Community Radio for Change - Case of DHAN

8/19/2019 Community Radio for Change - Case of DHAN

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Community Radio for Change: Case of DHAN Foundation

P Krishnamurthi1

AMARC, the World Association of Community Broadcasters, describes community radio

as follows:

“When radio fosters the participation of citizens and defends their interests; when

it reflects the tastes of the maority and ma!es "ood humour and hope its main

purpose; when it truly informs; when it helps resol#e the thousand and one

problems of daily life; when all ideas are debated in its pro"rams and all opinions

are respected; when cultural di#ersity is stimulated o#er commercial

homo"eneity; when women are main players in communication and not simply a

pretty #oice or a publicity "immic!; when no type of dictatorship is tolerated, not

e#en the musical dictatorship of the bi" recordin" studios; when e#eryone$s words

fly without discrimination or censorship, that is community radio%&

'(A) *oundation belie#es that the Community radio can perform as an enablin" tool for

po#erty reduction, when it is truly owned and mana"ed by the community, particularly

the +eoples -r"anisations promoted by the poor women, small and mar"inal farmers

and fishermen& +romotin" mutuality, self help and self reliance for achie#in" po#erty

reduction should form foundation for the Community Radios& '(A) percei#es that the

main commitment and mandate for community radio promoted or supported by it should

be committed to produce pro"rammin" on themes that will contribute to the

de#elopment of the communities that they ser#e&

DHAN’s approach in IC for De!e"opment

+o#erty is a comple. phenomenon& /he "ap between the rich and poor is widenin"&

0solation, powerlessness, and ine1ualities a""ra#ate po#erty, perpetuate it from one

"eneration to the ne.t and ma!e the poor more #ulnerable and ne#er allow them to

come up& *or po#erty reduction to be achie#ed, the limitations that the socially and

economically mar"inalised communities face must be eliminated& /hese limitations

include low self2esteem, lac! of mobility and access to and control o#er resources, lac! of

access to ser#ices, to s!ill and capacity buildin" opportunities, to information and

technolo"y, as well as to decision2ma!in" in the community and within and households&

'(A)s ultimate "oal is to reduce po#erty by collecti#e action and promote self2 reliance

amon" the poor and their or"anisations in a lar"e scale throu"h conte.t specific

de#elopment strate"ies& 0n all the themes and inter#entions '(A) follows the enablin"

approach of po#erty reduction, where the themes such as microfinance, water and

rainfed farmin" were concei#ed to be the means for po#erty reduction, not the ends&

3imilarly the 0C/ for +oor theme has also been #iewed as a tool to brin" about economic

and social de#elopment& /he 0C/ theme in '(A) has been concei#ed with followin"

model of de#elopment&

1* Team Leader, DHAN Foundation

1



Scaled down technology Enabling Environment

Organised Peoples’ Institutions

Fig 1

/he enablin" approach forms the basis of all the desi"ns and strate"ies of buildin"

people and institutions for po#erty reduction& 0t is the basic approach to processes and

deri#in" from that, institutions, !nowled"e systems and styles of functionin"& /his is the

en#elopin" function or approach to the abo#e triad 4fi" 56& Also, it is important to note

that common property approaches to pra.is lead to "o#ernance and collecti#e

empowerment& 0n the former, placin" all the issues, conflicts, and decision2ma!in"

processes, and so on, in the public space, leads to collecti#e empowerment& )othin" is

!ept confined to a few indi#iduals&

/he information and communication technolo"ies should be #iewed as enablin" inputs for

de#elopment& /he content that the Community Radio 3tations de#elop within and across

the communities should be "rounded in the followin" 7Basics of 'e#elopment&

• Freedom of choice: (ow do we help indi#iduals and "roups to identify, "enerate

and act on their choices8

• Quality of life: (ow do we assist persons to determine and de#elop the meanin" of

their li#es, their identities, and their life styles8

• Managing resources: (ow do we deal with the personal responsibility for

"eneration, mana"ement and conser#ation of human and material resources8

• Inter relatedness: (ow do we help indi#iduals, institutions and cultures reco"nise

and deal with their inter2relatedness and inter2dependence8

• Change as a constant: (ow do we deal with the causes and effects of chan"ewithin and upon indi#iduals, institutions and societies8

