INTERACTIVE RADIO FOR HIV/AIDS EDUCATION: TISANKHENJI
The Choice is Mine

Tisankhenji is a children’s radio programme that is implemented in partnership with Malawi Bridge Project with funding from USAID. Produced by the Nanzikambe Arts/Business Eye partnership, the programme targets young adolescent girls between the ages of 11-14 through stories and programs that are relevant to their growth and development as well as their wellbeing in relation to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  Tisankhenji promotes abstinence and delayed sexual debut among young adolescent girls and imparts life and negotiation skills to promote efficacy in the face of the HIV/Aids pandemic.

The Tisankhenji radio drama revolves around Alinafe Magombo, a thirteen year old girl.  Alinafe is a girl with big dreams and goals.  She plans for her life and lives towards achieving her goals.  She is hardworking, disciplined and responsible.  Like any normal thirteen year old, Alinafe goes through life’s challenges and problems. She learns through her mistakes, life’s challenges and her own environment.

Alinafe loves playing netball.  She and her friends also love playing games at home and chatting about girlie stuff.  They often find courage in laughter as they find themselves in impossible situations with boys. They play, laugh, and learn through everyday situations.

The process of developing the Alinafe story in each phase of Tisankhenji involves thorough social research and continuous interaction with the target audience to ensure that the story taps into the girls’ emotional needs and day-to-day dilemmas that they face and how they handle them.    The research further ensures that the program is child friendly and evolves the right feelings from the audiences.

The Tisankhenji Radio program is in two components; the radio drama which runs for 15 minutes and a magazine program (Tikhoza) for the second half.  The magazine program aims at expounding the issues and values dealt with in the initial radio drama.  This involves interacting with the audience, playing back the prerecorded program and discussing the varying themes and learning points found therein such as self esteem, the importance of goals, the importance of role modeling and other important themes.

This section brings the story back to its audience for reflection and personal debate.

Tisankhenji is in its third year of implementation.