“I no longer want to get married or have more children,” says Gina Estevão, a resident of Manganira village in Milange. She told her story to reporters from Thumbine community radio as part of an effort to use first-person narratives to address important issues in the community. “I am 24 years old and married at 15. My boyfriend at the time was 17, and we have a seven-year old son. When I became pregnant for the second time, in 2017, I was taken to the hospital and had a caesarian, but the child was stillborn.
Soon after, I started wetting my bed, and it didn’t stop. One healer tried to heal me, but failed, and a second didn’t even want to try. My mother helped me during this period, but others kept their distance. Even the church didn’t let me in because I smelled bad. After three months, my husband left and did not come back. One day I listened to Radio Thumbine, where they talked about fistula and said people could come to the hospital for a surgery campaign.
I went there, and they treated me very well. My wetness disappeared, and the people who had rejected me started visiting me again. I realized that they were sorry. I participated in some radio programs to share my experience. The father of my child came back, too, and wanted to win me back, but I don’t need him. I am fine on my own. What I need most is money to start my own business.” Under the CRP2 project, h2n has been training community radio reporters in Zambezia to use community narratives as a mechanism to address issues related to health, gender and cultural norms that are sensitive or not openly discussed in the community.
h2n, which is primarily supported by Norway, works extensively with community radios, produces community videos, broadcasts the “Saude e Vida” television program on health and wellness, facilitates youth engagement hubs and pursues a rapidly expanding gender equality agenda.