Institutional Review of Educational Radio Dramas: Case Study 3. Burundi (Umubanyi Niwe Muryango)

Case Study 3. Burundi - Umubanyi Niwe Muryango (Our Neighbours, Ourselves)

The drama features a Hutu and a Tutsi family who live next door to each other in rural Burundi. It relies heavily on humour and covers the gamut of Burundian daily life - police harassment, mistreatment of women, family obligations, HIV/AIDS, reintegration of returning refugees, alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy, etc. Each episode is 25 minutes long and two episodes are broadcast once each week.

'Our Neighbours, Ourselves' shows how humour can be used to tackle very serious issues (in this case violence, inter-ethnic hatred and social break-down) against a backdrop of civil war and political instability. It also shows that a very small but experienced and committed team with a relatively low budget can produce a very popular drama. This soap has a talented writer producing a humorous script standards and a reliable source of funding (USAID). There is little competition in terms of other radio dramas and the audience seems content with rather ad hoc production.

Management: The soap is managed on a day-to-day basis by Studio Ijambo's Head of Cultural Section, who reports to the Director of Studio Ijambo, who in turn reports to Search for Common Ground.

Staffing: Two Studio Ijambo members work on the soap part-time - a producer and a technician. The writer works full-time on a contract basis. The 20 actors belong to a professional multi-ethnic troupe and work part-time for the radio soap. Both writer and actors are paid by the episode/part.

Writing and Production: One woman does all the writing. The drama is recorded and edited at Studio Ijambo. Production is quite ad hoc, with the scripts sometimes arriving on the day of broadcast. Resumes of each episode are read and approved by Studio Ijambo's Director. One reviewer suggested that more money would enable the project to train and employ a real producer, who could organize, help record, evaluate, and monitor feedback (Rolt, 2001). It was also suggested that technical staff would benefit from more experience and time so they could be more imaginative in the recording.

Formative Research and Audience Feedback: Research comes from the writer's first-hand knowledge of Burundian rural life and feedback from friends, relations, news, and Studio Ijambo staff. At present there is no formal system of audience monitoring or feedback.

Other Entertainment-Education Activities: Studio Ijambo produces a music program by and for youth of different ethnic backgrounds and weekly magazine programs about social and cultural problems.

Sustainability: The soap is extremely popular, but there is little chance it could stand alone as it relies on donor-funded support. There is also a potential problem of writer burnout, since she has produced over 400 episodes single-handedly to date.