In the News
Media Release
October 31, 2008
Farm Radio International Honours Kenyan Scriptwriter Recognizing Her Commitment to Empowering Farmers
Ottawa, October 31, 2008: At Ugunja Community Resource Centre (UCRC) in western Kenya, Rachel Awuor Adipo and her colleagues strongly believe that radio can empower communities, particularly farmers, by helping them stay informed. So committed is UCRC to the medium that they have a task force to set up a radio station for their area and Ms. Adipo regularly writes radio scripts on a range of topics.
It is this commitment to radio that led Canadian-NGO, Farm Radio International, to honour Ms. Adipo with the George Atkins Communications Award. Ms. Adipo will be in Canada to receive the award on November 7, 2008 at the World University Service of Canada's 62nd Annual Assembly. She and a colleague will also make a presentation at the Assembly.
"It is such an honour to have been selected for this award," says Ms. Adipo. "I have been working with UCRC in the Department of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment Programme, where I have worked with both community groups and individuals. I believe using radio as a way to keep local farmers informed is paramount to their livelihood and sustainability."
"Rachel is a talented scriptwriter, compiling data, editing and producing stylized radio scripts that are shared with Farm Radio International's 300 plus affiliates across sub-Saharan Africa," says Kevin Perkins, Executive Director, Farm Radio International. "It is partners like her that help us to provide information about sustainable agriculture, nutrition, health and community development that meets the needs of local small-scale farmers."
She has also won awards in scriptwriting competitions organized by Farm Radio International. In 2006, her script, Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women, was a winner of the Millennium Development Goals scriptwriting competition. This year, her script, Farmers can prepare for changing weather patterns was a winner of the Climate Change Adaptation scriptwriting competition.
Rachel Adipo and Rose Ong'ech from the Ugunja Community Resource Centre (UCRC) will talk about youth and leadership and the work that their organization is carrying out. UCRC played an important role in maintaining peace during the Kenyan election crisis and continues to support opportunities for disenfranchised youth in its work in rural Kenya.
About the George Atkins Award
A Member of the Order of Canada, Dr. Atkins owned and managed a small farm in Oakville, Ontario and was a farm radio broadcaster with the CBC for more than two decades. A trip to Zambia to work with African broadcasters sparked the idea for Farm Radio International over 30 years ago. The annual George Atkins Communications Award recognizes rural radio broadcasters for their outstanding contribution to food security and poverty reduction in low-income countries.
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About Farm Radio International
Founded in 1979, Farm Radio International is a Canadian charity with the mission of supporting broadcasters to strengthen small-scale farming and rural communities in Africa. Farm Radio International researches and produces radio scripts on rural development issues and distributes them to over 300 radio broadcasters who interpret and use the scripts to provide their listeners with practical information about farming, land management, health and other issues. Farm Radio International also develops training opportunities; researches farm radio strategies and facilitates networking among and between broadcasters.
Contact: Brenda Jackson at (613-761-3646), (brenda@farmradio.org) to put you in touch with Rachel or to give you more details about her presentation at WUSC's 62nd Annual Assembly.
