RADIO SERIES second episode

20/07/09

Today, Sunday July 20, 2009 is the day scheduled for the second episode of our radio program, “Women farmers’ Meeting” but disaster seems to have struck the radio sets in Gwagwada.  OKAY, all the women members of the listeners’ club are seated by 01.30pm; a whole hour before the broadcast! Imagine that! Sundays also happen to be the meeting days for the newly-formed cooperative society/radio listeners’ club so everything is looking good. Then, we notice something a little off. No one seems to have brought a radio! We had talked about purchasing a radio set for the listeners’ clubs but the community members had assured us that there was no need since everyone has a radio at home which can easily be borrowed on meeting days.  We ask the president why they haven’t brought a radio and she tells us a funny story. In order not to waste time, we rush from underneath our mango tree meeting place and into the house of the sole administrator, which is close by. As always, he is happy to see us but delivers the sad news that someone took his radio two days ago and he is yet to replace it. So his wife goes to ask the pastor and comes back with a radio that wouldn’t power on. By now, it is 2:10p.m, 20 minutes to program start.  In our desperation, we try to tune the radio in the taxi we came in but the sound is not clear. Just at the nick of time, I mean, just as the program is getting started, a very quiet, unassuming lady in the group returns with a radio and it works! Halleluiah! All the women rush close to the entrance of the sole administrator’s parlour and we all listen to the radio program and several women pay for airtime and take turns to phone in to make their voices heard, making contributions to the discussions or asking questions.

A listeners’ club member phoning the radio station during the live broadcast.

 

 

 

 

 

After the program is ended, we realize why these women did not bring a radio to the meeting. Apparently their husbands had commandeered the radios in order to listen to the program in their various homes.  The sole administrator saves the day and subsequent shows by publicly promising to buy the women a radio before next Sunday and from what we now know of our women, they will definitely hold him to his promise.

Christy Sunday: a member of the listeners club filming the event.

Today has been a good day. We chat with the women for several minutes after the radio show ends and also record some of their opinions which we plan to air next week.  During the chat, the women discuss and ask for clarification on some issues.  They go as far as asking questions about soft loans from the micro finance bank and we assure them that in three weeks time, an expert on that topic (a Gbagyi-speaking guest) would be in the studio during the program to educate them on how to go about obtaining loan facilities and they would then have the opportunity to call in and ask questions. Everyone was excited and pleased that the listener’s club held in spite of the lack of a radio at the start of the meeting.

 

It’s Christy’s turn today to film the Listeners’ club’s meeting proceedings.

The topic of radio program today, was Water Management and Irrigation Farming. Once again, we got the relevant scripts from the Farm Radio International’s web-site (www.farmradio.org).  The chairman of the local government also spoke to the women on the plans the government has to assist women.  

We’ll be back next week with more reports after the radio show!

Data, Seember and Binta

Radio Series

12/07/09

 

 

In keeping with its pledge to seriously promote the forthcoming Gbagyi radio series dedicated to women farmers, Kaduna state Radio, our partner in the implementation of Majalisar Mata Manoma: a Meeting Place for Women Farmers connecting with Radio and Mobile phones, advertized the program daily for three weeks prior to the launch.

Time has finally arrived and in a few minutes, the radio program will commence… We are hitting the airwaves folks! Being the first show, the program will be formally introduced to listeners who are at liberty to call sometime during the broadcast. Also, we will be addressing issues with regards to water scarcity which is undeniably, a major concern for families in our focus community (Gwagwada).

We just got the “studio time” wave alert so we will see you on the other side……

 

We all (ARDA) are on the other side of the show glass while the presenter and the Gbagyi woman leader are on air. Using scripts sourced from Farm Radio International’s website and adapted to suit our purposes, the show takes off. On our side of the glass, we chat lightly all the while snapping and filming pictures, anxious and wondering if there would actually be callers. The presenter plays a pre-recorded vox-pop and we think “ok, now, where are the callers?” Then 8 minutes into the show, just when we are thinking we would have to rely on our recorded discussions and interviews, the phone rings and thereafter, it continues to ring off the hook. We all couldn’t be more pleased. Different people and surprisingly, many women call in and relate the issues they face because of water; the cleanliness of water, the scarcity and such related issues. A few solutions are proffered by the experts and we know it, time is up. So the presenter tells everyone to tune in next week for more solutions. He also encourages people who have found ways of managing water effectively to share their experiences by calling in to the next episode.

