PCI-Media Impact Works with Indigenous Communities to Improve Child Nutrition

Newest program aims to help Guatemala’s indigenous families achieve food security  

July 25, 2007 – PCI-Media Impact, a global not-for-profit producer of TV and radio shows in over 25 countries, announced today its newest radio show currently on-air in Guatemala. A PCI-Media Impact, Radio Ixil, and Save the Children Guatemala co-production, the soap opera “K'ulb alib' Tz' Ixamal” (Around the Chimney) aims to improve food security and confront child malnutrition among indigenous communities of Guatemala’s Ixil region.

Co-produced through PCI-Media Impact’s innovative My Community initiative, the drama portrays real-life situations encountered by a rural, indigenous Ixil family over the course of an agricultural year. It heralds the fictional family’s strategies to improve food production and security in the midst of draught, overcoming child malnutrition and domestic violence along the way. Members of the community help produce and test the show, which is broadcast in Mayan Kiche and Spanish.

“This is one of the strongest examples of how media can be used as a force for positive social change,” said PCI-Media Impact Executive Director, Michael Castlen. “Armed conflict in the late nineties left the region with little access to basic services like electricity, potable water and even local health clinics. People living in extreme poverty lacked access to social services and weren’t targeted by planned public health messages. PCI-Media Impact recognized this need and has been working with Radio Ixil and Save the Children on a radio program designed to reach those most-affected, making sure they have access to life-saving public health information.”

The drama is broadcast during a mixed-format call-in show, which includes testimonials and success stories from local families about how they achieved food security in their own homes, presents actual recipes made with local ingredients, and features a segment with expert advice and audience participation.

“Storytelling is an incredibly powerful and entertaining way to educate audiences. When a story resonates with your life and values and links you to local resources, it’s a smart recipe for success,” said PCI-Media Impact Director of Programs, Natalia Vaccarezza. “In this project, the women and men of Ixil are involved as writers, actors, and producers, and a local health organization is written into the storyline. Community involvement and links to local service providers help provide valuable feedback on the show and increase it’s impact.”

In 1996, Guatemala’s government signed a peace agreement finally ending the country’s 36-year-long civil war. Years of conflict, however, took its toll. Today, 49% of Guatemalan children under age five suffer from chronic malnutrition. One quarter of these children are classified as below weight by public health officials. Malnutrition has meant slower child development, which in turn has meant children that get sick more often and begin school later.

PCI-Media Impact's My Community initiative builds on the organization’s relationship with partners and partner organizations throughout Mexico and Central and South America. The initiative develops new relationships in the region and helps PCI-Media Impact create a formal network of mutually supportive grassroots organizations advocating for greater rights and better health through the use of communications. To learn more about PCI-Media Impact and My Community go to www.pci-mediaimpact.org.

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