Reading, writing, arithmetic—and radio
Episode description
Room to Read works with more than 4,400 high school-age girls in three districts in Nepal. During the Covid-19 lockdown from April to July 2020, 53% of those girls were unsure about returning to their school when it reopened. They were scared about the pandemic, their families were feeling the economic crunch, and they had already missed months of school in their final years of education so it would be easy to not return.
The organization knew it had to react, says Salina Tamang, Girls Education Senior Programme Manager, in today’s episode. First, they connected with the girls via mobile phones, and then they turned to one of the oldest media—radio. Their first goal was to provide factual information about Covid to reassure the students and their families. Next they worked to rekindle the learning spark, again among both the girls and their families. In the end, 100 of the girls ended up getting married instead of returning to studies but thanks to last year’s experience, fewer girls are at risk today, and Room to Read is planning to incorporate radio into its permanent programming.
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Thanks as always to Nikunja Nepal for advice and inspiration.
Music: amaretto needs ice ... by urmymuse (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/urmymuse/57996 Ft: Apoxode
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Music by audionautix.com.
Thank you to PEI in Bakhundole and Himal Media in Patan Dhoka for the use of their studios.
Nepal Now is produced and hosted by Marty Logan.