DHAN’s #$perience in Community Radio

After the /sunami, in 'ecember 9, 9<, '(A) *oundation started wor!in" in a bi" way

with the affected fishin" and farmin" communities alon" the coast with a lon" term

de#elopment focus& =mpowerin" the community in all aspects, particularly in buildin"

capacity of the community for disaster mana"ement was felt as an important area of

inter#ention& Applications of 0C/ were introduced throu"h the >illa"e 0nformation Centresconnected with internet facility setup in all the #illa"es& /o complement this 0C/ initiati#e,

2



'(A) has launched ?alaniam 3amu"a >anoli 4?alaniam Community Radio6 with a

#ision of creatin" a Community Media Centre with mi.ed media model, combinin" radio

with #ideo and web based technolo"ies& @nited )ations 'e#elopment +ro"ramme

supported this initiati#e& /he 3tation has started to function from -ctober 9&

/he 3tation is e1uipped with audio production infrastructure& A team of trained

>olunteers from the local community are in#ol#ed in pro"ramme production& /he station

is connected with the >0Cs set up by '(A) in the #illa"es throu"h ocal Area )etwor!&

/hese >0Cs narrow cast the pro"rammes produced and sent by the 3tation throu"h the

+ublic Address 3ystems fi.ed o#er towers& +resently pro"rammes of one hour duration

are presented daily& Also the 3tation broadcasts selected pro"rammes once in a wee! for

fifteen minutes throu"h the A0R 2 ?arai!al *M 3tation to&

With the e.perience "ained from )a"apattinam, '(A) supports of the +eoples

-r"anisations promoted by it with the farmers dependent on traditional water har#estin"

structures called Kanmoi, in ?ottampatty bloc! of Madurai district to launch >ayala"am3amu"a >anoli 4>ayala"am Community Radio6& 3imilarly, the *armers *ederation

promoted by it in +un"anur Mandal of Chittoor district in Andhra +radesh is "ettin"

prepared to launch a community radio station dedicated for li#elihoods de#elopment&

'etails of the CR3 are in table 5

a%"e 1: CR& in !arious conte$ts

CR& 'ocation Anchored %y Conte$t(a)or

sta*eho"dersFocus

?alaniam

3amu"a>anoli

>izhunthama#adi,

)a"apttinam

'(A)

*oundation

Coastal *ishermen,

women andfarmers

'isaster

preparednessand li#elihoods

>ayala"am3amu"a>anoli

?ottampatti,

Madurai

Madurai'istrict /an!*armers*ederation

Rural *armers andwomen

'isasterpreparednessand li#elihoods

CommunityRadio

+un"anur,

Chittoor, A+

+un"anurMandala

>ayala"aRythula

3ama!ya

Rural *armers i#elihoods andconser#ation

3



+enerating Content: #$perience of ,aya"agam Community Radio

ocally produced content is a lifeline for the sustainability of community broadcastin"& 0t

should focus on the de#elopment issues concernin" the local communities, aimed at

impro#in" and transformin" the li#in" standards of communities ser#ed by the CR3& /he

content that depicts local issues should also promote dialo"ue amon" the local

communities to wor! for chan"e, and at the same time should ad#ocate for the chan"e

in the policies, perspecti#es and processes of the other de#elopment sta!eholders around

them, the "o#ernment, pri#ate and non2"o#ernment a"encies&

0n '(A)s understandin" of Community Radio, the content "enerated by the community

can become a !ey en"ine for de#elopment; as it is a tool that can build on the local

wisdom, community based methods and processes& Chan"e focused content produced by

