The Communication Initiative
Development action with informed and engaged societies
The Communication Initiative
After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Published 24 years ago
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Impact Data - Raju

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Raju was a comic book published in 1973 to promote nutritional awareness among school-aged children (grades 3, 4, and 5) in India.

Raju was designed by CARE as one of 12 media used in a nutrition education campaign in the North and South of India.

Methodologies
The comic book was evaluated in two ways:
  • children in schools where the comic had been distributed; and
  • an extensive media impact evaluation involving 2,400 interviews with adults (evaluating the impact of each of the 12 media, regardless of intended audience).
Knowledge Shifts
The comic book was effective in conveying basic ideas about food and its relation to health to the majority of those interviewed.

The booklet was also successful in conveying detailed information about the benefits of lentils and green leafy vegetables to a sizeable percentage of the students. On a series of nine specific questions, correct answers ranged from 60% to 90%.

Although the comics were distributed only to students, they were read by a significant number of adults, with over 12% of those interviewed citing the booklets as one of their sources of information about nutrition.
Access
The comic book was very popular with school children, with 95% of them indicating that they had read and enjoyed the story.
Source
Parlato, et.al. (1980); and "The Use of Mainstream Media to Encourage Social Responsibility: The International Experience" - The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation - Prepared by: Jennifer Daves and Liza Nickerson - The Media Project.