Peru - El Despertar de Margarita

“El Despertar de Margarita”, is a one hour magazine live show, which includes a serial drama entitled : “Cambiando Vidas” (Changing Lives). The show is run by 8 energetic adolescents who as part of the local community based group “Asociación Manos Libres” (Manos Libres) are working to improve the life of youth in Peru.

PCI-Media Impact worked with Manos Libres to develop this youth oriented radio program focused on preventing adolescent pregnancies and providing education about sexual and reproductive health, and on HIV/AIDS and human rights in vast shantytown to the south of Lima, Peru - Villa San Salvador.

Social Economic Facts about Villa El Salvador, Peru:

Villa El Savador was established in 1971 when General Juan Velasco´s government handed over a great stretch of sandy desert, south of Lima, so the squatters could build a town. The town has become a city. There are now more than 300,000 inhabitants, mostly of Andean origin, although families keep arriving from all over Peru. Its mass character has made it the largest workers´ housing experiment in Peru, and one of the largest in Latin America.

“Thanks to the program, I decided to be a health worker in my neighborhood, dealing with HIV issues. I made that decision because I witnessed how my family discriminated against my uncle who died from HIV. - Olinda, 14 year old listener

The city has been build by the inhabitants themselves. They have built their own houses and streets, consists of a design in which twenty-four families form a block and sixteen blocks form a group, or neighbourhood, with certain areas being reserved for schools, markets, recreation centres, and even a local television and radio station.

Life is not easy in Villa El Salvador. Jobs are scarce, educational opportunities beyond primary school are rare and health conditions are below the national average.

• 13% of female teenagers, between 15 and 19 years old, have been pregnant at least once.
• Only 8.8% of adolescent women are currently using some method of family planning.
• More than 3% of the overall HIV infections happen in teenagers between 15 and 19 years old. Moreover, 51% of teenager women in Peru lack of information about STD, including HIV/AIDS.

Broadcast Details:

Broadcast Period: March 2006 – August 2006
Target Audience: Primary female adolescents and young mothers (14-30 years old)
Broadcast Reach: Stereo Villa 101.7 FM. Villa El Salvador, Villa Maria del Triunfo and San Juan de Miraflores (popular settlements, south of Lima, Peru). Over 180.000 listeners, this represents 20% of the population in the south of Lima.
Number of Episodes:
- Radio Drama: 16 episodes – 8 minutes
- Magazine Show: 16 episodes – 60 minutes. The live show features the radio drama, health news, interview with health experts, contests, debates, and testimonials.

The Serial Drama:

Plot: “El Despertar de Margarita” takes place in Villa El Salvador. Don Beto, a teacher at the local school, will be the main support for teenagers and parents facing issues such as:
- Sexual and youth rights
- Prevention of teenage pregnancy

Radio Drama Main Characters Profile:

Margarita: 15 years old, is pregnant and is dealing with a bitter and resentful mother, a sexually abusive husband, and the criticism from her community.

Gladis: Margarita’s oldest sister. A mature girl, who lives with HIV and an unfaithful husband.

Doña Elana: Margarita’s mother. Hides obscure episodes from her past.

Luis: Margarita’s husband, gang member and a drug user.

“After finding out that I was pregnant, my parents forced me to quit school, which made me sad. Listening to the radio program I found the courage to talk to them.” Anonymous listener

Program’s Impact

PCI-Media Impact and Asociación Manos Libres developed a robust methodology to monitor the impact of this program. Some results are:

• 30% increase in demand for existing sexual health services.
• 20% listener increase, from 150,000 to 180,000 listeners.
• A stronger relationship among local NGO’s, health providers and media, to create behavior change towards reproductive health issues.
• After May 2006 the radio program was broadcasted through national radio.

Local and National Partnerships
We work with public and private partners to promote social development, the following groups colloborated to make this project possible:

• Yawar Tinkuy Producciones (Journalism and video production)
• Social Communication Science Faculty from Universidad Federico Villarreal
• Clínicas Medisol (Local health service provider)
• Casa del Bienestar (Local health service provider)
• Estereo Villa (Radio Broadcast)

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.

• Four capacity building workshops, with 12 participants in each one.
• Radio program promotion: Interviews to the radio drama actors in a local TV channel, visits to local schools, and promotional materials distribution.

Cost – Effectiveness
To ensure program sustainability the project requires cost-sharing. PCI-Media Impact provided 44.7% of the project cost and our partners provided the remaining 55.3%, often through in-kind contributions, volunteers, and sponsorship.