 Guatamala -Ukux Kaj Ukux Ulew
 The weekly radio drama “Ukux Kaj Ukux Ulew” (Heart of the sky, Heart of the Earth) was one of the first of its kind radio drama in produced in both Spanish and K’iché Mayan. The serial drama was included in a live hour long magazine show: “Ri Kitzij Alitomab Albomab Kiché” (Youth Voices),produced by a group of energetic adolescents. The radio magazine features Vox Pop, the radio drama, interviews and music. The goal of the program was to create awareness about the protection and conservation of the environment in relation to waste management, depletion of water sources, and air pollution. Specific issues that were covered in the drama were:
- Waste management and types of garbage
- Recycling Identification and protection of water sources
- Nutrition awareness
 Our partner Juventud K’iché Ri Alitomab’ Albomab’ K’iché based in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala is a group of young people between 8-21. The group analyzes the daily issues young Mayan people face in the region. PCI-Media Impact provides them training, funding and technical assistance in order to improve their life standards. Together, we created the first radio drama in K’iché language that deals with environmental topics.
After the show was completed many from the audience wrote into the show and told them what they had learned. Here is one letter:
One afternoon on my way back from school, I noticed my street was covered by garbage. My group of friends was playing soccer on the street. I asked them to help me clean it up, but they don’t even listen to me. I decided to sweep by myself, but from now on whenever my friends want to play they know we have to clean up the street first.Carlos, 14
Social and Economic Facts: Guatamala
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I  n the rural area people spend almost 50% of their total income in medicine for diarrhea and similar illness.
- Guatemala reports the highest number of children death by diarrhea in Central America.
- In Guatemala every day a child die because diarrhea. 30% of the population in Guatemala does not have access to potable water neither sewers.
- Only 24 out of 331 municipalities in Guatemala have water treatment facilities. Source: Prensa Libre
Broadcast Details:
 Broadcast Period: March 2006- December 2006
Number of Episodes: Radio Drama – 24 episodes, Magazine Show – 24 episodes
Broadcast Reach: “Paisana Stereo” 90.1 FM and “Radio Kerygma” 102.3 FM.
Five municipalities in Guatemala: El Quiché, Totonicapán, Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango and San Marcos.
Target Audience:Youth ages 12-20
The Serial Drama:
Main Characters Profile
- Chepe: A disorganized kid, he throws away garbage everywhere and likes to show off because his parents live in the United States.
- Antonia: An active community member who has feelings for Chepe.
Plot
 Four good friends living in the high plateau in El Quiché, Guatemala, make decisions about the environmental damage they face everyday in their neighborhood. In addition, the program promotes the consumption of natural food and criticizes the consumption of non-nutritional products.
Reported Program Impact:
PRE-BROADCAST RESEARCH
 PCI–Media Impact and “Juventud K’iche” developed a robust methodology to monitor the impact of this program. The formative research allowed us to explore the environmental reality in five municipalities where the project took place. The group implemented a survey in five municipalities, with the participation of local youth between 12 and 20.
Some interesting findings from Pre-Broadcast testing about inorganic solid waste elimination methods used by community members.
In San Antonio Ilotenango:
- 0.2% use municipality services.
- 7% burn the garbage at home.
- 77% throw the garbage anywhere.
In San Pedro Jocopilas:
- 0.1% use municipality services.
- 21% burn the garbage at home.
- 68% throw the garbage anywhere.
The results reflect people’s unawareness of their responsibility in maintaining a clean community:
Who should clean the streets in your community?
(San Bartalome Jotenango)
Do you know that water sources in your community,
Santa Cruz del Quiche, are disappearing?
Why do you think people throw away garbage on the streets?
(Santa Cruz del Quiché)
POST-BROADCAST RESEARCH
 To measure the impact of the project, the group implemented a focus group with the participation of 55 youth listeners and a survey among the five audience groups in each one of the municipalities where the project took place.
Below is a letter froma 15-year old girl written into the show in Mayan K’iché about what she had learned:
“One day at school I suggested to pick up all the garbage we had in our class room. I wasn’t taken seriously, and they all started to laugh. A fter insisting my classmates decided to buy a trash can. The radio drama “Heart of the sky, Heart of the Earth” has served to protect us from diseases and to make us take care of our environment. What I like most about this is that at both my house and at school we have better hygiene.” Juana,15, Mayan K’iché
Indeed, awareness raising is one of our main achievements. The following comparison shows people’s knowledge increase after the program radio broadcast.
Waste Management
Illness Origin
Food Quality
Examples of junk food are soft drinks and candies.
Capacity Building and Participation: We ensure the program sustainability by increasing broadcasting skills sets within the community. In addition, participants identify and communicate their own needs, which create credibility among listeners.
- Two cleaning campaigns
- Elaboration of a production kit, which will be used in other communities to reproduce the experience. 10 youth trained in Entertainment Education methodology and radio production
- One environmental workshop with 96 participants
- Environmental study of the five municipalities where the project takes place.
Cost – Effectiveness: To ensure program sustainability the project requires cost-sharing. PCI-Media Impact provides 60% of the project cost and our partners provide the remaining 40%, often through in-kind, contributions, volunteers and sponsorship.
Local Partnerships
Many local, governmental and international NGO organizations worked to make this first of its kind project a success. These included:
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