 Confession time: Ok, it was not all about farming as one caller actually called to ask where he could get the music that was played. You see, we used the indigenous music of the Gbagyi people as a means to endear them to the program and by and large we were happy with the outcome.

 

Backstage, after the program ends, ARDA and our consultants discuss consequent follow up and hire someone to transcribe and transcribe the episodes into English for us.

Next week, we will be on the ground at Gwagwada to monitor the progress and reception of the women and men of our listeners clubs. We have lined up another expert to address other aspects of the water issues raised and we have also identified and downloaded some other scripts from Farm Radio international’s website to complement the expert guest’s talk. Stay tuned ’cos this project will only get better. Amen!

Planning the Radio programs

18/06/09

Outside of the village, we run around in town trying to carry out informal interviews and make suitable contacts for the call-in radio forum. On this fateful Thursday, I arrive at Kujama, where the Local Government secretariat is located. I am directed to the office where cooperative societies are registered and after 15 minutes a beautiful Fulani lady with a baby on her back attends to me. (Unfortunately, she won’t let me take her picture; maybe next time) She gives me forms for the women to fill and a prospectus containing all that the women need to know. I pay 3,000.00 Naira (20 dollars) as part registration for the women and I promise to pay the rest when I return the forms. She asks me if we have been able to open an account and I tell her the bank said we must finish with the Local Government first and kindly enough, she offers me a request form to give to the bank from them. No doubt, when it comes to the nitty gritty’s of the cooperative societies, she is who we and the women of Agbada association should be speaking with. To top my growing excitement, a gentleman walks in and she addresses him in Gbagyi language (Kaduna is made up of several ethnic groups and I least expected her to speak Gbagyi)I start to think that this lady should be one of our guests on radio. Just as if she read my mind, the lady officer tells me that every other issue will be discussed when the registration is completed.

Seember

organizing, getting accredited, registeration and other bureaucracies

18/05/09

How to start up a cooperative’s bank account at a micro-finance bank

As arranged, I was at the microfinance bank in Kaduna town by 9:30a.m. After a few minutes, the customer service staff attended to me. After due introductions, she provided us with information on how to start up a cooperative for the women.  The requirements are:

• Proof of registration
• Minutes of meeting of the cooperative indicating interest to open a cooperative account
• Introduction of three officials from the cooperative to run the account
• 3 passport photographs of each of the officials
• A minimum of N10,000 opening balance

We were also informed that loans could be applied for after 3 months operation of the account; and the women must have a guarantor.

When asked about the interest rate for the women, she adamantly refused to disclose; saying such information could only be given after the account is opened. I tried hard to probe but she wouldn’t shake. I had to reintroduce the organization, show her a bank identity, explain our project but still…So after 30 minutes of attitude, she blurted out “it’s 5%”. I did not even expect her to tell me; I was just trying and she did. Thank God cos it is relatively low compared to other banks.

Afterwards, the customer service lady introduced me to the officer in charge of Gwagwada office and he told me he goes there on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So tomorrow, I will go to the village with the bank officer (Yohanna is his name). Yohanna would address the women and the women would have the opportunity to ask questions and also receive his phone number as one of the people that can be reached for some form of extension. The election would also take place tomorrow so that everything needed would be in place for the account opening. Hopefully on Thursday, the account will be opened.

What I propose is that we inform the women of the stipends and encourage them to start up the account with the stipend for the first five weeks. I also propose that the 15 women who took part in the theatre be part of the listener’s club in which case we will give them a round sum of 2,000 every week .

