Pallisa district: Two villages in Ngora district are benefiting from information that the youth in the area are implementing. The youth from the villages of Okunguro and Morukokume in Agule Pallisa district are using the group to create impact on different issues in their communities.

The group known as the listeners group was formed after listening to Our Parliament radio program a radio program that tackles different issues affecting people in the communities in Uganda. According to the group, they have been able to sensitize the people of their community on issues of Environment degradation. This was after the group listened to our parliament that was aired on Aisa FM, one of the radio partners of Wizarts foundation. On that
particular day, the topic discussed was on Hunger and Food Security and during the discussion one of the issues that prominently came out was that environment degradation was the major cause of hunger and food insecurity, the group says that after listening to the program, the members resolved to stop farming on wetlands.

The group known as the listeners group was formed after listening to Our Parliament radio program a radio program that tackles different issues affecting people in the communities in Uganda. According to the group, they have been able to sensitise the people of their community on issues of Environment degradation. This was after the group listened to our parliament that was aired on Aisa FM, one of the radio partners of Wizarts foundation. On that
particular day, the topic discussed was on Hunger and Food Security and during the discussion one of the issues that prominently came out was that environment degradation was the major cause of hunger and food insecurity, the group says that after listening to the program, the members resolved to stop farming on wetlands.

Through the listenership group, the members mobilised and sensitised the community on the dangers on farming on wetlands.

In Kalengo-Opot Village, Kobwin Sub-County, Ngora District, another listener group demanded for, through their members of parliament for the for electricity connection to health centre.

The Chairman of the group, Okuni Arisa Ekukuleru, said that the group demanded for electricity connection after listening to the Our Parliament program. He said during the program, the program highlighted the issue about a woman who died in Mityana after she failed to give a nurse Ugs5000 so she could be assisted to give birth.

‘we faced almost the same problem because the women could not deliver in the health centre at night due to absence of electricity,’ he said. They contributed immensely in the program and raised the issue to the area MPs and district officials.

After their making the demands, their area member of parliament got to know about their plight and donated solar batteries for the solar system and power was reinstated in the health centre. Government responded later on and started to lay electricity poles to extend power to the health centre through the Rural Electrification Program. He had listener groups of Our Parliament program in almost every district of the radio reach, such as Ngora, Palisa, Kumi and Serere.

The host attested that the idea of forming listener groups came from the listeners themselves who called on him to visit and acknowledge their groups on different occasions, a thing he was reluctant to do at first but it paid off a great deal when he responded.

“Our Parliament program has helped as reach out to the people not just for this program but for all our other programs. We now have a base in the grass roots and this people have become ambassadors of the radio and radio programming in their communities. If we have something that we want to get to the community, we pass through them. This has helped the radio broaden her listenership base,” said Sine Paul Oloit in one of the meetings I had with him.

He said when there’s a problem in the community, they are the first people to inform the radio about the issue or the occurrence.

Therefore, the bond between the radio station and the listeners is made stronger to the extent that some members in the listener groups, are now being hosted in the radio programs to give the account of the ordinary citizen on some of the issues discussed on the radio program.

Written by Samson Okwakol (Language producer, Ateso)