Agashi Radio Drama

As with all PMC radio serial dramas (see Related Summaries below), Agashi was created using the Sabido methodology which is a "methodology for designing and producing serialised dramas on radio and television that can win over audiences while imparting prosocial values." According to PMC, "Change is the key to the Sabido methodology. Characters may begin the series exhibiting the antithesis of the values being taught, but through interaction with other characters, twists and turns in the plot, and sometimes even outside intervention, come to see the value of the program’s underlying message."(For more information, see Related Summaries below. )

Formative research conducted within Burundi identified the following topics that will be addressed throughout the series:

Human Health
- Reproductive Health
- Family Planning
- Maternal and Child Health
- HIV/AIDS
- Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Nutrition
- Disease Control and Prevention

Human Rights
- Girls’ Education
- Women’s Empowerment
- Gender-Based Violence
- Gender Equity

Economic Equality
- Entrepreneurship
- Financial Literacy and Planning

These issues are interwoven into the following characters and storylines:

Ruberika’s Story: Ruberika is pregnant and instead of taking the advice of her sister to go to prenatal check ups, she takes the advice of an older neighbour, which ends up putting her life and that of her babies at risk. Among other things, the story highlights the need for prenatal consultations, eating healthily during pregnancy, and child nutrition.

Ngendo’s Story: This story deals with Ngendo, a farmer, and his wife Tengenge who are pressurised by Ngendo's mother to have many children. It deals with the consequences of having many children - physically on Tengenge and financially on the whole family, which in this story leads to crime. One of the children becomes sick with polio so the story also deals with the rights of children with disability and the fact that these children are not a curse to punish people for doing wrong - in this case Ngendo's mother believed it was a punishment for using family planning.

Ange’s Story: Ange is a teenage girl who is drawn to a popular, rich boy in her school, who becomes part of a criminal gang. Among other things, the story deals with teenage pregnancy, the dangers of the morning after pill if not taken correctly, and how financial pressures can put girls at risk of HIV infection.

Ndegeya’s story: This story introduces Ndegeya and his wife, Dorike, who are having marital problems. He often beats her and does not consult her in decisions regarding the family or household expenses. Pushed beyond her limit, Dorike leaves him to go back to her mother’s house and starts a small successful business. Ndegeya undergoes a hard learning process and eventually changes his attitudes and behaviour towards his wife. The story shows how respecting women and allowing them to share in decisionmaking can help a family prosper.

The development of the radio drama, as with all PMC dramas, involves extensive research:

• formative research to assess the policy and service framework within a country and to determine audience habits and perceptions in order to create realistic characters and settings;
• research around the greatest health, human rights, and environmental protection needs to determine issues to be addressed;
• clinic monitoring to assess impact of the PMC drama on new and existing clinic clients - an indication for impact on health seeking behaviour;
• listener groups and letters, text messages, and calls to assess understanding and likability of characters and storylines;
• a nationwide survey to obtain endline data to determine the overall impact of a programme.

For this series, the PMC-Burundi office developed a new form of audience research that is being used by the drama's writing team: monthly random number sampled telephone surveys. The responses from the telephone surveys are made available to the scriptwriters and producer within a matter of hours. Such quick turnaround of information from listeners allows the creative team to make revisions to upcoming scripts. Respondents' telephone numbers are noted, along with any comments or suggestions they might have about the programme, so that the creative team can phone back to get more in-depth feedback if necessary. According to PMC, after three rounds of telephone surveys, the results showed an increasing trend in the number of listeners.

Agashi airs twice per week on four radio stations in Burundi: Isanganiro, Bonesha FM, National Radio, and African Public Radio (RPA). There is also an Agashi facebook page that follows some of the promotional events around the show.

HIV/AIDS, Reproductive Health, Maternal and Child Health, Nutrition, Gender, Rights, Economic Development

PMC is a non-governmental organisation that strives to improve the health and well-being of people in over 50 countries around the world through the use of entertainment-education strategies, like serialised dramas on radio and television. PMC hires all local staff to write, produce, and promote the programmes, making sure that the characters and storylines are all culturally sensitive and relevant.

According to PMC, "radio is by far the most economical and far-reaching mass media channel in Burundi. There are 17 radios for every one television. While there are 30 television sets for every 1000 people the ratio for radios jumps to 220 per 1000. According to the 1987 Demographic and Health Survey, radio was the third most common source of birth control information after friends and health professionals."