From On Air - Spring 2000
Kenya: One Year and Counting
PCI's Kenyan radio soap opera
Ushikwapo Shikamana (If Assisted,
Assist Yourself) celebrated its one-year anniversary on November
4, 1999. This program is a sequel by the same name that first
aired from 1987 to 1989, and is remembered as one of the most
popular programs on Kenyan radio.
In the new Ushikwapo Shikamana,
characters grapple with a range of issues that Kenyans living
in and around Nairobi face today, including women's rights,
the spread of HIV/AIDS, pollution, and urban migration.
The serial, which airs on the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation
(KBC), is steadily attracting public attention. Two fifteen-minute
episodes are broadcast every week on Mondays and Wednesdays
from 6:15 - 6:30 p.m., with repeat programs on Saturday afternoons.
Over the week of February 7, PCI Senior Program Officer
Susan Rhodes and Training Program Manager Ann-Marie Ali led
a Capacity Building Workshop for KBC's producers, writers,
and actors in Nairobi. Four independent researchers who have
been monitoring audience response to the serial also attended.
The workshop emphasized team building via communication and
conflict resolution exercises; studied effective management
styles; and established a coherent vision for Ushikwapo
Shikamana's future development. In addition, the workshop
examined reproductive health, gender issues, and HIV transmission
and prevention. [Kenya's President, Daniel Moi, recently declared
HIV/AIDS to be a national emergency.]
Ushikwapo Shikamana is partially
funded by the Ford Foundation, and their Program Officer,
Mary Ann Burris, spoke at the opening ceremony. Dr. Burris,
who works in Nairobi, underscored the importance of gender
issues in Kenya and remarked that "there is nothing more
intimate, nothing more consequential, than sex…unless,
of course, it's gender." Participants also heard from
guest-speakers Millie Odongo of FIDA-K (the International
Federation of Women Lawyers, Kenya chapter) and Samwel Ndumbali
from Maendeleo Ya Wanawake (which loosely translates as "Progress
for Women"), who addressed issues of domestic violence
and harmful traditional practices.
PCI's Senior Consultants Dr. Kimani Njogu and Tom Kazungu
reviewed the serial's story line with the group to ensure
that its messages are still on target. At the final celebration
luncheon, all participants agreed that the workshop was inspiring
and reaffirmed their commitment to producing a top-quality
radio serial that provides information on issues critical
to the lives and future of Kenya's people.
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