“Radio Kwizera is our radio”… the prevalent response to an audience survey conducted by the radio station run by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in western Tanzania says it all. The radio broadcasts to circa 500,000 refugees in camps dotted along the Tanzanian border with Rwanda and Burundi, as well as local communities in the three countries.

By all accounts, its programmes are well liked and widely listened to, making Radio Kwizera (RK) an ideal ally in the anti-AIDS struggle. “Inspired by the call to fight the spread of HIV,” in the words of RK director Elias Mokua SJ (JRS Tanzania), the radio successfully raises awareness about the disease. “Such initiatives need the right channels to reach the right people at the right time, and Radio Kwizera is one ideal channel,” says Br Mokua. “Doctors and others educate society about HIV/AIDS on our programmes, and answer questions raised by the audience.”

The radio has always aimed to empower refugees by supplying balanced, accurate and comprehensive information and by giving them a voice. Set up in 1995 for refugees who had fled the Rwanda genocide, RK - Kwizera means ‘hope’ in Kinyarwanda language - specifically sought to counter “hate radio” used to deadly effect when the infamous ‘Milles Collines’ radio incited genocide. When the Rwandans were forcibly repatriated in 1996, JRS stayed on to serve the Burundian refugee population.

In line with its foremost goal of fostering peace and development, RK produces programmes with a strong educational focus, covering human rights, religion, gender issues and health awareness. Programmes are broadcast in Kirundi, Kiswahili, English and French for 13 hours a day. RK staff say the radio’s “popular approach” encourages people to tune in. Going by the principle that “worthy but dull programming will not keep an audience,” RK strives to “maintain a balance between information and entertainment.” The station has, for example, used radio soap opera to deal with AIDS.

One highly successful campaign which targets HIV/AIDS is a UNICEF-sponsored project for primary and secondary schools based on children’s rights. “The campaign focuses on extra-curricular activities, like music, drama and poetry, with messages about HIV/AIDS,” said Br Mokua. “All activities share one objective: to enable students to absorb a message and pass it on convincingly to others. Students learn to integrate what they learn with what they live.” The campaign has “got the full attention of thousands of school children, with youth and parents also turning up to watch activities.”

Another flourishing initiative is the Stop-Sida programme raising HIV/AIDS awareness in the camps. “Refugee youth are becoming more aware. Together with efforts made by other agencies, the project has increased attendance to voluntary testing.”

RK is determined to persevere in confronting the threat posed by HIV to the community. Promoting AIDS awareness is nothing more than another expression of RK’s unwavering commitment to spreading hope and to constructing a humane camp environment which promotes peace and respects refugees’ rights. “HIV/AIDS is another war that cannot be fought by military power,” says Br Mokua, “but rather by each and every one’s commitment.”

Contact Elias Mokua SJ eliasmokuan@yahoo.co.uk

AJANews no. 40 - January 2006