Help Rwandan Schoolchildren

In a country where sex education is virtually non-existent and discussions of sex are considered taboo, Jean Marie Edmund has deftly succeeded at getting Rwandans to open up.

Edmund is the co-host of the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Program’s (CHAMP) groundbreaking radio show Zibukura, which targeted youth aged 15-24 and their parents with comprehensive information about HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care; reproductive health; and issues concerning sexual education and gender.

Roughly meaning ‘to dodge’ (as in avoiding HIV) in the local language of Kinyarwanda, Zibukura consisted of 30 hour-long programs that reached 90 percent of Rwanda’s population and even some listeners in neighboring Burundi. Along with co-host Rubens Mukunzi, a well known radio personality from the Kigali station Radio 10, the pair taped topical discussions with community members in advance of each show. Then, once back in the studio, they would continue discussing each topic with a panel of health specialists, youth and parents, while people across the country would pepper them with questions by phone, text message and email.

“With Zibukura, we were able to cross boundaries and broach issues no one had ever talked about before,” Edmund explained. He also claims to be the first Rwandan radio presenter to talk publically about HIV/AIDS, back in 1995. He recalled, “It was just one year after the genocide, but I knew that thousands of women had been sexually violated and infected with AIDS. They needed to find out about their status and a safe space in which to talk. The radio program helped make that happen.”

Zibukura was born out of awareness surveys conducted at the beginning of CHAMP, which evidenced how many Rwandans—particularly youth—failed to have accurate information about even the most basic aspects of HIV/AIDS and reproductive health. “We first developed a design document that showed the risky behavior youth were engaging in, along with the behavior we wanted to promote. We were then able to develop key messages and elaborate on the subjects to be discussed in each radio program,” explained Edmund.

Many callers noted that the program taught them all the things their parents never told them, and they appreciated that nothing was off-limits. “I think the program was especially important for girls, many of whom didn’t even understand something as fundamental as menstruation,” recalled Mukunzi. But it wasn’t just youth who learned from the program, added Edmund. “Some parents told us that as a result of listening to Zibukura, they felt comfortable to open to their children and begin talking about sex.”

Not everyone appreciated the show’s frankness. Mukunzi relates, “One day we had a caller who said we should stop talking about rubbish like sex, and be more Christian. But we did our best to explain that he misunderstood what we were doing. We are not teaching people about sex, but educating them about their health.”

But overall, their efforts met with great success. One day, they received a live call mid-show from the Minister of Education, who said she appreciated their efforts. Another caller really touched Edmund when he called to say, “Don’t even think of stopping the show. You are truly brave and special.”