A three-day workshop on reproductive health broadcasting enabled women from a community in Sagada, northern Philippines to produce their own radio programmes on reproductive health issues. They now run their own show.

Fourteen participants composed of female high school students, two midwives, mothers, and members of Aguid Chatil Organization, a local people’s organisation attended a workshop on community radio in Aguid, a town in Sagada, Philippines. The training, held from May 31 to June 2, 2007, aimed to promote reproductive health in the community through radio. It was organised by the Philippine Health Social Science Association-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) chapter, a partner organisation of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in collaboration with Isis International-Manila.

On the first day of the workshop, participants were divided into three groups and were asked to draft running sheets for a 10-minute radio programme that they will be producing during the workshop’s duration. On the second day, after learning the “Dos and Don’ts of Radio Interview,” participants engaged in field work as they interviewed community women on the topics of “Early Pregnancy,” “Drinking, Smoking, and Going Out at Night of the Youth,” and “Advantages of Women Organising.”

Not having experienced an interview before, one of the participants was all smiles after she interviewed members of the local women’s organisation and related how insightful the experience had been for her. After overcoming their shyness, participants were eagerly looking for other women to interview.

An improvised mobile studio was installed in the trainers’ boarding house on the last day of the training. After the trainees had prepared the editing plan for the interviews, their scripts for the anchoring, and the music and other sound effects, they then recorded their features in the studio.

The youth group had difficulty at first but after several tries, they were happy with their radio plug “Tinig Kabataan” (Voice of the Youth). The group on “Early Pregnancy” started their feature very creatively with a short radio drama, which was successful in attracting everyone’s attention. The group on “Women Organising” was the last to record but proved how quickly they learned as they were able to do the recording without the trainer’s assistance.

Participants were indeed very proud of what they have produced. At the end of the training, one participant said that “When we drafted the running sheet of the feature, it looked easy. But doing radio is hard work, [but] it is fun.”

The following day, the trainees were invited by the Radyo ng Bayan’s (People’s Radio) anchor in the nearby town of Bontoc to present their features. The Radyo ng Bayan anchor was impressed by the productions. The anchor then interviewed the students, wherein the participants realised that talking live over the radio is yet another learning experience. When they were offered a 30-minute weekly radio show, they happily committed themselves. Now, “Tinig Kabataan” airs on Radyo ng Bayan every Sunday at 2 pm.