January 13, 2009

RADIO / PROJECTS: Community radio brings out hidden talent of village women, men (INDIA)

Community radio brings out hidden talent of village women, men

Lucknow, Jan 12 (IANS) For Sunita Chandel looking after her family was a full time job - till she discovered the joys of being a radio reporter. The housewife from a village in Uttar Pradesh now records and edits programmes for the community radio and has encouraged other women to follow suit.

“It is difficult for me to believe that as a daughter-in-law of the village, I am actually recording programmes, doing editing and in fact solving issues of women,” said Sunita, a radio reporter of Alapur village of Lalitpur district, about 350 km from here.

“I am both happy and proud today that I have succeeded in becoming a community reporter,” she said.

Lalit Lokvani, the community radio, is a joint initiative of a Sai Jyoti Gramudyog Seva Sansthan, an NGO working in the rural areas, and UNICEF.

“If it is difficult to step out of the home for a daughter-in-law, believe me, it is even more difficult for a daughter, but I held my ground and today I have set an example for the village girls,” said Varsha, a young community reporter.

Sunita and Varsha were speaking at an interface with reporters here and both had stepped out of Lalitpur for the first time.

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