Taking Radio Journalism to the unexposed young

Amalshan Gunerathne

For some, the modern technological gimmicks are still an alien phenomenon. Considering that modern kids are brought up with facebook, twitter, skype and other countless virtual gimmicks, one would wonder whether they exist in an era different to ours. But such a generation still does exist.

For them, the technology is just an unfamiliar territory. Chaminda Jayasekara, a vibrant, young individual from Kamburupitiya, Matara thought of integrating such youth, with the hope of harnessing their skills to meet the demands of the modern world.

With the technological acumen and wisdom, he acquired while working as a producer and an administrator assistant in Inter-News Media Network, Jayasekara thought of forming up his own media group. 'Prathiba Media Group' was formed with the hope of providing necessary exposure to the talent of underprivileged youth in Kamburupitiya area. Thus far, the group has been succeeded in forming their feature magazine, conducting their own documentary radio programmes and doing various other awareness programmes in the Kamburupitiya area. Punch caught up with the vibrant young souls from Prathiba Media Networks to discuss the work that they do.

Members in action - Lahiru and Chathuri	A sticker campaign

As the rich amuse themselves with extravagant electronic gadgets, people like Jayasekara and co are still yearning to find their feet amidst the complexities of modern, tech related ways. Expressing his thoughts on the dilemma, Jayasekara commented, "Kamburupitiya is not a rural village. But the gap between the rich and poor is big. There are youth from well-off families who have access to computers and other technology, but there isn't enough interaction between the rich and the poor. Our group is made of under-privileged, individuals," Joining to the discourse a teacher and another member of the society, Mahinda Mohotti noted, "There are some students who have not even touched a computer in our area. There were proposals to turn Kamburupitiya in to a major technological center, but those were never implemented. Kamburupitiya National School has a lab, but even that is not sufficient for students."

As the saying goes, you can either lament or complain and protest about your deficiencies, or else you can start tackling tedious hardships of life even with minor resources. Lacking in physical resources they may be, but such challenges did not weigh them down and hamper their determination. Not a single member of the group has internet facilities at their homes, making their tasks tediously difficult. Speaking of their difficulties, Jayasekara expressed, "We do not have such facilities. But we still maintain our own internet blog, we update it by going to internet cafes. Many young people contribute to our blog and the magazine. Most of them are still schooling. Most-times I go with them to the café and teach them how to update the blog, so that they too could get familiarized with the technology,"

The members

Radio journalism training programme

The group was initially formed in 2010. The group activities included programmes such as workshops and awareness programmes. Initially a free two day training workshop on radio journalism was organized for 17 members of their network with the hope of arming them with proper training in radio-media skills. The trainees were able to get a proper training in the usage of radio media, communication, programme presenting, scriptwriting, news-editing and radio room functions. With the training that they gained, the trainees were able to compose a radio programme titled 'Kadapatha'. The training programme was carried out with the help of Kamburupitiya pradeshiya saba. Sharing her thoughts with Punch a group member and an Advance Level (A/L) student from Matara Sujatha Vidyalaya, Chaturi Madurangi expressed, "I study media studies for A/Ls. The society has been a great help for us. Most families in the group still depend on Samurdhi funds. Till we underwent the training programme, we did not even know how it feels to speak through a microphone and acclimatize ourselves with all the electronic gadgets. We love media related work and we have a passion towards the subject."

Later as their projects evolved, the members were able to create a documentary radio programme on rat fever with the collaboration of Kamburupitiya Medical Office. The production, presentation, script and editing of the programme were all voluntarily done by the members. The programme was later broadcasted in the Ruhunu Radio Channel. Expressing his thoughts the secretary of the group, Gayan Dasanayaka noted, "I am 22 and we have a genuine interest towards the media field and we have the creative talents to succeed in this field. If we can find necessary resources, we can do great things in future."

Their latest project was the 'Viparama' feature magazine. The magazine comes out once every two months. The magazine is comprised with analytical feature articles composed by group members. "Many school students contribute to the magazine; they go out, do interviews and come up with great articles and it is a boost for their self-confidence and moral when their articles are published in the paper," Jayasekara noted.

However, their dream is to open their own Information and Technology Center in the Kamburupitiya area. The center is supposed to integrate youth and feed them with necessary technological acumen.

They also hope to inaugurate their own Internet-Radio-Channel in near future. They have put forward their proposals to the American Center Colombo and are hopeful to kick-start the project with their help. Jayasekara is excited and very much optimistic about their future projects. He is hopeful that the group will leap giant strides in the years to come. "Many people in our areas migrate to Colombo to jobs after they are done with their studies, but we need skilled people in our areas as well.

I strongly believe such projects will help to mobilize the community and provide youth with necessary leadership attributes that are needed to succeed in future."