spoken to such a wide variety of people from different walks of life, Apsara reflects. “From illiterate rural women to lawyers and from sex workers to police...meeting so many people has changed the way I see my community and has helped me develop as a person”.

The name of the program in Nepali is Sundai Pherindai – ‘Listening and Changing’ and although only a few episodes have been on air so far, Apsara can already see changes taking place around her. During an interview with some women involved in sex work, she found out that they had been spending all that they earned. She explained to them the benefits of saving for the future and now two have opened savings accounts in the bank.

This small change is just one example of how the Changing Our World Programme hopes to make an impact in the lives of women. The program uses success stories of women who have overcome their sufferings, voices from the community and views from experts, to raise awareness of particular issues related to women. The local reporters are central to collecting all of this information, which is then packaged into a program by producers at the Equal Access office in Kathmandu. The project hopes that these 12 newly trained female reporters will go on to have long careers in radio. Apsara is excited about this prospect “I had never thought about being a reporter before, but now I am really excited about my work and hope to use my new skills as much as possible in the future – perhaps I will have my own radio show one day!”

Written By: Kripa Tiwari and Gemma Quilt

Kripa Tiwari is the Database Officer at Equal Access Nepal, and is supporting the Changing our Worlds Program as a researcher. Gemma Quilt, a radio producer from BBC World Service, is currently working at Equal Access Nepal. Gemma and Kripa are working as Ethnographic Action Researchers for the Changing Our Worlds program.