We also went to the radio station; unfortunately, unable to meet Anty Tamani so the negotiations are still on hold. We hope to at least, be able to negotiate the price and time slot for the airtime within this week and find a later date for the courtesy call so that we are not delayed by the tight schedule of the station’s management.

Sincerely, I have drafted out a progress report using the format made available but could you please wait till the end of this week so that we complete these little things like setting up the listeners club….it would be nice to see that the report doesn’t show activities alone but also shows achievements.

As you told us, we can expand the scope of the project. So if it is okay with you, I intend to tell the women to not limit the activities of the club to the radio program, but also think and find ways of using the club to develop themselves, because in truth, at the end of the project, the club would be theirs to do as they please. There is a time gap; from now till July when the radio program takes off and if you permit, I would propose to the sole administrator of Gwagwada and other representatives of that constituency to assist in a literacy program for the women. Man proposes……….

Reported by Seember

ICT issues of rural women farmers

Glitches and oops! And Everything  was going so well….

It came as a shock to us that on getting to the village today, the president walks up to us with the phone in its carton; and held it like a prized possession only just pulled out from it’s hiding place. She tells us that the phone is not in active use because they have not succeeded in mounting a pole. For all we thought we knew, this phone had been used to call us a fortnight ago because the antenna and the connector enabled the women receive signal and reach us; apparently not. We are told that when they reached us on phone, they situated themselves on top of a hill where there is full service reception and after the calls were made, the phone and the women returned to their respective places of abode.

A few young men pass by and tell the women to get serious. They brag that if the project was given to men, every ‘pole’ would have been in place by now.

So we ask what the situation is with the pole; why has the pole not been mounted…and we are replied with silence and murmurings. I go to the house of the sole administrator and he promises to help us buy a pole tomorrow so from the women’s weekly stipends, they give him 2,500.00 Naira; approximately 15 dollars for the purchase and ‘installation’ of the pole.

The meeting turns into a sermon under a tree so to speak; we preach to the women on not relenting in their efforts to make this project work. Soon after, the secretary, Naomi Bamaiyi, hands us the minutes of the previous meeting along with the names of the registered members. We promise to call the women just to make sure the phone is working actively and also to keep them abreast with new developments.

In spite of the little setback, the minutes of the women’s meetings show that they are up to some good. Within themselves, they have started an “adashe” which is a local savings device. In addition, the president informed us of their meetings that hold fortnightly with or without our attendance….way to go, ladies!

Reported by Seember and Binta

Mobile Phone in women farmers’ hands

Another Training Day. Using a Mobile phone – Practicals

This Sunday, after a little contemplation, we decide with the women to test their new skill in the use of mobile phones. We would stay back in the city (Kaduna) and they would call our numbers as well as receive calls from us.

During the past week, with the assistance of the sole administrator, we had purchased an antenna and connector so that the mobile phone can receive network signal in the village. On getting to the village however, we realized that the connector was compatible only with phones such as Samsung R220 but we had purchased a Nokia brand. It should have been easy to exchange but Samsung r220 seemed to have been phased out from the Nigerian mobile phone market. After a long search we (with the much needed and appreciated help of the sole administrator) got an r220 samsung phone. Yeah us!

Back in town, we start receiving calls from the women. Every woman tries to call the different contacts we had given them. We do not pick all the calls; (they learn what we call “flashing”) i.e. just as soon as the phone line is connected to the receiver, you terminate the call with the hope that the person will call you back. The women are really excited and they hope to apply this “flashing technique” in order to receive calls from friends and relatives in town. By so doing, they would also generate income; for every call any of the women gets, they get to pay a fixed charge of N10. Finally, the treasurer, who is also our contact person calls to thank us and the women disperse.

Luckily, we are getting enormous support from the village; especially from the sole administrator who made sure he was present at the meeting even though we weren’t there.

