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Villagers in remote communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Niger are working to improve gender equality and empower women, thanks to improved access to information and powerful participatory communication methods. FAO’s Dimitra community listening clubs are helping rural people participate in their communities and their own development. The clubs enable members – women, men and youth – to share concerns and take collective action. In partnership with rural radio stations, the clubs have become agents of change not only in agriculture but also in other areas of society, addressing sensitive issues such as HIV/AIDS, early marriage and women’s rights to inherit land. This approach has boosted the self-confidence of members, especially women, and raised awareness of the needs and priorities of rural people. Members have played a key role in helping to peacefully resolve conflicts in their communities and giving rural women a greater role in decision-making. Dimitra’s success at the grassroots is the reason it has grown. Launched in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006, Dimitra expanded to Niger in 2009 and by 2012 had a total of 1,000 Listeners Clubs, with approximately 24,500 members and direct beneficiaries and 147,000 indirect beneficiaries. New Dimitra community Listeners Clubs are being created in Burundi, Mauritania and Senegal.
Give women access to information and communication, and they will change the world. That’s the purpose of FAO’s Dimitra Community Listeners’ Clubs – groups of rural women, men and young people who meet regularly to discuss development issues and challenges and find solutions together. The Listeners’ Clubs work with community radio stations to produce interactive radio programmes in local languages to increase knowledge and understanding of issues important to community life and livelihoods, thus empowering their members to become participants in their own development. The clubs are equipped with hand-cranked solar-powered radios and, in some cases, solar-powered mobile phones. As members discuss topics, share their concerns, priorities and needs, their conversations are either broadcast live on the partner radio station or recorded for later playback. This inspires discussions in other clubs – which in turn are broadcast by the radio station – focusing on concrete actions that the community can take and keeping the conversation going among all Dimitra Listeners’ Clubs in the area. This, in turn, encourages members to become more actively involved in the topic at hand.
This is not just talk
As discussions are always action-oriented, the clubs develop members’ skills in the following areas: agricultural and livestock practices, reducing food insecurity and building resilience, hygiene and sanitation, health and nutrition, and food security. Through exchanges, the Listeners’ Club in Taira, Niger, played an important role in informing local officials about the locust problem in the area in September 2011. Simply by preventing livestock from roaming around, club members in Kiota have reduced animal waste in public areas and encouraged neighboring villages to do the same. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, villagers have become self-sufficient in producing maize meal thanks to the Listeners’ Club in Kapolove. This inspired the village chief to provide the club with a piece of community land for vegetable cultivation, with the proceeds providing additional income for club members.
Beyond Agriculture: Agents of Change
Around 40 women are raped every day in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s war-torn South Kivu province. A discussion about sexual violence and HIV/AIDS in Mugogo, sparked by the Dimitra Listeners Club, has led to an increase in voluntary screenings and a change in attitudes. “Before, female victims would hide. They were ashamed,” says Jocelyn Mmaninga, the club’s president. “Now, they come for advice and help and to tell their stories.”
Similar results have been achieved in Niger. Radio programmes by Fogou on malaria, Garceda on early marriage and Albakezer on the benefits of giving birth in maternity centres rather than at home for mothers and children have led to a reduction in risky behaviour. In Niger, rural committees around the commune of Dantiandou, thanks to regular broadcasts by the Dimitra Club on women’s access to land, have guaranteed women the right to retroactively inherit land, resulting in one woman inheriting her father’s land 20 years after his death. The women in the club learned how to make their views known and successfully negotiated with male landowners and community authorities to obtain a formal 99-year lease on 2.75 hectares of fertile land for vegetable cultivation. In Boro State, the village chief invited three women club members to traditional village meetings, where important decisions are made. In 2011, a number of women club members from communities such as Gaya, Kiota and Tanda were selected as community advisers. In South Kivu, when fertile wetlands along Lake Kivu were taken over to grow sugar cane, threatening the region’s food security, members of the Bugbe and Mudi-Kati-Ka listening clubs met with authorities, who imposed high taxes to discourage sugar cane cultivation. As a result, 70 percent of the wetlands were repurposed to grow fruits and vegetables.
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