CR3 should be "rounded on the basics of de#elopment discussed at the be"innin"& /he

CR3s in )a"apattinam and ?ottampatty are followin" a uni1ue process of "eneratin"

local content with the support of the social infrastructure that has already been createdin the form of federation of women 3(s, *armers and *ishermen 4fi" 96& 0t reinforces

the need for an or"anised platform to promote dialo"ue and "enerate needs for content&

/he content prioritised by the community #aries from conte.t to conte.t& While the

Communities in )a"apattinam re1uired audio content related to cyclones and marine

based li#elihoods, the farmers in ?ottampatty re1uired content rele#ant to drou"hts and

floods, tan!s and tan! based li#elihoods& /he need assessment wor!shops or"anised by

the staff under the "uidance of the +rofessionals of '(A) help "enerate an e.hausti#e

list of pro"ramme areas& /he Mana"ement committee at the federation le#el help in

prioritizin" the areas and the staff and #olunteers prepare production plan& (owe#er the

formats for presentation are left to the creati#ity of the #olunteers 4mostly students and

4

Fig -. Production and Dissemination of Content



youn" men and women6 and the staff& 0n our e.perience followin" #ariety of presentation

formats were followed buy the CR3 in ?ottampatty as well as )a"apattinam&

• *eatures

• 0nter#iews

•

Reportin" e#ents and cases• 3tories and e.periences

• Readin"s

• ocal announcements

• 'iscussions and debates

• Radio drama

• /al!s narrati#es

• ocal music and son"s

• Din"les

Producing Content

+roduction is done in three methods dependin" on the a#ailability of e1uipment, distancefrom the production centre and financial resources a#ailable for production&

Method 1:

A well e1uipped audio production theatre established in ?ottampatty, a bloc! town where

the people ha#e easy access to tra#el& Most of the arran"ed pro"rammes such as tal!s,

inter#iews, son"s, music and readin"s are made in the theatre&

Method 2:

=ach >0C has a pro#ision of a mini mi.er and a microphone connected with a computer

and an amplifier& /he >0Cs which are primarily meant for offerin" internet based ser#ices

are also used as production facility, wherein the peopleproducers are in#ited to thecentre for recordin"& i#e announcements are done there itself& 3ome of the pro"rammes

are recorded and transferred to the main studio in ?ottampatty after a first le#el editin"

for further editin"&

Method 3:

*ield recordin" is done usin" #oice recorders in the areas where there is a difficulty in

brin"in" producers to the >0C or theatre at ?ottampatty& Mostly e#ent co#era"es, spot

commentaries and inter#iews are done in this method&

Disseminating Content

0n ?ottampatty, pro"rammes are narrowcasted throu"h the public address systems fi.edo#er >illa"e 0nformation Centres in 9 #illa"es co#erin" about 5, populations&*le.ible timin"s of narrowcastin" is decided after consultin" the #illa"ers for a#oidin"disturbances to their other wor!s 4e&"& school and e.am times6& A typical scheme of narrowcastin" is "i#en in the table 9&

5



a%"e -: Programme schedu"e in ,aya"agam &amuga ,ano"i

ime Content / format Duration

5 AM /hiru!ural with e.planation by >0C operators 5E Min

55 AM 'i!e announcements

• >illa"e e#ents and meetin"s

• Birth day wishes, Weddin" wishes

• +'3 announcement

• +anchayat announcements

• Announcements for 3(, *armers "roups

• Weather information

5E Min

E +M Pre recorded programme

• 3peeches and debates,

• A"riculture and animal husbandry

• 3tories,

• (ealth information,

/ips for students, youth etc&

F Min

+M ,aya"agam ,ano"i Programme made%y/0ith communities

• Best practices by farmers, entrepreneurs

• )ew initiati#es

• /raditional practices

• *ol! music, son"s and stories

• *esti#als, celebrations

• Women and children

(ealth and education etc&

Min

#$changing ContentWhile the Community Radios offer ample opportunity for ma!in" localised contents that