Reported by Seember and Binta

ORGANIZING & etc.; SETTING UP WOMEN FARMERS COOPERATIVE

It’s a good day!…something very different; something that has never occurred in the history of our visits to Gwagwada happened today….on arrival all the women are seated, awaiting our arrival! What’s more, they seem more than pleased to see us ’cos as our vehicle approaches, they all stand up and begin to dance in three straight lines. Dressed in their Sunday’s best, the parade is a welcome befitting to royalty so we are highly honoured. After pleasantries are exchanged Binta expresses our appreciation and congratulates the women on their early turn out; which for us is a good indicator that they are ready to take advantage of every opportunity this project offers; starting today.

We go into the agenda for the day which is teaching the women how to use mobile phones. As we bring out the phone, it’s obvious these women are excited. The singer starts a praise song and all the women chorus out loudly and enthusiastically. After two minutes, Binta reminds them of the benefits of the club owning a phone; she tells them how useful it is in getting useful farming tips from other farmers, government representatives, agricultural extension workers, colleagues from other markets and of course, the radio station. She further proposes that the club use the phone as a means to generate income by placing a charge on received and dialed calls. All the women agree to this suggestion by nodding and saying “eh” which means “yes”.

Binta removes the phone from its wrap and carries the women through the stages of fixing the sim card and battery. The phone is switched on and a few women assist in the explanations. Unfortunately, the antenna has not been purchased so we are unable to receive any network signal. However, the antenna which will be purchased by the sole administrator will be handed over to the president in the course of the week so that come Sunday, everyone can practice using the phone; so we tell the women.

After the short training, the phone is handed to the president of the club, whose name is Asibi; in whose custody it will be kept. 

 We inform the women of an election of new officials in 2 months in order to give everyone a chance at leadership and recognition of efforts. The women thank us and after bowls of “fura da nono” (yogurt and gruel) we depart.

Today went so well; I must say that it felt like “Christmas or Salah”.  Binta and I were in one accord…we always work together but today, we were in accordance with the women of Gwagwada and we all worked together in the spirit of oneness towards making today fulfilling. The unity of spirit with which we worked gave me a lil something to think about. Initially I was worried about being marked out for activity with minimal results but today I got the insight that it is the activities and efforts of time past that has brought us this far; never again will I take activity for granted. See you next week!

Reported by Seember

Getting organized is no joke.

The promised day (Sunday) is finally here. We had had a word of assurance that today, these women will be readily available for us. So at half past midday, we set off to Gwagwada. Not surprisingly, our meeting place which is under a mango tree is void of human life and so I head staright to Lami’s (The coordinator). Quickly, she sends for the women and one by one they start to come. Binta (ARDA’s P.O) is pissed and does not spare them….telling them that such behavior is inconsiderate and against our culture of how you treat guests. They apoplgize profusely and a few of the women protest, saying that they headed straight for the mango tree but met no one so they decided to go back home to which Binta further responds; saying  that they should have waited because we are not the ones to be waiting for them. Very easily, Binta changes from the scolder to a friend and carries the women along in an engaging speech on the reason for our visit which is to officially set up a radio listeners’ club which will also double as a registered association so that they can learn from each other and improve their livelihoods by learning various adaptation skills as well as getting assistance from farm experts. The women are further admonished; as they have been told before, to put their whole hearts into this project so that they can obtain the maximum benefits and in turn, pass on the knowledge to other women within, and in neighbouring villages. If faces were written placards, we could tell that the women were moved and they were also happy that in deed, the organization was being formally set up; and immediately! One of the main de-motivators for the women was that people always came and promised; the government always promised but nothing ever came out of the promises. So hopefully, seeing that this project had come this far in so little time seemed to diminish their skeptism…the project was taking shape in their lifetime!

Agbada Association first group photo

Between ourselves, Binta and I suggested interim officials; explaining that all through the focus groups and the theatre for development days, we have noticed people who we thought should serve as forerunners; the women nodded enthusiastically and we introduced the officials to them and what is required of each official.  After the group photos and individual passport photographs, the women were left alone to do their thing.

