This project aims to influence HIV and broader health policy, programming and financing at a local, national and international level. Our citizen journalists come from diverse backgrounds and include representatives from marginalized groups most at risk of HIV and people living with HIV, to report the HIV, health and human rights stories that matter to them. By documenting local realities and ensuring those not able to tell their stories are heard, Citizens Journalists play an invaluable part in advocating for the right to health, education clean water, and improved social delivery
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Soroti
Describe the specific population with whom you will be working.
Local community leaders in Katine, Soroti district contributed in project identification basing on the fact this community is the most affected by HIV because of its proximity, as it lies along the main Soroti- Lira Road where most trailers and tankers heading to Juba make astop over for a night and rest. This has promoted prostitution in this area leading to the rising HIV infections.
Human rights violations against women, sexual minorities and those on the margins of society such as people who use drugs increase their vulnerability to HIV. Violations can take the form of everyday stigma and discrimination as well as the aggressive actions of police or others in authority.
Stories about the challenges, successes and short comings around community and home-based care will also documented
Who else will be on your team to help implement the project?
James Odong-Media Trainer, Human Rights Activist
Richard Otim-Journalist and an expert on citizen Journalism
John Ogalo-a Community leader of Katine sub county,Soroti District
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
The beneficiaries will be trained on how to report on issues that affect them and their communities. These issues are those that have not been reported in the mainstream media. This will help highlight the real issues that affect the people like HIV/AIDS, land disputes, poverty, drought since it will be news gathered by members of the community.
They will also be enabled to profile their work on an international platform and exchange ideas with advocates, health professionals, academics, policy makers, opinion formers, journalists and editors.
As part of the community they receive news about training opportunities to build your skills in news journalism, analysis, social media, photography and video. Our previous training partners include international media organizations Key Correspon
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established or plan to establish that will contribute to the success of the project.
The project coordinator James Odong has worked as a journalist covering Teso sub-region for more than 15 years. We have strong partnership with Etop Newspaper,Etop Radio,The Newvision and Key Correspondents where some of the stories will be published. Our Organization Tools and Figs is a registered not for profit organization has experience in training citizen journalists and on data driven journalism. Some of the stories will also feature daily on our website Teso Citizens Advocacy Forum (http://tesocitizensadvocacyforum.blogspot.com/2012/05/welcome-to-teso-citizens-advocacy-forum.html) which is currently under construction.
How many participants do you think will be trained in your project?
We will train 30 citizen journalists drawn from 15 selected sub-counties from five districts in Teso subregion. These 30 are people living with HIV and are able to use computers. We will ensure they continue participating in citizen journalism even after the project duration through our blog Teso Citizen Advocacy Forum which is currently under construction and also through social media like facebook, twitter and blogs which we will train the mentees on how to use. Since we have strong links with radio stations in the area we will link them so that they become part of network of community reporters for those radio stations.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
We will use mostly phones and computers because they are the most widely used in Teso sub-region. Most phones have web applications that connects to the social networking like facebook and twitter. We will also train them on internet use because some of the youths live in towns where there are internet cafes. They will be able to post their stories from there as well as use their phones.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
The participants will be trained from Katine community media resource centre, one of the legacies of the four-year Katine Community Partnerships Project.The resource centre has five desktop computers fully connected to the internet, ADSL
What is your current relationship with the community with whom you plan to work? What makes you the most appropriate individual or organization to implement this project?
I have worked in this area for more than a decade right from the time when the area was in secure due to civil unrest. I have widely interacted with the community and they have helped me in identifying the problem that affects them. I also have wide contacts having operated as a journalist in the area for a long time. We will open and help them to manage a social media page.
We have experience as Tools and Figs in training citizen journalists as well as the use of data driven journalism. Some of the members of the team worked a Bill Gate funded Farm Radio International, Key Correspondents which is ran by International HIV Alliance and have gained knowledge, skills and experience on advocacy and media, writing news stories, the art of the interview, Journalism and ethics, blogging, report
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
Managing people’s expectations from the citizens Journalists as they may expect alot yet we are intending to build their capacity to make them tell their stories.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
The success of the project will be measured basing on the number of stories that will be generated and posted after the training and also the level of awareness the project will create in Teso, Uganda and the world as a whole.
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2014?
If we are selected we will start our activities in May 2014 and our activities will include mobilization of the community, identifying the 30 participants, training them, coordinating posting of stories, monitoring and evaluation.
Detail a specific budget of up to $2,500 USD for operating costs.
Accommodation for three night s for 30 participants $ 700, Transport $300, meals for 3 days $500, expenses for coordinator and two trainers $ 600 hiring computer training lab $300
Besides the microgrant funding, what other support can Rising Voices provide for your project to ensure its success?
Raising Voice can support us in terms advisory role on how the project can be successfully implemented based on their experience.
Contact name
James Odong
Organization
No
