Musekeweya Radio Drama

The radio programme was first produced to help guide and support the Rwandan population as they experienced re-traumatisation during the Gacaca or community justice system, which operated from 2001 to 2012 to help prosecute community-level perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. The drama included messages around recognising trauma and applying basic healing techniques. It was also designed to raise awareness about the dangers of manipulation and propaganda. "Translated into simple 'messages', the listeners of the programme can see how politics, media and their own historical and psychological traumas can manipulate people." The idea was to use entertaining radio drama to create debates throughout the country.
The plot of the story is based on a conflict between two fictional Rwandan villages, Bumanzi and Muhumuro, situated on two opposing hills with a marsh land in between. The villages live through years of land disputes as the quantity of land available is very limited, and the quality differs from place to place. Tensions are further heightened by the fact that people have different (but unnamed) ethnic identities. Today, the storylines are about how, "after years of conflict stoked by the authorities, the villages are trying to heal their wounds and mend fences." Since Musekeweya first started airing in 2004, the series has explored what causes the destructive behaviour of the two villages' inhabitants. Ten years after first airing, the characters in the soap opera have reached "the stage of dialogue, of reconciliation, despite some problems that they have to overcome."
The scripts, written and performed by Rwandans, are developed in close cooperation with psychologist and genocide scholar Prof. Ervin Staub of the University of Massachusetts (United States - US), trauma specialist Dr. Laurie Pearlman of TREATI (a US-based trauma treatment centre), and researchers of the Department of Psychology at Yale University (US).
The production strategy also integrates extensive ongoing feedback, testing, and impact evaluation activities. For example, radio programmes are tested with listener groups. After listening, discussion leaders present group members with a checklist of questions on which basis a group discussion is organised. The process of pre-testing is designed to ensure that the programme messages are clear and interesting. Any problems raised or changes suggested are discussed with the writers and producers, after which feedback is processed into script writing and production activities. A separate network of 7 evaluation groups who listen to Musekeweya and 7 control groups is monitored to assess impact and behaviour change.
Every year, the overall storyline and the incorporation of messages are agreed on in a yearly storyline workshop. Various stakeholders participate in the workshop: script writers, staff of Benevolencija, an academic team member, and representatives of Rwandese organisations like the Ministry of Justice, Rwandan Bureau of Information and Broadcasting, members of La Benevolencija’s grassroots associations, and the National Service of Gacaca Jurisdictions. Such a wide range of participants is intended to provide a strong basis for adapting the messages most effectively to the actual context. It also provides La Benevolencija with an opportunity to engage with representatives of the Rwandan government over sensitive topics in a transparent and inclusive way.
Episodes of the series can be listened to on the Musekeweya website. And click here to listen to an April 19 2018 National Public Radio (US) interview about the radio drama.

According to Radio La Benevolencija, a Yale University study found that "regular listeners are more likely than other Rwandans to report increased trust in their communities and are more likely to believe their mental health would improve by talking about their traumatic experiences during the genocide." It was also discovered that the soap is popular among Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) rebels in neighbouring DRC, "providing an excellent opportunity to use the soap for broadcasts to sensitize this elusive, rarely reached rebel grouping, responsible for some of the worst acts of atrocities, especially atrocities involving sexual violence, on the other side of the Rwandan border, in the restive Kivu region of the DRC."