Listen hard enough,
and you can hear the rich oral traditions of India: storytelling, folk
songs, fables and legends, poetry, and more! In keeping with these
vivid forms of communication, the SEWA Academy's Communication
department launched its youngest subdivision: radio. The Self-Employed
Women's Association has come a long ways in serving and representing
the interests of women since its inception in 1972, particularly
through different means of communication.
The
print medium requires literacy skills. The electronic medium requires
computer skills. And, the video/television medium requires access to a
television which is often quite expensive and often unreasonable in
rural villages. However, SEWA has observed that many of its members
avidly listen to the radio while they work. The combination of low
cost and wide reach makes radio an ideal medium of communication in
developing countries. SEWA sees the radio as an untapped source of
education and communication to even the remotest of villages in India.
In April of 2005, SEWA Academy launched its weekly radio program titled
Rudi no Radio (Rudi's Radio). Every Saturday evening from
8:00-8:15 on All India Radio.
Click here to Download Signature Tune of "RUDI NO
RADIO" (mp3 - 980 kb)
In each episode, Rudiben sits
informally and chats with local village members about the
issues affecting women and their role as laborers. She discusses
health, nutrition, childcare, child development, banking, insurance,
local festivals, Gandhian philosophies and more. Gauging from listener
response, an estimated 500,000 listeners are tuning in each week for
the show. Rudi no Radio has clearly had extraordinary impacts
on its listeners. The folk songs touched with SEWA lyrics, and a cast
of witty and hearty characters has made Rudiben and her friends
household names among its wide audience of listeners.
