By Bathsheba Everdine
Some Media practitioners and community spokespersons from Nitop, Ntarinkon, Mulang and Ntambag communities have been engaged in discussions aimed at transforming institutions and communities for better access to efficient sexual reproductive health right services.
This was during a one day workshop organized by Common Action for Gender and Development, COMAGEND, held at the Bamenda II council hall.
COMAGEND’s Executive Director Dr Sally engaged participants through discussions on sexual reproductive health rights, toxic masculinity and gender based violence, through interactive discussions and collaborative group work.
Participants forged a united front to challenge societal norms and address these barriers linking to Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights services.
The training comes at a time when these issues are still considered taboos in some of these communities. Participants were urged to use knowledge gained during the workshop to change their narratives, check biases, and most especially create community dialogue spaces and exercise patients and tolerance in tackling these problems in their various communities.
According to the Project lead, Asoh Etheldreda, the collaboration between the Community spokespersons and media practitioners is essential in amplifying the Community voices to foster change in their various communities.
” We believe that by working together, the media can capture and reports on the changes and transformation happening in the various communities. So far, this partnership will help to amplify our voices and advocacy messages through our various medium of Communicating.”
In order to achieve the project’s objectives, the various community spokespersons will therefore play a vital role in educating members of the community, ease communication , and provide access to critical sexual reproductive health rights information. They are to empower the media to craft news stories from different angles, produce informative spots, and develop engaging program for change.
The project is Funded by Amplify Change and executed by Common Action for Gender and Development.
The “Adjust For Me” project will see these trained media practitioners and community spokespersons working intensively over the next 10 months. As their joint efforts is expected to yield significant changes in sexual reproductive health right access.
