Africa-Press – Tanzania. OIKOS East Africa has partnered with Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) to undertake an innovative radio programme as part of a comprehensive initiative to take conservation education to children.
The organisation says Tanzanian children are the owners of the country’s future, but their voices are often overlooked.
A team of ecologists, communication specialists and community development officers from Oikos EA has prepared an intriguing set of scripts, which children and their teachers can turn them into fun and captivating episodes.
Oikos EA Managing Director Mary Birdi believes that radio education programmes offer an alternative platform for tens of thousands of children who are unable to access hands-on conservation education in the far north of Tanzania both due to the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and more in general due to lack of access to extracurricular educational activities.
“The crisis has brought to us some complex challenges, but also unique opportunities. Developing radio drama episodes will keep educating children on conservation topics and reach a much greater number of children than foreseen, it can be broadcast several times and used by other organisations too.”
The children’s radio programme “Our Rangelands, Our Pride” supports learning, communication and inspiration to address rangelands as a source of life for wild and domestic animals and people alike, showing that simple solutions can be found and it is everyone’s responsibility to adopt them to improve the quality of life and become stronger and wealthier.
Ms Birdi said the radio programme, whose target was to stir dialogue among children and adults, had come about due to collaborative effort, where funds from the European Union (EU) and USAID have been synergically used to provide a greater impact.
Children from primary schools in Lerang’wa, Ol’molog and Elerai in Longido District, Selela in Monduli District and Terat in Simanjiro have become fantastic radio speakers, showing their great potential to vehicle good information and shape the country’s future.
“Across activities, focal topics include causes of and solutions to rangeland degradation and the role of rangelands in community heritage, protecting wildlife and benefits to communities,” the Oikos EA director noted.
A total of 10 episodes of 15-20 minutes have been produced in collaboration with TBC, working along with pupils and teachers.
“The 10 episodes of podcasts have been reviewed by Oikos experts before being broadcast by TBC and two other local radios (FM Manyara Radio, Orkonorei Radio),” Ms Birdi explained.
Each episode will be aired by TBC and the two community radios three times a week at the agreed time, for 10 weeks and 30 recurrences.
A live introduction about the episodes’ subject and final quiz after the episodes’ conclusion grabs the listeners’ attention and pushes them to reflect on what the children are saying, a fundamental step towards the adoption of best practices.
“The children will share with us some very critical messages: Why is it important to protect rangelands and what can we do to keep them healthy? What is climate change and what we can do to be safer? Why is better to live in harmony with wildlife and keep our villages clean? Why women and girls must be protected?” Ms Birdi explained.
Oikos East Africa is a Tanzanian NGO based in Arusha, operating since 1999 to promote the protection of biodiversity and the sustainable use of natural resources as tools to fight against poverty and boost socioeconomic development.
OEA is a member of the Northern Tanzania Rangeland Initiative, a consortium of partners committed to improving the health of rangelands and communities in northern Tanzania.
