I used the power of media for development.

During the month of May 2017 my office phone rang more than 10 times a day. At this period I was launching my radio campaign for “Bring a Girl to STEM” digital action campaign using our local radio station to impact my community.

We had 4 girls from CYEED digital empowerment center for girls to participate in the radio program as they shared their inspiring experiences on a live program. Their peers listened to them keenly thus raising their curiosity. We also had a recorded audio spot and announcements about our activities.

Using the media to convey our messages to parents and students has been a powerful and successful tool in achieving my mission which is to eradicate one of our cultural stereotypes that wants STEM education to be exclusively for men, and eventually creating a platform for equal access to opportunities for female STEM education.

During the radio program which ran once a week, our girls invited their peer to come join them at CYEED digital empowerment center where they will acquire digital skill that will inspire and motivate them to opt for STEM at school.

After holding 2 radio talks, I noticed that the message had spread widely and rapidly as my phone kept on ringing. Parents and students kept calling to seek more information and ask questions on how to participate in our STEM programs at CYEED.

This campaign made a buzz in town and every day I received at list 10 parents and 5 girls who had listened to radio program. As a result the number of participants for our STEM programs tripled to the extent that the space became space, so we had to split the classes into 2 sessions.

When girls listen to their peers, they feel they also belong to the STEM activities, it becomes more engaging and inviting as many more girls want to join us. I remember asking one of thegirls how she heard about the STEM program. She said “Madame I heard my class mate talking about it over the radio and I immediately decided to come here the next day.”

Getting these words made my heart to leap with joy because it was evident that my mission wascomingto reality. On that day, I decided to add a column in the registration book entitled: how you heard about the program. After 5 months I made an evaluation and found out that most of the participants got to know about the program via radio.

The media, particularly social media and radio, has had a tremendous impact on my work by causing about 7,000 people to follow and participate in the process of digital revolution for women directly and indirectly.

Some parents equally came to my office and testified that they were very happy to hear their daughters talk about STEM education on the radio

Given the great success that I have registered so far, I have decided to do a radio campaign before launching our future STEM programs. The next program coming up in October is entitled: Technovation Challenge 2018 session.

Media is a powerful tool!I can say that the local radio is the best and most effective way to send out a message especially when using a media outlet that has a wide audience and using our local language “pidgin” which makes it simple and easy to understand thus producing great results.

It was very essential for girls to listen to their friends on air, encouraging them to bring many more girls to STEM fields so that together we can enjoy the numerous benefits offered by STEM.