“I encouraged my daughter to complete her studies.”

Genneh lives in a small, isolated village on the border with Sierra Leone. Since a partnership with a local radio made Talking Drums Studio’s shows available in the area, life in her community has changed. "Our children misbehaved towards us and with each other. They weren’t going to school or even playing together. TDS’ messages have helped them to live peacefully among us. Finally, they are united and focus on their education," she explains.

Through its radio programs, TDS addresses the daily concerns of villagers: education, resource scarcity, sexual and gender-based violence, conflict resolution. Genneh is particularly interested in women's education.

"In one of the episodes, girls were encouraged to return to school after childbirth. Education is something fundamental to me. After listening to the drama, I decided to look after my daughter's child and encouraged her to complete her studies. The other women in the village did the same; we are now all taking care of our grandchildren while our daughters are studying," she says.

While young women returned to school, the village elders launched small enterprises to provide for the needs of the new generations. "Previously, we constantly depended on others to support our family. Through TDS’ radio program, we learned the basics and started saving money to create small businesses," she explains.

Genneh is hopeful that life in the community will continue to improve. "I want to see more educated people to help develop the village. Education will allow our children to find work and take care of their elders. We will finally be able to raise funds to build our village and turn it into something better," she concludes.