Aids is still with us – the Kameme Radio programmeInformation supplied by David Kimotho
IntroductionA decade ago, HIV/AIDS was regarded as a serious health crisis. Estimates in 1991 predicted that by the end of the decade, in Sub-Saharan Africa nine million people would be infected and five million would die. This proved to be a threefold underestimation. Today it is clear that AIDS is a development crisis, especially with regard to urban communities.What is the mass media doing about this development crisis? Some newspapers have reduced the charge for death announcements and may publish an occasional article giving statistics on the ever-increasing death toll. However, in view of the enormity of this pandemic, whatever the mass media is doing is never enough. One radio station, moved by the enormity of the crisis, has decided to wake up the public to its social responsibility by the various means at its disposal. We are talking about the Kameme 101.1FM radio station and its different approaches to raising awareness about the pandemic.
The AIDS Advertisements and the AIDS Call-in ProgrammeSince its inception in March 2000, Kameme 101.1 FM has been airing ads about the AIDS pandemic 18 times a day, every single day, from Monday through Sunday. The ads contain life-saving information on the basics of HIV/AIDS transmission, prevention precautions, and the benefits of HIV antibody testing. They portray real life situations using powerful dramatic prose. The format of the ads grew out of extensive consultations with volunteer and community groups, researchers, the private sector and academic community, professional associations, health and social care providers and most importantly, with individuals living with HIV/AIDS. The messages are changed from time to time in line with the feedback received.In addition to the ads, Kameme FM features an interactive programme once a week. This programme is aired on Monday evenings from 10-12 pm. On this programme they invite doctors as well as people living with AIDS and people can call up and ask questions. This feature is very popular and sometimes even carries on beyond midnight. The programme's objective is to arm Kameme's audience with the knowledge to prevent HIV transmissions, to give them information on how to better care for and treat those infected, to address their vulnerabilities and fears, as well as to draw on their strength and compassion.
The AIDS Videos – The Regional Reach AIDS Awareness ProgrammeThis programme is run by Kameme's parent body, that is, Regional Reach. Regional reach brings video programmes into areas where few people have TVs. Regional Reach was founded in 1994 and operates from shops and other public places in the rural areas. It is active in the ten districts where Regional Reach television and video sets have been installed for free public viewing. The ten regions are in Central, Western, Nyanza and Rift Valley provinces of Kenya. The districts are: Meru, Murang'a, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Kakamega, Vihiga, Kisumu, Kisii/Nyamira, Keiyo and Nakuru. The viewing hours are from 5-9 pm. on weekdays and from 3-8 pm. on weekends.The AIDS videos used by Regional Reach are obtained chiefly from NGOs and church organizations. They are mostly in English and Swahili, occasionally in a local language. Among others, they have included the following titles: Tahadhari kabla ya hatari (Watch out: AIDS is threatening.) This is the story of Michael Joseph Binamungu, an AIDS victim who reaches out to young people in various places to raise their awareness about AIDS. Born in Africa. This video is about the Ugandan born musician, Philly, who leaves Africa in search of greener pastures. While performing in one of Sweden's night spots he is taken ill. He later learns of his HIV positive condition. Everyone's child. Itai, Tamari and their twin siblings are orphans who receive no help from their family members or their neighbours. Itai is forced to try his luck in town. Breaking the silence emphasizes the growing and participatory role of the church in the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Audience ReactionsAlthough Kameme 101.1 FM is a niche programme in that it is directed chiefly to the Kikuyu-speaking population in the country, its popularity may be gauged from the fact that 38 percent of the listeners are not Kikuyu speakers but those who understand the language well enough to appreciate the programmes. The audience reaction to the AIDS awareness ads as well as to the AIDS videos has been very positive. Their main comment has been that they can relate to the message which is coming across. In the beginning they would sometimes make a comment like: “Do you have to rub it in?” But as AIDS is now taking its toll among everyone's friends and family members, people are realizing the absolute need for attitude change more and more. So they no longer complain about the frequency or the repetition of the messages. They know that as long as the death toll from AIDS keeps rising, the message cannot stop. So Kameme FM and Regional Reach will keep it coming, knowing it is “making a difference” in awareness raising and in attitude change.
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