Co-creating learning with Afghan families.
Our foremost objective is to empower Afghan families with strategies to address their health concerns.
Initially, we focused on delivering content on basic first aid and nutrition. The teachings would be easily comprehensible even for those with limited literacy and educational backgrounds and individuals facing limited access to medical care, medicines, and proper nutrition.
Once we conducted a series of focus group sessions with diverse Afghan demographic segments we realized the critical importance of mental health and dental health education, as well. These are deeply systemic, interconnecting mental, dental, and physical health.
Prolonged mental stress experienced by family members over the years, exacerbated by the challenges of the past two years, is taking a toll on their overall well-being. Malnutrion is widespread. Relationships are suffering, and children are experiencing trauma. Women and girls find themselves in a state of despair, seeking assistance not only for their own mental health but also for guidance on raising their children, providing emotional support to their disheartened daughters, and improving communication with family members to restore harmony. This complex reality is marked by long-lasting and intertwined challenges.
Our Approach
Our aim is to change daily habits to improve the lives of Afghan women and families.
We are adopting a multi-tiered approach to connect with Afghan families and provide them with the information they seek. All our educational content will be developed in collaboration with local individuals who have a deep understanding of Pashto and Dari traditions. We recognize the importance of operating within cultural boundaries to establish the credibility of our information. When all family members are receptive to the provided information, the impact is profound, long-lasting, and scalable.
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Our objective is not to impose Western solutions on Afghan issues. Instead, our goal is to integrate local tacit knowledge with universally recognized financial, medical, mental, and dental best practices that are both manageable and culturally acceptable in contemporary Afghanistan.
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We hold true to the idea that our globally experienced learning development team can only create a positive impact amongst vulnerable communities through collaboration with the local community.
Radio drama infused with health-themes . . .
reinforced by social media.
Radio
To maximize our impact, engaging with these groups on a large scale is crucial, and radio is the key medium for achieving this.
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Our research indicates that all groups, particularly mothers and elders in rural and urban areas, are most inclined to receive information through radio. As these individuals play critical roles in the health and welfare decisions of their entire families, we place particular emphasis on them as listeners.
Since 2021, entertainment options have been severely limited in Afghanistan. TV dramas, a long-standing favorite among families, have been banned. In contrast, radio has continued to operate with minimal disruption.
To address this gap and promote health awareness, HealthReach will introduce a weekly radio drama series. These "info-tainment" dramas will integrate themes of physical, mental, dental and financial health empowerment in captivating and inspirational ways.
Social Media
We are dedicated to ensuring that engaging physical, mental, dental and financial help learning content are readily accessible to our radio show community for their learning and communication needs. These resources will be repurposed for publication across various popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Apple Podcast and WhatsApp, making them readily available to the general public.
In our pursuit of widespread accessibility, we are committed to simplifying all learning aids to convey basic concepts. These materials will be presented in both Pashto and Dari languages, accompanied by visual elements, ensuring that literacy or formal education is not a prerequisite for comprehending their content. We aim to empower and inform as many individuals as possible, fostering a healthier and more informed community.
Our methodology.
Ours is a three-stage process to improve community well being by developing engaging learning resources. While our radio series attracts and motivates listeners to adopt new health practices, our social media solution makes communities healthier through access to just-in-time learning. By supporting community-driven initiatives, we reach more people faster, more effectively and more sustainably.
At the Prototype Stage, we conduct needs analyses directly through the community. We ask focus groups about their most significant physical, mental and financial health challenges and what they feel they need to learn.
We determine which media approaches would work best for specific communities depending on literacy levels, internet connectivity, electricity availability, device access, and general preferences. We also seek the advice of doctors familiar with the issues who know the patterns and what resources are available to families, doctors and pharmacies. As much as possible, we explore successful traditional methods and remedies that can be scaled.
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The program is rolled out during the Scaling Stage and its effectiveness is monitored through continuous feedback and data analyses. At this point, the materials may be adapted to other languages and contexts.
We aim to continuously improve the model and add more learning modules according to need and interest.
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The intent of the Sustainability Stage is to empower the local community to take over the process and continue to deliver and build on the learning. Depending on specific needs, where possible we will provide a level of ongoing access to medical and healthcare advisors and appropriate technology.
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