suits the social, cultural and lin"uistic characteristics of the defined "eo"raphy, there

e.ists opportunities for the two or more CR3s to e.chan"e their contents& 0n the conte.t

of "lobalizin" media, amon" the communities who li#e similar li#es and ha#e similar

issues can #ery well connect with each other to share their content, e.pertise and

e.periences& /here are initiati#es by national and international networ!s that are

promotin" such e.chan"es& 0n our case the ?alaniam Community Radio in )a"apattinam

and the >ayala"am Community Radio in ?ottampatty, Madurai, both are sharin" the

same conte.t of disaster #ulnerability& /he former could share many of their audio

content e.cept a few areas that are related to marine ecosystem to the latter&

(owe#er while e.chan"in" contents care needs to be ta!en to ensure that they share

similar conte.ts, culture, and lan"ua"e, and moreo#er rele#ant to the purpose for which

it was made& By sharin" content, CR3s can increase the impact of their wor! and reach

new audiences, collaborate with each other for oint productions, learn new formats, and

brin" di#ersity to the pro"rammes&

Contents on "oca" needs: Ka"an)iam Community Radio #$perience

/he focus of the ?alaniam and >ayala"am Community Radios is disaster preparedness&

'isaster preparedness depends more on how information and ser#ices will be facilitated

before, durin" and after the disasters& Community radio pro"rammin" addresses local

6



Fig 3. Typology o Programmes2%

16%

13%

20%7%3%

4%

5%

6%

4%

3%

11%

6%

Kural

Health

Agriculture

Children

Women & SH

!i"a"ter #itigation

o$ernance

i$elihood"

ducation

Culture

A'arene""

eneral(ol)" & Song"

information and community needs that re#ol#e around disaster preparedness,

li#elihoods, local best practices, women and children, health, education and farmin"& /he

*ederation is "ettin" prepared to apply for a license to broadcast under the new licensin"

policy "uidelines issued by the Ministry of 0nformation and Broadcastin"&

/he ?alaniam Community Radio has made so far 9F9: FE minutes of pro"ramme of

#aryin" types and areas as detailed in the table F&

a%"e : Areas of Programming: Ka"an)iam &amuga ,ano"i

SlNo Content

No. ofProgrammes Duratio

n1 Thirukural 376 3:21:23

2 Health 433 20:01:24

3 Ari!ulture 164 1":11:#7

4 $hildren #33 2#:4#:26

# %omen & 'H( )7 ):#1:37

6 Diater +itiation 32 4:36:40

7 (oernan!e 27 #:#4:4)

" Lielihood 4) 6:2":4#

) -du!ation 70 7:44:23

10 $ulture 2) #:22:46

11 A.arene 33 3:44:26

12 (eneral 3#3 1#:1":#2

13 Folk & 'on 221 ":4#:0"

Total production 2417 135!73"

/he Chart 4*i" F6 shows that women, a"riculture and health are the maor areas of

pro"rammin", which is more of best practices in e.istin" sea and land based li#elihoods&

3imilarly pro"rammin" for Children was 9 percent of the total duration of pro"rammes

produced& /raditional health practices, local culture and fol! son"s were the maor areas

of pro"rammin" to fulfill the demands of the communities "enerated durin" need

assessment&

7



Owners

Passive

!isteners

"ctive #ontributors

$esponsibilitiesSel* #anagement

Sel* +egulation

Accounta,ilit-

.ran"/arenc-

$ights(reedom o* /re""ion

Collecti$e o'ner"hi/

Acce"" and Control o$er C.

ntitlement" o$er "ocial economic cultural and /olitical right"

$olesSel* go$ernance

#edia literac-

Accelerating de$elo/ment

+edening and en"uring entitlement"