At first it had looked like it would just be one of those days with so much activity and so little achievement but it turned out very beautifully in the end. We paid a visit to the sole administrator and blessed him with the title and role of  “Patron”. We set up a meeting for Sunday with the women for the training on how to use a cell phone to make and receive calls as well as for receiving useful farming information and updates from the agric departments and the radio program.

organizing women farmers’ listeners’ club

19/05/09  Challenging but plenty to learn as usual.

It is 8:30a.m and our cab is about hitting the not so freeway to Gwagwada. Be warned cos this is not your regular cab (depending on the part of the world you come from). This must be, has to be the oldest Volkswagen model….a hatchback that is literally falling apart. Pix don’t lie and even if they did, trust me, this one is telling nothing but the truth.  We (all the passengers and the driver are riding the African way; sorry the Nigerian way; Two people in the front seat and 4 people at the back; just as tight as a pack of sardines.  You see, this is life as we have come to know it and we are indifferent to the fact that the cab is a wreck (except for the painful part where my dress gets hooked on an exposed nail and tears). As rough as it might seem, I’m so glad to have gotten this ride cos it’s saved me a couple of hundreds… So off we are to set up the listeners club.

 …And 5 hours later….the ride back to town is not half as crappy as the cab; Brand new, tear-leather Peugeot. Generally, people (myself inclusive) are a pain up somebody’s butt but this man giving me the ride redefines PAIN. So what happened back in the community? What took us 5 hours to set up? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! As usual the women were no where in sight and who can blame them? After all there is a need for any activity that would reap the immediate benefit of setting dinner on the table. At the women’s suggestion, the meeting has been shifted to Sunday. I did not mention where all the women were. There’s this thing called “YASHI”. It is sand from the river bed so all the women in the community go and dig deep and these huge trucks come and gather what they have packed;  Such hard labour and so little pay. A pail costs 35 cents and some of the women have to walk a long way to offload.

The good or not so good part is that everyone wants to know what this young girl in a gypsy dress and cameras is about.  Where are you taking pix of us to? Were you sent here by the government…a little diversion here; what really is the government?  I try to explain for the umpteenth time to these new sets of people about the listeners club where they can work together to help think themselves. I further explain the radio program that would be a means for them to get information with regards to farming and they go, “Oh, great, see you on Sunday”….one woman sneaks up to you, insists on carrying your bags and tells you about her daughter who needs a hair dryer to open up her salon and all I can do is listen and pray that somehow, perhaps, the club would indeed build their capacity so that some of their needs would be met. …another tells me about her daughter who can only sit for one of her exams….real women, real hardworking women with real needs and I can only thank God for more time to think and pray about giving the women a mind frame that would actually help them help themselves. Another wants a job; says she can teach; and I think that perhaps she could that within the scope of the club and get remunerated.  The best gift to these women would be capacity building… I mean, if they could grasp the concept of empowerment and be able to stand on their own two feet and help others who can’t….passing on knowledge…growing from knowledge and experience…developing your instincts…progress development…we will get there.

Focus! That is what we need so that we do not try to do everything and end up doing nothing. We must try to make the listener’s club very effective…and in that aspect, actually better the livelihoods of these women….one step at a time….

Later in the evening, Aunty Comfort, sent a msg saying that an hour of time would cost 43,000.00 which is way above what we have budgeted. So, she is yet to grant us a convenient time to see her because of the Governor’s entourage; hopefully we can negotiate. We might also need to cut the time to 30 minutes and make it very effective.

Because the women have not elected officials, we cannot register them and open the account.

Time Plan:

Sunday……election

Monday…..registration of women

Tuesday…opening of account

Sunday….phone training

The women also suggest that the radio program run over the weekend (Sunday precisely); in the evening……

 We would pay the radio station a visit  on  Monday the 25^th, to try and negotiate the price and also allocate time.

Reported by Seember

Theatre for Development Activity Report

REPORT ON THE TFD ACTIVITY FOR MAJELISSA  MATAR MANOMA

 HELD AT

GWAGWADA DEVELOPMENT AREA, CHIKUN LOCAL GOVERNMENT, KADUNA

FROM 23/04/09 to 02/06/09

BY

NYAGER, ELIZABETH .A (DR)

Theatre For development is a community oriented communication activity that uses inter-personal and horizontal channels of communication for effective development communication. It is participatory, and therefore relevant, inclusive and effective for development communication.

