Brickmakers speak out

men loading bricks into donkey packs

Due to the sensitivity of this issue, faces are blurred to protect identities of local workers Brickmaker factory owners in South Asia are notorious for their mistreatment of workers. Despite official legal protection, many families are trapped through oppressive bonded labour arrangements. Amplifying Voices Pakistan and their new local partner, Community Media Power, visited brickmaking…

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“Make your shoes dirty”

Get your shoes dirty image

In the photo you can see one of our favourite community-centred media training themes – “make your shoes dirty” – meaning – get out of the studio and spend time in the community listening to people’s voices and recording local talent. The picture was taken during a special workshop in September 2021 run by our…

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We did it ourselves!

Adivasi Listeners

When we work in and with communities, one of our animating principles is: “Start with what’s strong, not with what’s wrong,” which, by the way is the subject of a great TED talk by Cormac Russell. The principle is simple: instead of trying to right what’s wrong within a community, Cormac argues that we need…

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Sambara – A Source of Joy?

Barnabas talking about Sambara

Barnabas Samuel is Programmes Manager for Community Development Centre in Uganda, our partner leading the Soot Semee project. Among his many talents, Barnabas is also a singer/ songwriter and he has just released his first album, Sambara. I asked him to tell us more about the album, and what it means to him. Barnabas said:…

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Sierra Leone: Learning to live with Covid

live with covid UK vs SL

Amplifying Voices is supporting our radio station partner BBN in Sierra Leone as their team of 30 community volunteers visit homes in 9 Freetown neighbourhoods to hear what local households are saying about living with Covid. BBN’s “Amplify” radio programmes provide a platform for the communities’ stories and voices, especially where people are finding ways…

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Introducing the team

As our team begin preparing to travel again to support our partners face-to-face in Africa and Asia, we thought this would be a good time to briefly introduce them. We asked them to tell us a few interesting facts, like why they joined Amplifying Voices, a highlight from their work and about what they do…

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Workshopping remotely in Malawi

Kawale community workshop

On Thursday 12 August, we held a remote community workshop with partners Hope for Relief and Community Development Network (CDN) in Chitipa, Malawi. This is our first experience of starting a new project without visiting the community first. This presents a challenge … how could we honour our commitment to listening to community members, to…

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My voice has cleared the air

For many years Sangeetha has suffered from coughing and shortness of breath, like many of her friends in Kahandol village in central Maharashtra. During a medical camp last year, Doctor Chavan told her she had a smoke-related illness called “Dama” (asthma).  He condition had been caused by years of breathing in the thick smoke from…

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