'earnings from our #$perience: Content for Change

/he impacts of "lobalization of media on the consumers in the de#elopin" and under

de#eloped countries are de#astatin"& /he people are subected to a sta""erin" amount of

information e#ery day& 'ue to the proliferation of electronic media, the a#era"e 0ndian

spends se#eral years of their lifetime watchin" />, listenin" to music, surfin" the

internet, and playin" #ideo "ames& /he CR Mo#ement in 0ndia should build processes and

mechanisms in "eneratin", producin" and disseminatin" content that can transform the

communities who were traditionally !ept away from the ambit of media into media

creators, users and owners&

0n order to create chan"e, the CR3 should assume certain roles and ta!e up certain

responsibilities so as to create chan"e in the indi#iduals and societies& /hese FRs should

be built around the #alues of self "o#ernance and self mana"ement&

Fig 4: Roles, Rights and Responsibilities of the CRS & Communities

/he transformation can happen only when the communities start thin!in" critically about

news, entertainment, and ad#ertisements, as!in" 1uestions such as Gon whom they are

tar"etin"8G, Gwhat interests does it stands for8G, and Gwhat techni1ues are they applyin"

to persuade the intended audience8G /he content that the CR3 produce should be able to

create awareness amon" the communities to loo! for what is needed for them, what is

not there and what !ind of impacts certain messa"es, #iewpoints and perspecti#es can

create& /he content that the communities ma!e throu"h their CR3 should enable them to

place it into a lar"er conte.t of de#elopment& /his means facilitatin" them to understand

the structures and realities that affect their de#elopment, freedom of choice, inter

relatedness and 1uality of life, ultimately leadin" into collecti#e empowerment&



Cha""enges

)o doubt, the Community Radios ha#e the potential to create conditions that pro#ide

people with access to useful information, and ways for people to e.press their

sentiments, opinions, #iews, aspirations, stren"ths and their ideas for de#elopment& 0t

can support the communities to build consensus on their de#elopment priorities&

(owe#er there are few challen"es to facilitate the communities to mo#e from producers

to owners of the Community Radio&

• =nsurin" a stron" focus on GlocalG news, music, e#ents, people and issuesHespecially

coupled with G"lobalG rele#ance&

• =.plorin", identifyin" and culti#atin" new talents and buildin" capacity of the local

communities and #olunteers to enhance their ability to adapt, "ettin" ac1uainted with

the tools and technolo"y that are a#ailable at free or affordable costs&

•

Buildin" institutionalised lin!a"es with the mainstream a"encies that are in#ol#ed indisaster mana"ement, to pro#ide le"itimate and localised information on disasters&

• Meetin"s costs of content production and capacity buildin" for the staff, #olunteers

and communities is a maor challen"e in the initial phase, while the CR3 is still

wor!in" towards meetin" runnin" costs& A pro#en model needs to emer"e to meet

this challen"e&

• Access and use of materials that are copy ri"hted& /he CR3 stands for non

commercial broadcastin" may not be able to afford to the royalties to be paid for the

copyri"hted materials& Content e.chan"e amon" the non2commercial broadcasters

needs more focus&



Community Radio to preser!e "oca" ta"ents/he boy stretches his nec! to reach the microphone that dan"les in front

of him& But that does not brea! the enthusiasm& (e ea"erly narrates the

story of Ali Baba and the < thie#es& /his youn" storyteller comes from a

rural #illa"e near )a"apattinam in /amil )adu& (e is one of the many

talents, staff and #olunteers, who help in creatin" a #ery unusual radio

pro"ramme for an unusual radio station ?alaniam 3amu"a >anoli& (e was

brou"ht to the station by +or!odi, a Radio >olunteer& 3he and her

collea"ues !now how to spot interestin" topics, to do inter#iews, to edit and also how to narrate a

pro"ramme& =#ery day they "o out on field assi"nments to collect new audio material& /he topics

ran"e from a"riculture, health, education, issues around 3elf (elp roups, e#ents around festi#als