The inclusion of TFD as one of the strategies for the implementation of the GENARDIS project in Gwagwada village of Kaduna State is therefore, an important decision made clear to us on our first day in the village. We observed that, although previous contacts through research were made to this settlement, attitudes towards this project needed to be changed if any impact was to be made in implementing the project.

TFD uses a specific format for reaching out to communities even though each given situation determines approach. TFD may take the following format:

• Researching Community (target community).
• Identifying development Issues
• Prioritizing these issues
• Developing drama skits to capture these issues through rehearsals
• Performance of developed drama
• Follow up activities

At all the levels of this format, participatory learning is enhanced so that message dissemination becomes a concrete and enduring agent for attitude change.

The TFD work in Gwagwada village however, started at the second level in our format. A baseline research had already taken place and some development issues identified. We still needed to identify and confirm these issued through participatory and instigative discussions with the community. Also, we needed to identify members of the community with whom we would be working.

The first day of our contact with the community was therefore, geared towards identifying these groups. Through the assistance of a contact person in the community, we first mobilized the women and then the men. We enlisted fifteen women and six men for the activity.

Day one therefore, afforded us a familiarization tour of the community. We first visited the area administrator who was very supportive of the work. He directed us to a women’s leader who became our contact point with the women.

DAY 2: MONDAY

Having previously arranged to meet by 10a.m daily, we arrived the village to begin the exercise of the day; a mini workshop. This was to acquaint participants with each other and with the project goals. It was kind of plenary so introductions were made and video taped. We seized this opportunity to both break barriers and begin to introduce ICT by inviting one of the women to use the video camera. Assisted by one of ARDA’s program assistants, she did a portion of video recording of that day. The project was introduced by making reference to previous contacts e.g. Melissa’s work and Dr. Sola’s baseline research. They were made to understand that this was a build up on previous efforts. Since TFD uses cultural forms of the people for communication, we invited a local musician who played traditional tunes for warm up exercises. This local music with its accompanying dances became part of the TFD activity for the rest of the week. A few drama skits were tried out around the identified development needs of the village. Some of these were lack of fertilizer, lack of water, lack of access roads to fertile farmlands etc. From our discussions with the women, we however perceived that the most pressing issue was to tackle their basic attitudes towards perception of ‘development’.  Other issues identified were the issue of deforestation and gender roles and relationships. This day, being the day in which we consolidated our planning of the activity, we succeeded in identifying two groups to work with; a women’s group composing of 15 women and a men’s group of 6 men. It was agreed that the women’s group would meet daily from 10a.m while the men’s group will work from 2p.m. Thursday’s meeting with the women was however cancelled, as the village weekly market-day falls on that day. It was decided therefore, that we would use that day to do a public performance at the market square using the men who would meet by 10a.m, rehearse and go on to the market square to perform.

DAY 3: TUESDAY

Rehearsals intensified for both the women’s group and the men’s group.

DAY 4: WEDNESDAY

Rehearsals continued for both groups

DAY 5: THURSDAY

This was market day. Rehearsals were held with the men’s group from 10a.m. Performance held later at market place. Attendance was good.

DAY 6: FRIDAY

Rehearsals for both groups; Fine-tuning of messages for the grand performance.

DAY 7- SATURDAY

Brief rehearsals and Grand performance; the performance again took place at the market square. Attendance was not as good previously. However, since this event was covered by Kaduna State Television (KSTV), it was assured of a wider audience when broadcast. Again, because TFD offers learning opportunities even during rehearsals a greater audience is ensured throughout the whole process. A question and answer session followed this performance when the audience was given the opportunity to seek clarification on issues raised in the drama.

FOLLOW UP

The TFD activity can be an on-going process for the entire duration of this project. Any of the various levels in the format identified above can be used as opportunity for the application of forum Theatre, an active component of TFD for instigative discussion and development of drama skits. These may not necessarily end up in a public/grand performance but will be used to entrench and emphasize needed and identified development messages. This is what comprises the follow-up component of TFD.

