The World Cup transformed so many cities and towns in South Africa during the tournament. It brought hope and promise to many. A year on, the Radio Workshop went back onto the streets to ask South Africans if the football extravaganza brought any lasting benefits.
Listen to the entire episode by clicking on the track below. Feel free to download the track or share via Facebook or Twitter.
The Radio Workshop would like to thank James Donald, Piko Lomzi and Mphumelelo from Grassroot Soccer. Thanks also to all the people of Cape Town who stopped their day for a few moments to talk to us.
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2010 World Cup crowds
And that’s all from this week’s Radio Workshop!
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17 year-old Esther Kalenga interviews her classmates about the conditions at her school in Mongu, Zambia.
Schools that work
What facilities and learning resources are necessary for a school to offer a quality education to its students? The World Cup in My Village youth journalists in Mongu, Zambia took this question head-on, and considered the good, the bad, and the ugly at their school.
“I feel that we don’t really have facilities to help us learn effectively,” says Grade 11 student Steven Sianga. Schools are not just about students and teachers, he says. They’re also about having suitable facilities and learning resources like textbooks and computer labs that function.
“Teachers are there to take us through, to make us pass,” says 18 year-old Lawrence Mulope. “The materials are in teachers.”
“Some pupils are interested in certain subjects like IT, but here at this school, there’s no class for taking IT,” says a classmate at St. John’s Senior Secondary School. “And the computers there, it’s like they are there for decoration only, and there’s not enough for the pupils to benefit from.”
Listen to the full radio debate, or download the file as an mp3 for broadcast.
To what degree do teachers play a role in a child’s performance at school? Are teachers the key ingredient in a school’s success or failure?
Many of the students at St. Johns Senior Secondary School in Mongu, Zambia credit their triumphs to the hard work of some of the teachers in their school. “They want to make sure that their schools are representing, that the pupils are able to make it,” says 17 year-old Richard Mufaya, noting that a few teachers have made an incredible impact on his life and his studies.
But while some teachers help students to motivate themselves, others don’t seem to care enough about their well-being. “Some of our teachers are teaching so just that at of the end of the month they will be paid,” says Esther Kalenga.
Listen to the full radio debate, or download the file as an mp3 for broadcast.
Gisenyi, Rwanda: A challenge facing many young men in this corner of Rwanda is the difficulty of finding work, and what this means for their ability to assume responsibility for caring for their ageing parents or building a life of their own. Alexis Niyongombwa is 20 years old. This is his story.
Dodos Twahirwa (20) earns a living as a football coach for the community-based organisation, Vision Jeunesse Nouvelle. He was unable to finish secondary school because his family did not have enough money. Despite his worries, he encourages other young people to complete their high school education.
Ghana vs. USA Match: June 26, 2010
Youth journalist Chipo Shangoma describes the atmosphere at the screening of the Ghana vs. USA World Cup match in Mongu, Zambia.
The World Cup in My Village youth journalists held a radio discussion to debate the reasons that young Zambians struggle at school. Malnutrition kept many students back, they argued, and contributed to poor performance in the classroom.
“Children don’t learn because they are hungry,” argued 14 year-old Inonge Sitali. “When you’re hungry you can’t concentrate on school.
Listen to the full radio debate, or download the file as an mp3 for broadcast.
GISENYI, Rwanda: In response to a Unicef press release about the World Cup in My Village project, Reuters sent their Rwanda correspondent to Gisenyi to find out more. There he met Vestine Nziyandemye, one of the 15 youth reporters trained by the Children’s Radio Foundation who are producing radio stories about the views and experiences of young people in the area. After Themistocle Hakizimana had put his questions to Vestine and she had dutifully answered them, Vestine took her recorder and asked the Reuters correspondent a few questions of her own!
Here is the audio link to Vestine’s interview with Reuters correspondent, Themistocle Hakizimana, followed by a transcript in English.
Vestine: I’m Vestine, I’m one of the trainees trained by CRF, in radio journalism. Can you kindly introduce yourself to us?
Reuters: I’m called Hakizimana, Themistocle, and I’m working for the British television called Reuters.
Vestine: How did you hear about how these matches were organized here, and what do you think about them?
