Media Empowering Communities to
Take Charge and Improve Livelihood
New Programs in Seven Latin American Countries

July 5, 2010- New York, NY – PCI Media Impact’s My Community, a series of message-oriented, locally developed “grassroots soap operas” are now on the air throughout Latin America. With 25 years of experience in the field, PCI-Media Impact has long been at the vanguard of educational media. My Community represents our latest response to a pressing but often overlooked problem in international development: how to engage low-income communities in open discussions about crucial though sometimes controversial issues. The discussions generated by these popular and entertaining – yet always educational – melodramas help their audiences to make changes that improve the health, environment and general well-being of their communities. My Community’s engaging stories often become reality, when empowered audiences take these programs’ messages to heart.

Each My Community program covers community-specific issues, such as democratic principles, sexual health and rights, reproductive health, and the mismanagement of solid waste. And each program is above all a grassroots soap opera, developed at every stage by members of the communities themselves. Everything from the characters to the plots are created in collaboration with local partners, with the issues addressed also chosen by these partners. Through My Community, PCI-Media Impact is once more turning soap operas into a force for grassroots social change.

Previous programs have impacted our communities in direct and measurable ways. La Ruleta (The Roulette), developed and broadcast in Guatemala to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS resulted in a 400% increase in visits to “Tan Ux’il” pharmacies, our partner on that project. Así Somos (The Way We Are), a youth environmental program, was so influential in Pindal, Ecuador that Bolivar Jumbo, a local leader who played a major role in the radio drama, was elected mayor. At 29, Mr. Jumbo was the youngest mayor in Ecuador’s history. And in Somoto, Nicaragua, our Camino al Paraíso (The Road to Paradise) inspired Martiza, a local listener, to recruit 30 other residents to create an ecotourism business. Our programs continue to generate collective actions and raise awareness about what people can do to improve their lives, and the lives of their children.

As all My Community programs, 2010 media campaigns will address different sets of issues. In Guatemala, El Intruso III (The Intruder 3) combats the spread of HIV in a nation whose infected population makes up one-sixth of Central America’s HIV positive population. In Huancavelica, Peru Pachamamanchikta Waqaichasun (Taking Care of Mother Earth) teaches local communities about proper solid waste disposal methods. In Cuzco, Peru, our program will addresses the root causes of reproductive health in the region.

Broadcasts in Ecuador and Colombia will focus on youth sexual health and rights, waste management, and the effects of climate change. In Ecuador, the dramatic series Dulce Brisa…Aprendiendo a Vivir (Sweet Brezze…Learning to Live) and Asi Somos (How We Are)/ Acolitama (Cover Me) will aim to dispel health myths and break down barriers to service and sexual education dialogues. Basurita de Amor (Speak of Love), the first locally producted radio drama in Anolaima, Colombia will promote the health, economic, and social benefits of separating waste and help organize the community to shift local policy.

The My Community initiative is being undertaken with support from partner organizations throughout Central and South America. Collaborating with local partners allows PCI-Media Impact to develop an ever-growing network of both grassroots organizations and corporate partnerships, enabling them to form relationships for future programs in impoverished regions. PCI-Media Impact’s mission is to tell stories – and save lives – by promoting greater rights and better health.

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