SUGGESTIONS

1. Future engagement with the community should endeavour to build upon the gains made in building relationships with both the women and men’s group. These have all been mobilized through their participation in the TFD activity and so have become acquainted with the goals and objectives of the project. They could therefore become channels for reaching out to the whole community with the project’s goals and objectives.

 The gap created by an absentee extension worker in the community should be filled if possible. This gap may be responsible for the observation we made on the very first day we arrived the village. We observed that although previous contacts through research etc had been made to this settlement by ARDA personnel, very little was ‘visible’ by way of impact and awareness. We therefore realized that attitude towards the project was the overarching challenge to be tackled through the TFD activity. We believe that the TFD, to a great extent, succeeded in placing the project‘s feet more firmly on Gwagwada village.

GLOSSARY OF SKITS DEVELOPED AND PRESENTED

Both groups had four skits each. The idea was that two working groups should complement each other as well as reinforce some of the ideas raised in discussions to be tackled in the drama. Identified issues were therefore to be tackled from differing gender perspectives. The skits also emphasized the idea of embracing innovation and development.

THE WOMEN’S SKITS

A development sensitive woman meets various women; inviting them to a development forum. Many are not interested but she continues to persuade.

COMMENT: This skit actually attempted to capture the various attitudes we encountered in the village on our arrival.

SKIT 2: At the forum-a meeting of women. We see the same women but changing attitudes are reflected as some are more open and willing to the issues being raised. One central issue; the issue of starting a cooperative club was discussed. Some of the women are still skeptical.

SKIT 3: At the home of an elderly female farmer who did not attend the meeting. She is visited by almost all the other women. They come in turns, but it turns out they all try to give her various views about the forum meeting. They share with her the issues raised one of which was the promise of a cell phone to the group.

COMMENT: This was conceived to sensitize the women towards the next activity and planned goal of the project.

SKIT 4: Two women come back from the river with dirty water. They are encountered by two other women who ask them why they are only just coming from fetching water. Did they not get up early? They are asked. They go on to discuss the difficulties of getting water which generates into pointing out the number of chores they cover in a day thus drawing up a virtual work diary for women in the village.

COMMENT: This among other things was to highlight the issue of water scarcity and its problems for the women thus leading tp a discussion of gender disparities.

THE MEN’S SKITS

SKIT 1: A visitor is arrives the village (presumably Gwagwada). His name is ‘DEVELOPMENT’. With expansive gestures, he introduces himself, also stating his purpose for coming to the village. He is looking for men of like-mind to partner with so they could bring ‘development’ to the village. He attempts to reach out to various types in the village; various trades and occupations.  He meets a trader, a blacksmith, a carpenter and a farmer.   Again like the women, they display various attitudes most of them rejecting his invitation to a meeting. Only the farmer is receptive towards Mr. Development and promises to try and convince the others to come to the meeting.

SKIT 2: At the meeting; the various trades and occupations attend again as represented above. The same variety of attitudes is captured but ‘again’ some attitudes begin to be changed towards ‘development’.

SKIT 3: Farming and climate change issues are raised and through acting out approaches, suggestions are proffered for tackling the matters arising. For example, the issue of deforestation is demonstrated as a problem to be tackled by afforestation.

SKIT 4: Two boys at a street corner discuss the issue of women being given a cell phone to use. They deride the idea openly until the elderly farmer who is open to ‘development’ arrives and educates them on the usefulness of this phone to the women. He becomes the spokesperson for ‘selling’ this project objective of giving a voice to the women in Gwagwada village.

FINAL WORD

Since all stake-holders are supposed to be part of the evaluation of this project, and since the TFD activity was also a training opportunity for some members of the team, TFD can continue to be used to at the level of the listener’s club meetings. Cultural songs and dances can continue to be used to mobilize the women. The women could even be encouraged to get their own musical instruments.