Community radio: a new model for tackling bonded labour in India
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Version 0 of 1. Bonded labour was abolished by law in 1976, but it still exists in India. It is a practice in which employers give high-interest loans to workers, who then work at low wages to pay off the debt. A BBC Media Action project to promote awareness of the problem reaches 12 districts across three states – Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh – with a combined population of about 150 million. Bishrampur in Jharkhand is located in hilly terrain. It takes six hours to reach there from the main city of Latehar. We work in 120 villages including Bishrampur to reduce bonded labour among highly vulnerable populations. But reaching such places through media is a challenge. In Bishrampur, residents have to climb uphill for a kilometre just to get a mobile signal. Since there is no electricity in the village, people charge their mobile phones weekly when they travel to the nearest village and radio signal is unreliable. Our solution was to develop 'listeners' villages', a new way of sharing essential information – in this case about labour rights and collective bargaining – through popular radio programming and community outreach. The listeners' village model is run on people power: people at the grassroots level gather content, share it and make sure that it has maximum reach and impact. Identifying local agents of change As it is difficult to reach current victims directly, the listener village helps community members to identify them, complementing local initiatives focused on rescue and rehabilitation. Stories of struggle and success are gathered by reporters from the local community trained in bonded labour awareness, community engagement and using recording equipment. A 30-minute radio programme titled 'Majboor Kisko Bola' (Who are you calling helpless?) is then produced in our New Delhi office, containing drama based on the stories gathered, along with expert interviews and folk music. Each episode also contains crucial information on government schemes and agencies that target bonded labour, on the Bonded Labour Abolition Act, safe migration, trafficking, methods of rescue, minimum wages, and how NGOs and the media can help. Dissemination is undertaken by community facilitators, who are identified as agents of change within their village by partner NGOs and are trained on group cohesion and conflict resolution, along with how to capture results coming from the activities. Facilitators organise their villages into groups to listen to each episode, engage in discussions afterwards, and act on the information they have heard. They ensure that at least half of households listen to each episode every week. Staying local The key to making this model work is the authenticity of the information and the trust placed in the messenger. We've found that the listeners identify with the stories collected by community reporters, which they hear in their own dialect and from nearby villages. The facilitator, a trusted member of the community, brings information to their doorsteps which builds trust further and allows more candid reporting from the listeners of their concerns and experiences. The model takes information to all households, rather than the most influential members of a community and the facilitated discussions help whole communities to work together, irrespective of differences in caste and religion. Spreading the word So, what is the impact? Back in Bishrampur, facilitator Albina Gidh is helping to spread the word. She has had to negotiate with community leaders, the village panchayat (local governance body) and other influential people in the community to allow the listening and discussion process to take place. As a woman, this was not an easy task but upon listening to the first few episodes, people started endorsing the idea of listening to the programme together and discussing the issues. As a result, the people of Bishrampur have taken collective decisions to mitigate the risk of bonded labour. They have agreed to seek timely payment for the government's rural employment scheme as well as to try to send children to school rather than work. They have agreed to tackle unscrupulous labour contractors who may traffic children, and collectively report grievances to government agencies and the police. We also work with an isolated tribal group in Korba, Chhattisgarh where people did not know the value of currency and were often exploited by contractors to work for nominal wages. The community is widely malnourished and many suffer from stunted growth. But when 'Majboor Kisko Bola' reached that area, people started identifying cases of bonded labour in their own community. This drew the attention of the district magistrate who ordered an inquiry into the cases identified, and for local employers to provide a ration shop, a primary health centre and clean water supply for workers. He has also dedicated a half hour session on every Tuesday to listen to the concerns of the community. Overcoming challenges There are challenges of course. People from the influential castes in one village initially opposed the programme. But the facilitator negotiated with them, with strong backing from the vulnerable castes. And we have found that, in many places, the most influential people in the community listen to the programme, as the information is useful for them too – even they are not always aware of government schemes and entitlements for people at risk. The listeners' village model is a very effective and replicable example of community based radio in action. It works in areas with poor media penetration, and, despite cultural complexities, it has encouraged different communities to co-operate and stand together to demand their rights. Community radio is often thought of as local radio, but here we are doing something very specific. The project creates a supportive community made up of neighbours, relatives, even officials, who are connected and understand the issues that the programmes raise. Given the scale of bonded labour in India (some experts estimate the number to be as high as 12 million), these changes are significant in communities that until now have had scant, if any, information about rights, no exposure to media, and a history of exploitation. <em>Aashish Yadav is senior project manager for </em><em>BBC Media Action</em><em> in India</em> <strong>This content is brought to you by </strong><strong>Guardian Professional</strong><strong>. 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