Tisinthe Interactive Radio Project

In September 2010, Theatre for a Change and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) trained 7 newly-qualified primary school teachers as radio performers. These teachers then performed their stories from their schools on national airwaves. The programme centred on a radio drama, featuring the story of Mary, a 14-year-old Malawian schoolgirl who is preparing to take her Standard 8 Exams. The first cycle of the programme broadcast for a twelve week period from March to June 2011.

The radio programme was designed to give listeners the chance to call in and interact live with the characters in the story, replacing them in the drama and showing what they would have done differently to change the outcome and reduce their risk of infection. The broadcast also featured the recordings of live performances at schools with teachers, learners, and parents as audience members, as well as panel discussions with project partners, stakeholders, and experts on issues raised by the drama.

Six listening clubs were established at 4 primary schools (known as Treatment Schools) - Kandiyani, Mpingu, Katola and Chiwenga. Trainee teachers were trained as HIV facilitators to start the afterschool listening clubs with learners, their parents, and their teachers during their practicum. HIV facilitators use the TfaC curriculum and participatory learning techniques to address HIV, children's rights, and gender and sexual rights based on the themes tackled during the radio broadcast. Throughout the course of the radio pilot project each Treatment School held an assembly which tackled the issues of 'Open and Honest Communication about HIV.' The project participants shared their knowledge, through interactive methods, with not only the whole school but also the wider community surrounding the school.

Click here to listen to episodes of Tisinthe.

HIV/AIDS, Education

Theatre for a Change (TfaC) is a registered non-governmental organisation in Malawi that works to reduce the risk of HIV infection among marginalised and vulnerable groups through the use of interactive, participatory learning techniques. An endline study following the Tisinthe Interactive radio project found that 92.9% of the Learners Treatment group stated they felt comfortable talking about HIV and AIDS in groups, an 19.4% increase from the baseline results. A similar 10.9% increase was noted for the parents and teachers group. Focus group discussions revealed that the facilitators of the project also felt that they gained immensely from participation in the project.

Furthermore, there was a notable increase in the levels of trust placed in school authorities with issues relating to HIV and AIDS. This is most evident with teachers, where 57.1 % of learners at the endline Treatment group reported they trusted teachers on information relating to HIV and AIDS. At the endline 100% of Learners Treatment group reported talking to TfaC after-school club Teachers about HIV and AIDS, this is a 21.7% increase from the baseline.