By Desnah Bittok
Women of Faith network has taken to different platforms to create awareness on COVID19. Radio has the widest reach of the audience and the women did not hesitate to take this opportunity to reach out to the community. They held talk shows in different local stations on the Coast. The Radio talk shows were held on 11th and 12th June 2020 in Mombasa and Kwale by the Mombasa Women of Faith Network (MWoFN) and Kwale Women of Faith Network (KWoFN) marked the Faith-based campaigns against COVID 19 in Coastal Region via Radio. Sauti ya Pwani hosted the Mombasa WoFN radio talk show on 22nd June 2020 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm whereas Kwale Women of Faith Network was hosted by Kaya FM 22nd June 2020 from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. Both Radio stations broadcast in Swahili, the most common local dialect in the region, which provided the women Networks a wide influence on the local communities. During the radio talk show, the Women of Faith Network members furthered their campaigns on Covid-19 awareness in the County and as well popularized the network’s initiatives.
The talk show provided a channel for the women of faith network members to publicize the Jali initiative by IRCK in collaboration with Kenya Tuitakayo Movement (KTM), which aims at cushioning 4,000 needy families in Kenya during the COVID 19 Pandemic. The women appealed for support from fellow Kenyans and well-wishers to support the initiative through Pay Bill Number: 5108221; Account Number: Your name.
“These victims should be shown love, care, and acceptance in the community” was the major stressing point during the radio talk shows.
Scripture referenced messages always instill hope to the community members. The women of Faith members instilled hope of better and brighter days in the future despite the tough conditions in the country. The opportunity to interact directly with the faith community via calls by the listeners showed a good response to the hope messages in the region. The community members commended the great initiative by the women of faith members in the coastal region to look after their own during this pandemic period.
Further, the women’s faith condemned the stigmatization of COVID 19 victims in the Region. “These victims should be shown love, care, and acceptance in the community” was the major stressing point during the radio talk shows.
Despite the limited number of persons allowed in a Radio station, the few women of Faith members successfully disseminated the faith messages and instilled hope.
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