HIV/AIDS Programming for Rural Audiences – Broadcast Training
More Program Ideas
- Ways for women to save time and labour on the farm
- Stories to help orphaned children talk
- Communities revive old traditions in times of need
- Successful enterprises bring needed income in times of crisis
- AIDS widows should learn their rights
- Accepting HIV/AIDS in families and communities
- HIV/AIDS: Myths and facts
Program Idea #1: Ways for women to save time and labour on the farm
Use your broadcasts to help rural women who have lost their husbands and other family members to HIV/AIDS. Pass on information and ideas that will save them time and labour on farm and household chores. Also, talk to agricultural extension workers, local farm groups and older farmers who use traditional practices. Interview local women who have found efficient ways to work on the farm and in the home. Remember to get their permission to broadcast their stories on the air. Many people are not comfortable discussing HIV/AIDS, so you might not mention it directly when you conduct interviews. Instead, focus on the value and interest of the practical approaches that people describe to you.
Other story ideas on this theme:
- Minimum tillage saves time weeding and ploughing
- Women use grinding, threshing and milling machines
- Zero grazing saves time in livestock production
- Small livestock production
- Use trap crops to attract pests away from your main crop
- Local, traditional crops that are nutritious and easy to grow
- A community shares farm work
Program Idea #2: Stories to help orphaned children talk
Use your programs to facilitate discussion about the changes happening in the lives of children who are affected by HIV/AIDS. Try using animals stories or stories about other children to reflect their feelings of grief and displacement, and their ways of coping. Sensitive programming can help children deal with: the loss of parents, separation of siblings after the death of parents, orphans dropping out of school because of increased work at home, lack of resources in the new home, and the stigmatization of AIDS orphans.
Program ideas to help HIV/AIDS affected children:
- Interview children affected by HIV/AIDS about their individual experiences.
- Invite a health worker, family counsellor, or volunteer from an AIDS organization to speak about the children's programs operating in your community.
- Use children's own experiences to develop more stories with animal characters.
- Have the children themselves perform a play on the air.
Program Idea #3: Communities revive old traditions in times of need
HIV/AIDS affects rural households in many ways. For example, as people become sick or die, there are less hands to help with farm work. It becomes difficult to provide enough food for the family. Traditional knowledge and customs offer useful and creative ways of solving some of these problems.
A tradition in the country of Zimbabwe involves a communal granary. In this tradition the village chief sets aside a plot of land. The plot itself is called 'zunde ramambo', which means 'the chief's granary'. Many people from the village work the plot together, growing grain and other crops. After the crops are harvested, they are stored in a special granary under the care of the traditional leader in the village. Under the supervision of the chief, they are then distributed to orphans, elderly people, disabled and sick people, and others in need.
The tradition of 'zunde ramambo' is a good way to provide food to those who cannot provide for themselves. There are probably other traditional practices in your community that involve the sharing of resources, and provide ways for people to help one another. Talk to your audience about local traditions that could help them cope with the shortage of labour. In particular, interview older people, and traditional leaders. Ask them if they think that old traditions are suitable for use today. If not, could these practices be adapted for present times?
Other program ideas on this theme:
- Sharing the load: how people in our community help each other in times of crisis.
- Traditional farming practices: a kitchen garden provides food for your children.
- Keeping small stock (pigs, rabbits, chickens, bees) can increase family food security.
- A forest garden provides fuel, fodder, fruit and medicines.
Program Idea #4: Successful enterprises bring needed income in times of crisis
One of the ways in which HIV/AIDS affects rural households is by drying up the flow of cash. This is especially true when male household members are ill or die. In many homes, it is the man who is responsible for growing and selling cash crops, and it is the man who receives cash income from employment off the farm.
One way to cope with the loss of income is to start a small business, either on or off the farm. You can help your audience by broadcasting examples of successful money-making strategies. The ideas may inspire people to think of other possible ventures. A successful enterprise depends on a ready market, an easily available and inexpensive supply of raw materials, good workmanship and good marketing, among other things.
Also, formal or informal credit may be necessary to begin or maintain a successful business. Examples of formal credit sources include banks and large credit unions. Informal credit may be available through traditional savings and loans associations, neighbours and relatives. Invite audience participation and find out what has worked in their communities. Use local examples and details.
Suggestions for other radio programs on this theme:
- Neighbours help each other in times of need; some examples from our community
- Beekeeping is a good income-generating activity
- Reviving communal systems of grain storage and distribution
- Raising rabbits and chickens for sale
- How to get a loan
- Rotating savings and loans associations
Program Idea #5: AIDS widows should learn their rights
Important concerns have arisen with the increasing number of deaths from HIV/AIDS, and the problems faced by widows who try to claim their rights to property and inheritance. In particular, some women have to deal with the custom of being inherited by their brother-in-law or other family member. It is important to do research about local laws, policies and customs that deal with widow inheritance when preparing broadcasts on this topic. Make sure that your information is up-to-date and relevant for your audience.
Consider the following program ideas when discussing women's rights and inheritance laws:
- Invite women to participate in a panel discussion about local wife inheritance policies and their effect on women and the community.
- Invite a lawyer to discuss how to make a will; if possible, take questions from the audience.
Program Idea #6: Accepting HIV/AIDS in families and communities
In many regions and countries, people have difficulty acknowledging that HIV/AIDS exists; in fact they deny that it is a problem. This happens at many levels - at the personal level, in families, in local communities, and governments. This issue of denial must be addressed before other steps towards combating AIDS can be made.
Other important related issues to address are fear of the disease and discrimination against those who have HIV/AIDS.
- 62.5 Anyone can get AIDS
- 62.4 Misconceptions and acceptance: learning to be compassionate
- 59.5 AIDS: Young people talk about how AIDS affects family life
- 59.4 AIDS: Youth take action against a killer disease
Program Idea #7: HIV/AIDS: Myths and facts
Make sure you know the facts about HIV/AIDS so you can pass them on to your listeners through your programs. There are numerous myths and misconceptions about HIV/AIDS and how it is spread. Take the opportunity to educate people about the realities of HIV/AIDS. To make programs that are really relevant to your audience, do some local research. Interview local health specialists. Find out the most common myths in your listening audience and then use your programs to dispel them.
Remember, however, that simply presenting the facts is not enough. For example, people can't be told to use condoms. Use more subtle approaches to persuade them to practice safe sex, such as dramatizations that demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of using condoms.
