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Nawa 45 |
Aug 29 2006 |
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GIVING CHILDREN A VOICE
 Since March 2005, Uitani Childline Radio has given children all over Namibia a voice on radio. The President`s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through USAID and UNICEF provides funding for this weekly radio magazine program produced for, and by, children between the ages of 8 to 14 years old. Its primary aim is to provide important life skills messages which will support children in dealing with everyday issues affecting their emotional health, their general safety and their protection against the impact of violence and HIV/AIDS.
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The dynamic and up beat radio show, co-produced and co-presented by children and young adults, incorporates interviews with parents, kids, quotes from kids throughout the country, and incorporates songs, jokes and stories from the community. Live studio guests who are experts on topics such as HIV/AIDS, stigma, domestic violence, suicide, teen pregnancies, bullying, and others are interviewed. In addition to the interviews and music Uitani Childline Radio has its own radio drama produced in collaboration with the second year radio students of the Media and Theatre Studies Department of the College of the Arts. The drama is called The Moving Roads of Namibia and focuses on children`s rights, morals and values.
Uitani Childline Radio also helps build self-esteem by empowering the participants through capacity-building workshops with voice training, radio production and feedback from focus groups.
The program also offers opportunities for the children involved in the production that might otherwise not be possible. For instance, the theme song for the radio drama was recorded with a local Kwaito star Gazza and six of the children. The Child Presenter, Neige, was able to interview her idol Gal Level for the show about careers.
The program is broadcast on various stations across the country: every Saturday morning on Katutura Community Radio, on Sundays at noon on NBC National Radio and on Omulunga Radio, the commercial radio station. |
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SAN CHILDREN VISIT EMBASSY
 Fifteen girls from the San community in remote Okaepe recently embarked on their first educational tour to Namibia`s capital city which took in some national monuments, Parliament and State House, and included a visit to the U.S. Embassy to meet Ambassador Joyce Barr and thank her for supporting their education.
The girls benefit from assistance received from the Ambassador`s Girls` Scholarship Program (AGSP) which supports orphans and vulnerable children in eleven regions in Namibia to stay in school and progress in school. The program is part of the US$200 million U.S. President`s Africa Education Initiative (AEI) that began in 2002.
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Under the program the girls receive assistance with school fees, school uniforms and stationery. They also receive mentoring to help them cope with social problems at home, at school and in the community.
The 950 girls who receive support under this program in largely marginalized communities have heartwarming stories of how their lives have been changed. One recipient is in Grade 8 in a school in the far north of Namibia. Her father passed away and her mother is dying of AIDS. She came to school in clothes that were torn and dirty, but in Grade 7 the AGSP provided her with a school uniform and the other necessities she needed and paid her school fees. At the end of her Grade 7 year she won the award for the best performer in Grade 7. She was so proud because she had beaten 90 girls to the prize. She said, "I want to become a doctor and help sick people."
The Girls Scholarship Program is being implemented in Namibia by three non-governmental organizations: the Forum for African Women Educationalists in Namibia; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia AIDS Program, and the National Federation of People with Disabilities in Namibia. |
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ADVOCACY SKILLS SHARPENED IN OMAHEKE
 For democracy to become more deeply rooted, it is imperative that citizens and communities have the opportunity to effectively voice their concerns by engaging in peaceful dialogue with their elected leadership. In pursuit of this aim, the USAID-funded Namibia Institute for Democracy recently presented an advocacy skills training of trainers workshop for representatives of civil society organizations in the Omaheke region. The objective of the workshop, that was facilitated by the Legal Assistance Centre, in collaboration with the Omaheke Development Trust, was to equip community members with lobbying and presentation skills that will enable them to more successfully dialogue with the authorities and to convey problems encountered by their communities. The workshop was part of the overall democracy and governance program aimed at strengthening the interaction between civil society and government institutions at all levels.
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Specific topics covered included: what is advocacy; how to mobilize community members and the importance of organizing; advocacy techniques; how to plan and implement an advocacy campaign; and, most importantly, how to facilitate the teaching of the approach and the use of the materials to others. The workshop was experience-based and interactive; affording the participants the opportunity to apply what was learned over the two days to real issues and problems that exist in their respective communities. The success of the training was reflected in the feedback received from one of the participants, Mr. Brian Prince from the National Youth Council: "After the Advocacy workshop, I decided to incorporate Advocacy training into the HIV/Gender training seminars that I facilitate for my organization."
Thirty representatives from across the Omaheke region, representing a wide variety of civic groups including the Ouunongo Technical Centre, the Total Child Youth Forum, the Namibia Paralegal Association, the National Society for Human Rights, the Regional Youth Forum, Youth Against Crime, the National Youth Council and the Catholic Community Members Against AIDS Action, participated in the workshop. It is expected that these organizations will now be able to take the lead in training community members in useful advocacy skills and empowering them to represent their issues to the relevant authorities with greater impact and success. Similar workshops are planned throughout Namibia. |
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