Analysis

Communication with Communities (CwC) initiatives – such as the ‘Rise Together’ radio drama in the Philippines – are playing an increasingly important part in humanitarian responses. By providing information in a creative and appropriate manner, humanitarian actors can improve the way in which they reach and engage with disaster-affected communities.
As communities rebuild their homes and their lives after natural disasters or conflict, questions ranging from health issues to construction practices abound. CwC approaches recognize the value of helping to address these queries, and of encouraging dialogue with affected communities. IOM’s Community Response Map in the Philippines is an innovative way of visualizing the feedback received as part of this process.

At the global level, Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) is a pillar of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s (IASC) Transformative Agenda. It is also a top priority for IOM, as evidenced by IOM’s Director General, Ambassador William Lacy Swing, being the IASC Champion on Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA).
A CwC project such as ‘Rise Together’ is a way of making accountability work in practice for the residents of Tacloban, and throughout the region devastated by Typhoon Haiyan.  

Colin Williamson, IOM

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Philippines - IOM today launched an innovative radio drama which aims to educate and inspire Typhoon Haiyan survivors living in Tacloban, the city most devastated by the disaster in November 2013.

The radio programme is part of IOM’s Communications with Communities (CwC) project that engages typhoon-affected communities through providing critical information and gathering community feedback.

Tindog Kita!, which means “Rise Together” in Waray, the local language of Tacloban, follows the fictionalized story of one family whose home and livelihood were destroyed when the typhoon tore through the central Philippines.

The Tindog Kita! storyline integrates key information on the most pressing concerns currently affecting families and communities, including how to build back safer, health and psychosocial problems, and protection issues such as the increased risk of human trafficking. Questions at the end of the radio drama encourage listeners to call in and share their feedback.

To gauge the effectiveness of the communications outreach, the calls will be logged on an innovative online platform, Community Response Map, and callers tested for comprehension of the key messages. This feedback platform is at the disposal of humanitarian partners in the typhoon-affected area.

The programme’s writer and director, veteran Filipino radio broadcaster Louie Quebec, explains: “Radio offers a highly effective way of conveying important messages to a wide audience and that is especially the case in Eastern Visayas, whose residents are known to be avid radio drama listeners.”

The show’s accompanying theme song, written in Waray by New Zealand-based singer and composer Robert Greaney of Health Songs International, echoes the aspirations of those affected by the typhoon to move forward and march to a better, more resilient tomorrow.

“Through writing the song, I aimed to reflect the sense that people are beginning to look towards the future with hope.  My goal is that this song becomes a real source of pride and encouragement for people in this region,” says Greaney.

The song Tindog Kita! will be aired simultaneously on radio stations throughout Tacloban on April 11th 2014. Meanwhile, the radio drama of the same name can be heard on Tacloban’s Radyo Abante 98.7 FM from Mondays to Fridays between 3-4pm.

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For more information, please contact

IOM Philippines

Amy Rhoades
Email: arhoades@iom.int
Tel.  +63 917-890-8785

or

Daryl Dano
Email: ddano@iom.int
Tel. +63 949 908 9590