Communication is aid, too

Two months after one of the strongest tyhpoons on record hit central Philippines, Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), communities across the disaster-affected zone still go to extreme lengths to get information they need.

A team from the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists (PNEJ) visited Internews’ emergency radio station, 92.9 FM Radyo Bakdaw, in the small fishing town of Guiuan in Eastern Samar last December. Here is their report.

 

GUIUAN, Eastern Samar–As much as they value food, shelter and other essentials, people secure even their smallest transistor radio just so that they could ask for assistance or communicate with the local government officials, humanitarian aid groups and with their missing relatives.

 

Thanks to Internews for believing that information is a form of humanitarian assistance, too.

 

“ Communication is powerful and it is also a priority so people in the communities deliver effective communications even in the middle of a disaster,” said Stijn Aelbers, Internews’ Team Leader for Humanitarian Information Services for the Philippines.

Aelbers and his team arrived in Guiuan-devastated town last November and set-up the emergency humanitarian radio station 92.9 FM Radyo Bakdaw (meaning to rise). The station provides vital information to communities, distributed radio equipment and provided technical assistance to local journalists to keep the station on the air.

 

The devastation left by Yolanda’s fury is almost indescribable.  Coconut trees were uprooted, houses and other structure were either demolished or cut down in half.

Power and telecommunication lines were destroyed, even Radio Natin, a local radio station that used to serve as primary source of information of about 50,000 residents.

 

But beyond the ruins left by Yolanda, Internews’ emergency radio station, Radyo Bakdaw that broadcasts 14 hours a day with 300 megawatts, kept the small town alive.

Information is vital

 

A week after Haiyan hit the Philippines, Internews sent a team of experts to survey the communication needs in the area and secure papers for the emergency broadcast station. It took the team about two weeks to get the documents and the people done before the first broadcast.

Aelbers said that while planning the survey, his team also secured the documents to operate an emergency radio station in Leyte and Samar. This was followed by purchasing equipment such as transmitter, antennae, and laptops. The team brought with them the software that they have used in previous emergency broadcast setups in other countries in crisis.

 

Internews finally decided to set-up the emergency radio station in Guiuan. As part of their assistance to local journalists, Internews hired local journalists. They have currently eight broadcasters while training others.

 

“At Radyo Bakdaw, we talk with the community. In fact, we talk less but listen more. The core of the messaging is directed to the needs of the people in the community, not of those outside,” Aelbers explained.

During the morning, afternoon and evening news segments, local broadcasters will air questions from the members of the community and invite or call local government officials to answer them. This is crucial to settle the confusion in terms of bringing relief aid and where to get it.

 

After setting up the radio station, the team of Internews and the local broadcasters distributed 200 units of portable radio from the American Red Cross.

 

The red portable radio, includes a built-in flashlight, and two power sources: a solar panel, and a hand crank. This makes the equipment double as a source of light for a household or two, since darkness engulfs the village as soon as the sun sets. The affluent parts of the city get power from diesel-powered generator sets but most families had to rely on candles or the light from the moon.

 

“The human component is as important as the technical setup and we are glad the local team has a fairly good skill set and knowledge in broadcast,” notes Aelbers.

 

He added that skills in sound mixing and operating the equipment for broadcast cut down the training time to a few days instead of a week or two. In some areas, Internews had to start the training of local broadcasters from scratch.

 

To listen more with the community and start a dialogue, Radyo Bakdaw put up signs containing the mobile number of the station. This is key to include the community in the discussion and make them active listeners.

On average, the radio receives 300 text messages from listeners in Guiuan and nearby areas where they are heard. Key to this was listening and acknowledging the messages sent to the radio station, even if initially most are comments on the program.

 

In addition to the daily broadcast from 8am to 7pm, Aelbers and radio technician Tom Mallah holds weekend workshops for the local broadcasters to help hone their skills when interviewing source persons such as officials from UN OCHA, who recently paid a visit to the booth. The workshops also serve as post-mortem meeting for the past week’s broadcast and how to improve on them.

 

On Fridays, people in the community gather at the radio booth to take part in the videoke session. The event allows people to sing their favorite songs.

 

“Filipinos love to sing and before we flew here, we noted that many of the small restaurants have this machine where people sing. And we decided to bring one. In other parts of the world it might not mean much but here, it works,” says Aelbers.

Local broadcaster Jessa Cabonegro, 20, said that communication is vital, especially since the area is not receiving as much media mileage as Tacloban. It took about four days for aid to reach the community and until now, very few merchants have opened up.

 

“I want to continue doing this and integrating the function of news in FM music airplay,” says Cabonegro, who is expected to fish her tourism course come May 2014.

 

The young broadcaster is one of the volunteer DJs at her college before Haiyan struck the Philippines.

 

Prior to Radyo Bakdaw, she said that her exposure to radio broadcast is limited to playing songs and providing short public service announcements. Her training at Radyo Bakdaw proved to her that radio can be more than a companion medium. It is actually a source of important information on aid in the community, as she has seen how the team was able to direct people on the schedule of arriving food packs.

 

Even after graduation and hopefully, joining the local tourism industry, Cabonegro promises to pursue becoming a community radio broadcaster in her town.

 

“Communication is a very important bridge to get the people to talk, to ask questions. It can guide the community and help clear out confusion. It also helped us cope, even while playing those upbeat tunes that somehow, we are inching closer to rebuilding the town and going back to normal again,” Cabonegro said.

Aelbers notes that Radyo Bakdaw will fold up once things settle down and the community won’t need it.

 

“This won’t be like a commercial radio station that will operate forever but it is there, ready to go up on air once the need arises,” explains Aelbers.

 

He adds that Internews is currently looking into training more local broadcasters who can serve as a network to respond first to emergency and post-disaster situations.

 

“Training the locals would make us redundant and that is what we want because it is equipping them with the skills to help themselves. Response will be much faster as well,” he said.

 

For now, Radyo Bakdaw remains as the communities’ “lifeline” in a disaster zone as they rebuild their lives.

 

Report by Imelda Abano, Anna Valmero and Dino Balabo

photos by Imelda Abano