Whenever you come across a story about slums in Kenya’s mainstream media, it will most probably be negative; relating to crime, fire, drugs, prostitution, floods etc. This coverage paints a negative image of the slums and the residents. The Slum Voices is a citizen journalism program aimed at telling the world the positive stories from slums by the residents themselves through videos and pictures taken using their mobile phone cameras. The program targets all slum communities and will equip interested residents with basic journalism skills to help them tell their stories.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Thika
Describe the specific population with whom you will be working.
Slums in Kenya lack basic infrastructure and Internet connectivity is a foreign word to most of the residents. Most of these residents however own mobile phones which they can use to take photos and videos and share with the world.
As an NGO that uses films and pictures to empower slum communities, we approached a youth group from Kiandutu slums in Thika and shared with them the idea of training interested slum residents on the use of personal mobile phones to take pictures and video footage relating to slums and sharing the media content with the world through a blog.
The group embraced the idea and hope the project inspired by the exclusion of slum communities in social, economic and political development issues will give the residents a voice
Some target beneficiaries are IT literate
Who else will be on your team to help implement the project?
Our other team member will be Zacharia Baraza, https://www.facebook.com/zack.baraza?fref=ts Project Officer, Angaza Sports and Development Centre, Thika. https://www.facebook.com/angaza.kenya
Zacharia is a visionary leader of his organization whose membership consists of youths of mainly between 15 and 35 years old. Angaza is a non-profit organization that uses sports as a mobilizing tool to foster development among the youth and will be a great partner in the proposed project. Through the youths, we shall be able to reach other target groups like women.
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
We shall publish our photos and videos on a community journalism blog. These story-telling clips and images will relate to health, sanitation, security, inclusion, development and public participation. These among other topical issues are relevant to the slum residents who are faced with challenges on these areas on a daily basis. Our news outlet will help in addressing existing challenges and replicating of the success stories. We shall also be publishing hard news and look forward to BREAKING the News.
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.
Zoom Advocacy Organization is already partnering with these residents through a civic education project that we are implementing in the slum and which targets the youths. The proposed project will strengthen our partnership and help in realizing of our goal, to give a voice to the marginalized slum residents.
How many participants do you think will be trained in your project?
We target to reach at least 30 residents; male, female, persons with disabilities, youths and women. This participation will be sustained through existing projects by both Zoom Advocacy organization and Angaza Sports and Development Centre. The fact that the two partner organizations are already implementing other projects with the slum community is a plus to the proposed project, which will be a value addition to its direct beneficiaries.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
We shall use the media to reach the world. And so we intend to introduce the slum residents on the basics of journalism where we shall train them on news, photography, caption writing, video shooting, video editing, blogging, social media, communication skills and media ethics.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
We shall conduct our lessons at a hired social hall within the slums to ensure all have easy access to the location. We shall require one versatile desktop computer with Windows 7, Intel dual-core processor and high speed for advanced multitasking, a 3G portable wifi modem, video-editing card, and assorted stationeries.
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?
Zoom Advocacy Organization is presently implementing a civic education project with youths from the slum. And as an organization whose main goal is to empower slum communities using films and pictures, we are best placed to implement the project together with the other partner organization serving the slum residents at the proposed project location.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
The people identified for training may fail to avail themselves for the lessons. This would slow the pace of our project. We shall ensure those who do not show up are replaced.
Some may drop out halfway during the training while others may skip lessons as they attend to personal duties. We shall ensure those who are picked have great interest in the project and we shall form study groups to ensure members of each study group monitor each other
Some trained citizen journalists may leave the area for different reasons, which may affect the continuity of project. We shall ensure those who leave are replaced.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
We shall measure the impact of the project by testing the understanding of the various training components among the direct beneficiaries of the training. This will be evident in the quality of the pictures, captions and videos they do. We shall also gauge the success of the project by the kind of public debate the media content produced by the youths will stir and the number of follow-ups made by authorities, or pick-ups made by the mainstream media. The project impact will also be measured by the feedback we shall get from the slum community, and the level of following that we shall command on our project blog and social media site.
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2014?
Our project will take 12 months. June 2014 to June 2015
June 2014- Identification of youths who will be trained, preparation of training materials and arranging of hall bookings.
July 2014- Training. Introduction to community journalism
August 2014- Media ethics Practical lessons
September 2014- Communication skills Assignments
October 2014- Photography
November 2014- Public photo exhibition
December 2014- Video shooting
January 2015–New media
February 2015–Blogging
March 2015- Personal and Group work monitoring and mentoring
April 2015- Project Documentary
May 2015- slum film festival
June 2015- Review and reporting
Detail a specific budget of up to $2,500 USD for operating costs.
Budget
Desktop Computer (1) $ 750
Mobile 3G Wifi modem (1) $ 125
Internet (12 months @ $37.5/m) $ 450
Training hall booking @ $ 6.25/Day x 52 Weeks) $325
Transport- For trainers, project coordinators – $ 195
Stationeries- $ 75
Communication- $ 75
Reporting- $ 90
Documentary, photo exhibition and film festival- $ 165
Administration- $ 200
Besides the microgrant funding, what other support can Rising Voices provide for your project to ensure its success?
We would appreciate if you provide us with a professional still camera and a camcorder
We would also be glad to have a mentor through out our project.
Contact name
David Kiarie
Organization
Zoom Advocacy Organization
8 comments
let them give their voice, most of the youths do not know enough to be prudent. this platform is great and able to impact both knowledge and skills
Thanks Zack, hoping for the best to serve the under-represented
David,
a very doable project. The outcomes are ‘SMART’. Hope you get the grant………..
All the Best.
Thanks Mike, our prayer is we get the most needed support
This project seems well needed and developing in many ways. You have my great support!
Its a good project that will help in changing the mind set of the society and bring a positive approach to issues. Slum people will get ideas on how to solve their problems which they face in their day to day experiences. Its a nice and motivating project.
Thanks Edith for believing in our idea. We are encouraged
Congratulations on such a wonderful initiative. I wish you the very best!