USAID/OTI Afghanistan Hot Topics June 2004
Radio Program Captures Imaginations of Children of War
It is not easy for a child to escape the hardships of life in Afghanistan. The world opens up, however, through a radio program that has captured the imaginations of tens of thousands of its child listeners. The radio program Sharak Atfal, or “Children’s City”, is set in an ideal imagined city, which features an interactive radio, an invisible parrot and a flying carpet. The geography, history and current affairs of Afghanistan are brought to life through the characters’ adventures. At the same time, the program addresses issues of post-conflict psychology from a child's perspective. The radio program was recently awarded second place by UNICEF/One World for the best radio show for, by, and about children.
The program produced its sixty-fourth edition this week and is so popular that in one town they now broadcast it on a local television station. Funded by USAID/OTI and produced by Internews, Sharak Atfal works with six children, three girls and three boys, to keep the show relevant. Distributed by Internews’ Tanin Distribution Network, the Dari/Pashtu bilingual program is played weekly by thirty-six stations across Afghanistan. “The children’s programs are particularly popular with our listeners. We play every edition of Sharak Atfal two or three times,” says Noor Mohammed, the station manager at Samangan Radio.
For further information, please contact:
In Washington: Elizabeth Callender, USAID/OTI/ANE Program Manager, Tel: 202-712-4078, ecallender@usaid.gov
|