up to disaster preparedness

10

2ui"ding Capacity of the communities to ma*e re"e!ant contents

/he ?alaniam Community Radio 3tation ointly with district disaster preparedness trainin" unit

or"anised a trainin" pro"ramme with < Community members from fi#e #illa"es of the ?eelaiyur

bloc!& /hey were trained on disaster and its types and how to respond in a disaster situation, doin"

basic search and rescue& /hey were also tau"ht on steps to be ta!en in a distress situation& /he

participants were shown how tac!le fire accident and different rescue methods& 0t was followed by

trainin" on *irst Aid and follow up& A practical manual on disaster mana"ement was distributed to

the #illa"e information centers and community leaders attended the trainin" pro"ramme& After the

pro"ramme, they ha#e prepared a series of audio pro"rammes&

Community Radio content to faci"itate e$change of "oca" e$pertise

?arunanidhi a small farmer from >izhundhama#adi #illa"e of )a"apattinam district, in /amil )adu

has been "rowin" a new #ariety of Chedi Murun"ai 4Annual 'rumstic!6 and earnin" a "ood profit

from it& rowin" annual drumstic! was some thin" new to the #illa"ers nearby& Community Radio

>olunteer H >etri came to !now this in one of the need assessment wor!shops and approached himfor an inter#iew& (e prepared a radio pro"ramme on it and narrowcasted throu"h the ?alaniam

3amu"a >anoli with his contact information& After the pro"ramme, many people approached

?arunanidhi to !now how to culti#ate and mar!et it& ?arunanidhi in addition to sharin" his

e.perience, he helped them to "et about F seeds and 5E seedlin"s to nei"hborin" farmers&

)ow, many farmers in nearby #illa"es are "rowin" Chedi Muran"ai and enoyin" the benefits&

Community Radio to pro!ide p"atform for the youths

3owmya, 9 years, is a drop out from school after hi"her secondary education due to po#erty in

her family& 3he was wor!in" in a te.tile showroom in )a"apattinam as a sales "irl& When contacted

by her friend +adma who is wor!in" in the ?alaniam 3amu"a >anoli, she reluctantly a"reed tobecome a community radio #olunteer& (er association in the Community Radio transformed her

outloo! not only about herself, but also on the #illa"e she li#es& 3he is the one who has made the

hi"hest number of pro"rammes amon" other #olunteers and she feels proud about it& 3he says “0

am respected in my #illa"e now and happy about listenin" their feedbac!s& )ow 0 could feel

importance of my wor! and 0 am "ettin" e.citement e#ery day by doin" new wor! and meetin"

new people&



3our neigh%or’s !oice:Reducing !u"nera%i"ity to disasters through community radio

5I 'ecember 9J

by =lizabeth 3te#ens

As Oxfam wraps up its work related to the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, it is helping ensure that partners and

communities have the skills and resources they need to continue the important work of reducing the risk of future

disasters Oxfam has funded a new research center in India that develops pilot programs on risk reduction to

complement ongoing development work aimed at reducing poverty

Mano +raba!ars radio address on water mana"ement is deli#ered flawlessly, and when he steps out

of the studio, he is con"ratulated warmlyKespecially by his "randmother, who puts her arms around

him&

Mano is 5F, and his audience is the #illa"e of Man"alamapatti, 0ndia& /he studio is an information

centerKa sin"le room that ser#es about a hundred purposes for fi#e communities, and the machine

used for sound editin" is the only computer in town&

/his is community radio, where a #illa"e fashions the pro"rams it wants and needs, and fast2tal!in"

'Ds and ad#ertisers need not apply&

Di!erting f"oods and p"anting trees

/he Ad#anced Center for =nablin" 'isaster Ris! Reduction 4AC='RR6 of the 'han *oundation, an