Reuters: It was all organized by Reuters in London as UNICEF was preparing this project of showing the World Cup to many children.
Vestine: It’s good to see you being a journalist with far more resources than us: what do you think of what you have seen at this stadium?
Reuters: What I have seen is that there are many children and hardly any adults. What I like most about this project is that it has brought World Cup matches to children who would not be able to afford to watch them in other places where they’d have to pay. That is what impressed me most, although I think that many more children would have come compared to the number of children I know live in Gisenyi.
Vestine: There are more children that are going to come later on, they’re still busy doing other jobs at home, but when the match begins they will come. So what would you say to the listeners of CRF?
Reuters: What I’d like to say is that many parents do not give any value to football. I’d like to encourage parents to let their children come and watch football matches because it’s an international game and any child who has that talent can benefit and get inspired by watching the matches.
Vestine: Thank you for coming, and welcome to our stadium, and please give our greetings to other journalists.
And here is an audio recording of the Reuters interview with Vestine, followed by a transcript in English.
Reuters (Themistocle Hakizimana): You’ve introduced yourself, please tell us about the [radio] training you received and are you putting your training into practice?
Vestine: We were trained for several days in how to use this recorder I have. We were trained in how to make stories, and how to make good recordings, and that is what I’m doing here so that they can evaluate me and see if I benefited from their training.
Reuters: Why do you think it was important to involve children in this project?
Vestine: It was good firstly because some children like the profession of journalism, such as me, I have always liked it, even if I hadn’t had the chance of studying journalism. But more importantly it is good that children were involved because it gave them a chance to express themselves. When a child is put in this position it empowers him to be able to do something.
Reuters: What do you think will be the benefit of showing children the matches here, starting with you yourself?
Vestine: It is very good even starting with myself, because there are children who have a talent that needs to be developed. There are times when a child can like football because of a particular player they admired. There are times like now, just before halftime, when there are messages played about nutrition, good water, education, and other subjects, which are good messages for children that they can listen to and can implement after watching the matches.
Reuters: You are a girl, many times in Rwanda, culture does not permit girls to play football. Does this embarrass you?
Vestine: No, it’s not an embarrassment at all because we are at a stage in development it is no longer an embarrassment for a girl to play football. So I think it’s important that girls are also allowed to come to these matches, because the messages that play here are not meant only for the boys.
Reuters: What message or advice do you have for UNICEF about these projects?
Vestine: My first request would be that because of the high levels of ignorance among parents in rural areas, they should be sensitized before matches to let their children come and benefit from the other messages [that are being played at the matches] about things like nutrition. That way the parents would be encouraged to send their children to the matches. The parent will feel that their child is not only coming for the matches or other mischief, but will know that the child will benefit from the messages, and therefore let the child come without any problem.
Reuters: The last question, of the matches that you have seen so far, which did you like most and what did you learn?
Vestine: The match I liked most was the first opening match with South Africa and Mexico. The reason was that the very first goal was from the Africans while the rest of the world thinks that Africa cannot do much. It shows that we are capable and not always needing to depend on the whites.
Children get ready for the screenings of the Ghana vs. USA match as part of World Cup in My Village in Mongu, Zambia
1GOAL: Education for all
produced by Saboi Kezman (17)
The World Cup in My Village youth journalists held a radio discussion to debate the reasons that young Zambians drop out of school.
Tambudzai Mutale said that children quit school in order to work and to support their families, and also argued that teenage pregnancy plays a major role.
Distance from educational facilities, many of the youth journalists argue, is the primary reason that young Zambians drop out of school.
“You’ll find schools are very far from where the people stay. It’s because of the distance or because of floods that make children stop going to school,” says 17 year-old Sebbe Phiri.
Listen to the full radio debate, or download the file as an mp3 for broadcast.
There are three official languages in Rwanda – Kinyarwanda, French and English. But two years ago, in 2008, English replaced French as the medium of instruction in Rwandan schools. Sandra Rugema (12) and her brother Ronald (10) live in Gisenyi in western Rwanda on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are part of a new generation of Rwandese for whom English is increasingly a familiar tongue.
Sandra Rugema is 12-years old. Like all Rwandese children she learns her school lessons in English.
Sandra is clear about how important education is to her.
