to speak out, they recognize the
dangers of being identified in a
small society, especially when
they’re deemed as outcasts.
PCI has been around for more
than 30 years, working around the
world to change people’s attitudes
and behaviours on various issues,
including environment, social
justice, Ebola, nutrition, and gender-
based violence.
Alleyne Regis, the Caribbean
Programmes Manager at PCI Media,
worked closely with PCI in the late
1980s and early 1990s producing
a radio drama called “Apwé Plezi”.
At the time, Saint Lucia had the
second-highest birth rate in the
Western Hemisphere and the
government seemed clueless about
controlling that population growth.
The organization Regis worked with
at the time, RARE, researched and
found out what might have been
the cause – stigma surrounding
condom use. After hearing about
PCI using radio and television serial
dramas to help in population control
elsewhere, RARE brought PCI to
Saint Lucia to help develop “Apwé
Plezi”, which aired on Radio Saint
Lucia (RSL) for many years despite
originally being planned for a one-
year run.
“Apwé Plezi” became an instant
hit during an era when saying the
word ‘condom’ on radio was taboo.
Instead, the word ‘catapol’ was
used. The programme has been
credited with playing a major role
in reducing the pace at which the
population was growing by showing
people the consequences of their
sexual behaviour.
With the success of the programme,
PCI was invited to develop
programmes throughout the world,
taking on various other issues, such
as environmental awareness.
www.slyoumag.com | September-October 2019
Regis says PCI believes the
entertainment education
methodology, using social and
behaviour change communication
strategies across the globe to create
awareness and social change, is
effective. With the recent success
of “iRight”, he hopes that people
become more conscious and
respectful about each other’s basic
human rights.
“We believe that people can make
a change even in the circumstances
they’re in and the resources they
have,” he said. “When you are
exposed to a PCI programme, you
should see yourself in there. When
you listen to our radio drama, you
should see yourself or someone you
know because it’s really reflective of
the community.”
Bennett Charles, Communications
Officer at PCI Caribbean, says
the value of what PCI does lies
in allowing people to learn in a
different way. Very often, he said,
organizations focus too much on
public service announcements and
don’t take the hard and difficult
road. PCI, he adds, has taken
the difficult road by investing in
behavioural change.
“I think PCI’s approach to the
Caribbean region allows people to
understand human rights education
on a broader level,” he told me. “It’s
not about particular agendas, but
about the listener recognizing the
issues the characters are facing
and how they can connect to those
issues.”
With the radio drama now wrapped
up, the PCI Media team plans to
go into communities to meet and
engage young people to get their
feedback. All this in an effort to
ensure that people’s human rights
issues are adequately heard and
addressed.
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