-.fam partner, has helped launch a pilot community radio proect to ser#e around 5, people in

rural settlements of Madurai district, because they see its potential in impro#in" disaster response

and ris! reduction at the #illa"e le#el&

When emer"encies li!e floods and fires stri!e remote communities, its friends and nei"hbors who are

the first responders& )otifyin" a #illa"e 1uic!ly of an emer"ency in a nei"hborin" community can

ma!e all the difference in how effecti#ely help is mobilized&

And localized weather and flood forecasts can help natural hazards from becomin" community

disasters&

“0f we "et information about rain upstream, we will ta!e some precautions% says 3ethuraan, a

farmer whose community has a reser#oir for irri"ation purposes& “Well open the sluices to di#ert the

flood; well cut off the bi" bunds to di#ert the route so e.cess water can be drained off&%

But in communities that stru""le with the e#eryday disaster of po#erty, anythin" from a poor crop to

the loss of a farm animal to a serious illness can create a household emer"ency, so #illa"ers are

ea"er for information about anythin" and e#erythin" that can impro#e the security and well2bein" of

their families&

Men seem enthusiastic about radio shows on outbrea!s of li#estoc! diseases and on the latest

a"ricultural techni1ues& -ne su""ests that local radio could help re#i#e !udi maramaithu, the ancient

practice of careful community maintenance of the #illa"e reser#oir and water wor!s&

Women, says a radio enthusiast named >iia, li!e pro"rams about health, le"al matters, and the

importance of tree plantin"& “We "et a lot of information about our daily li#es,% she says& “As women,

we are happy about that&%

Radio: it’s practica"

/he radio is a medium that ensures that almost e#eryone has access to information, no matter what

their a"e and readin" le#el&

“0m illiterate, but 0m learnin" so much,% says Manos "randmother +odaiamma&

Althou"h tele#isions here are widespreadH"ifts from the state to households in e#en the smallest,

11



poorest #illa"es of /amil )adu H theyre not as practical as radios in that you ha#e to stop what

youre doin" to watch />&

“With radio,% says 3ethuraan, “we can !eep on wor!in"&%

3oung 0omen ta*e the "ead

=ach radio station has an operatorHa person who functions as the primary producer and announcer&

/he operator "athers ideas for pro"ram topics, carries out research, inter#iews "uests, edits sound

trac!s, and ensures that the pro"ram reaches its tar"et audience& /he ob has "enerally fallen to

youn" womenHto their deli"ht&

“/hrou"h this ob 0m learnin" so much and "ettin" e.posure to so many thin"s,% says Bhu#aneswari&

“0m learnin", so 0m happy&%

0n traditional #illa"es where youn" women are !ept close to home, the le#el of independence this ob

re1uires sometimes raises concerns amon" parents, but when operator Amutha rani completes a

pro"ram and oins an admirin" crowd in the #illa"e s1uare, her mother loo!s on with unmista!able

pride&

“/he community respects the operators,% says a youn" woman named Rai, who spea!s from

e.perience& “=#eryone should be a community operator&%

he essence of community radio

/he afternoons pro"rammin" ends with music& 0ts a son" about po#erty, and the words and melody

are sad, but the womans #oice is beautiful, and listenin" to her in the #illa"e s1uare at the close of

the day is a lo#ely e.perience& -nly a few of us !now whos sin"in" H our -.fam collea"ue

Mareeswari, who made this recordin" earlier in the day H but word spreads 1uic!ly&

“/his is the difference in community radio,% says AC='RR director 3an"eetha Raadurai& “=#eryone is

curious to !now whose #oice theyre hearin"&%

Source http%&&www.o'amamerica.org&whatwedo&emergencies&(eldstudies&news)publications&your)

neighbor*+,-s)voice)reducing)vulnerability)to)disasters)through)community)radio

*or more information on the AC='RR research, please #isit www&o.famamerica&or"fieldstudies

***

12

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http://www.oxfamamerica.org/fieldstudies

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Community Radio for Change - Case of DHAN

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