PMC Featured in Soul Beat
PMC’s 2006 program in Niger, Gobe da Haske (“Tomorrow Will be a Brighter Day”), has been featured in the current issue of Soul Beat. Visit the link below for the full article.
PMC Articles Tagged 'Radio'
Ethiopian Radio Serial Follows Process to Success
The January 2008 issue of Population Reports carries a feature article on Population Media Center’s Ethiopian radio serial Yeken Kignit (“Looking Over One’s Daily Life”). The publication can be found at http://www.infoforhealth.org/pr/j56/j56.pdf.
Many thanks to NaHyun Cho, who authored the article.
Two PMC Programs Featured in Mother Jones Magazine
Two of PMC programs were featured in the January/February 2008 edition of Mother Jones magazine, Gugar Goge and Ashreat Al Amal.
Read the article, “As the World Learns.”
PMC’s program in the Philippines featured in a chapter of the German published book, “A Forum for General and Intercultural Business Communication”
PMC’s program in the Philippines was featured in Michael B. Hinner’s book, A Forum for General and Intercultural Business Communication, Freiberger Beitrage Zur Interkulturellen Und Wirtschaftskommunikation, Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Peter Lang GmbH.
Download the full chapter: Chapter on PMC’s Program in Sudan, “Investigación y Desarrollo”
“Can Soap Operas Save Lives?” – PMC Featured in Ode Magazine
Ode Magazine
Issue 32
By Kim Ridley
Steamy tales of sex, betrayal and suspense can carry important social messages
Young and poor, Fikirte is in many ways Ethiopia’s Everywoman. Her life takes a turn for the worse when she meets Damtew, who is so obsessed with revenge against Fikirte’s innocent grandfather that he kills him and then begins to prey on her. He swindles Fikirte and seduces her half-sister, giving her HIV. He spreads vicious rumors to turn Fikirte’s family against her and to crush her dreams of finishing school. Still not satisfied, Damtew tries to murder Fikirte—twice.
Does Fikirte’s life sound like a soap opera? It is. The saga of Fikirte, Damtew, and the other captivating characters of Yeken Kignit (“Looking Over One’s Daily Life”) kept millions of Ethiopians glued to their radios for two and a half years. It also persuaded some of them to change their lives.
Read the rest of this entry »
“LOWERING THE BOOM: POPULATION ACTIVIST BILL RYERSON IS SAVING THE WORLD – ONE ‘SOAP’ AT A TIME”
By Pamela Polston, Seven Days
Western women of a certain age often talk about their “biological clock” – the physical imperative to bear children before it’s too late. But for Mother Earth, that clock is ticking for quite the opposite reason: She has too many children already, and if this terrible human fecundity is not slowed, it may indeed be too late – to feed the ones who are starving, or to sustain the ones who consume too much.
PMC is Featured in Ms. Magazine, “Soap Operas are Changing Lives – For the Better!”
PMC was featured in the Spring 2005 edition of Ms. Magazine.
Read the full article, “Soap Operas are Changing Lives – For the Better!”
Innovative Radio Serial Drama Airs in Sudan
Population Media Center’s radio serial drama in Sudan went on the air November 22, 2004 after 2 years of preparation work. Titled Ashreat Al Amal (“Sails of Hope”), the Arabic language program deals with reproductive health issues. It will air for approximately 18 months (there are 150 episodes) over Khartoum Radio. The project is supported by a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
The program deals with the major themes of HIV/AIDS education and the importance of educating women as a means to a better life, and the minor themes of female circumcision, negative consequences of too much drinking and gambling, and pre-natal care.
Through the characters of Hamid and Jabir, the program addresses the importance of reducing stigma of people living with HIV/AIDS and shows how one can interact with those who have AIDS. Hamid (a transitional character) is HIV positive and is refused a job by Jabir. Hamid’s wife’s former husband, Al Dai (another transitional character), comes to take his children away and declares that it is not safe for kids to live with someone who has AIDS. Later in the program, we will see that Jabir’s other evil-doings – stealing money, lying, blackmailing – lead to his assassination. Al Dai will grow to learn to accept people living with HIV/AIDS.
Through the character of Awatif, the program will address the issue of family planning and pre-natal care. Awatif, Hassan’s wife, suffers from acute anemia resulting from non-birth spacing, and repeated, prolonged bleeding from the births of her many children. She is in the process of delivering another child and encountering complications in delivery because she had become so run-down with running the household and having an office job while pregnant. After recovering from her terrible, but not lethal childbirth, Awatif slowly comes to realize that it is hard to pay the school fees for all of her children. Her former husband convinces her to take him back (he had left her to pursue another woman), but she agrees only if he will agree to use condoms. Hassan refuses. Awatif and Hassan will fight over this, but eventually Awatif will overcome.
Population Media Center is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to using media to aid the stabilization of human population numbers at a level that can be sustained by the world’s natural resources and to lessen the impact of humanity on the earth’s environment. Its work emphasizes education on the benefits of small families, elevation of women’s status, promotion of gender equity and encouragement in the use of effective family planning methods.
Combating Child Trafficking With Radio
Shelburne, VT — Population Media Center-West Africa (PMC) began airing its radio serial drama Cesiri Tono (“All the Rewards of Courage and Hard Work”) on Thursday, November 11, 2004 over the Africa Learning Channel.
