By Deborah Torrington | Marketing Manager
Radio is king (and queen) in the eastern Kissi area of Sierra Leone, and it is here that dozens of our Prime radios and our Lifeplayers have recently been distributed by one of our partners, Child to Child. Kissi is the area where Ebola first entered Sierra Leone from Guinea. People here live in small, remote and unelectrified villages and subsistence farm for a living.
Kissi communities were thrilled to receive the radios, as they now have access to news and information. In addition, our partners Child to Child have produced educational radio programs that have been well received by the government. They’re child-friendly and culturally relevant, which is why plans are afoot to broadcast nationally.
Lack of trusted information was one of the reasons that Ebola spread so quickly in areas like Kissi. People were wholly unprepared for the onslaught of the virus. Our Lifeplayers have been distributed to teaching champions, who will use them to play Child to Child's programs that focus on enhancing children’s social, literacy, numeracy and life skills. Created for children aged 4-6, 7-12, and 12-18, the programs are designed not only to be educational, but entertaining and inspiring too. By the time you next hear from us, we’ll have a lot more information and some great photos to share.
In other areas of Sierra Leone, our emergency Polaris radios have been distributed to families and schoolgirls. The story that moved us most was from Fatmata, who reminded us in a few words why a solar and wind-up radio is so valuable: “I could not afford to buy batteries because I preferred to feed my family”. You can read Fatmata’s story here.
The tragedy of Ebola will live on for many years in Sierra Leone. It will be seen in the devastation of families who have lost mothers, breadwinners and children. It will be seen in the loss of teachers and nurses in communities. And it will be felt in the economy of a country where most of its citizens already live in poverty.
Thank you for the difference you have made in the lives of families in Sierra Leone, by giving the gift of information and education.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