Sandra does athletics at school and enjoys running. Does she think girls and boys should be able to play the same sports and have the same opportunities in life?
Sandra is proud to be Rwandese and says the country is changing for the better.
Ronald Rugema (10) spoke to the Children’s Radio Foundation about his favourite subjects at school, his ambitions, and which football teams he supports.
Ronald ‘s passion for science is linked to his high flying dream.
So, what would Ronald tell other children about his country?
Ronald is also a keen soccer player.
As part of World Cup in my Village—a partnership between UNICEF, the Children’s Radio Foundation (CRF) and Vision Jeunesse Nouvelle (VJN) in Rwanda—15 youth reporters are learning how to interview and produce their own radio content. The project gives them the opportunity to report on pressing issues affecting young people in their communities, and to share their experiences and concerns with the rest of the world.
Their audio reports will be broadcast on local, national, and international radio stations, and additional media content will be posted on the Children’s Radio Foundation’s website and disseminated via other social media platforms. In addition to media trainings, World Cup in My Village provides access to the World Cup matches to youth in areas of Zambia and Rwanda where there is little to no electricity or broadcasting service. Large open-air screens and projectors have been set-up and the matches will be screened from 11 June to 11 July.
In addition to the football matches, special public service announcements produced by UNICEF and partners will provide the audience—largely cut off from mainstream sources of information—with information about education, health and child protection. The public viewing spaces will also be used for community events such as youth soccer games and educational activities on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. During the half-times of the World Cup matches, the trained youth journalists will conduct interviews with their peers and host live radio talk shows to sensitize fellow youth about community issues.
To find out more about World Cup in My Village, click here.
The Children’s Radio Foundation has been working with UNICEF and community organizations on a project called World Cup in My Village. The project takes place throughout the World Cup, and gives young people access to watch the World Cup matches in areas where there is little access to electricity and television. Through using huge inflatable screens and projectors and generators, young people in Zambia and Rwanda have been taking in World Cup games in the great outdoors in their communities, and getting the chance to experience a slice of the action.
As part of World Cup in My Village, we trained groups of young people in each country as youth journalists, giving them the tools and the skills to tell their own stories, and to report on pressing issues affecting young people in their communities.
Today we hear some of their stories. Let’s take a listen to what some youth reporters in Mongu, western Zambia had to say.
To find out more about World Cup in My Village, click here.
Welcome to the Show!
Radio Workshop host Mbali Vilakazi welcomes listeners to the show.
The Radio Workshop broadcasts every Saturday at 12 noon on SAfm. If you live in South Africa, you can listen live on air. Tune your radio to a frequency between 104 to 107FM to find SAfm.
Soccer is everyone’s game
For fourteen year-old Inonge Sitali, a radio dialogue with her peers about the 2010 FIFA World Cup is an opportunity for her to talk about gender issues in her local community of Mongu in western Zambia. “I disagree with the guys out there who are saying that football can not be played by girls,” Inonge says.
“It only needs concentration, and also discipline and skill, not just because they are males they are the only ones who can play football. We all have the right to play any sport.”
To find out more about World Cup in My Village, click here.
HIV/AIDS in our community
The World Cup in my Village youth reporters in Zambia don’t just cover the world cup. They can discuss anything they think is relevant, interview community leaders, teachers, and even each other—whatever it takes to address topics they consider to be important. One of the main issues they wanted to talk about what relationships, sex, and HIV/AIDS, and these discussions often led to some very heated debates.
To find out more about World Cup in My Village, click here.
My town: Mongu, Zambia
The town of Mongu is located in a rural area in western Zambia, close to the border with Angola, and not all that far from the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s the heart of Zambia’s only kingdom—the Lozi kingdom. Mongu is about eight hours drive from the capital of Zambia, Lusaka, and is situated on the flood plain of the Zambezi River.
Every year in about March or April, the heavy rains come and the Zambezi floods for kilometers and kilometers, forcing the local Lozi people to head to nearby dry land.
The Mongu youth reporters are proud of their area, but they also see why many young people leave the Lozi kingdom for the big city of Lusaka.
Mildred Tebuho discusses what it is like to be a young person living in Mongu, Zambia.
Thanks for joining us
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