Reintegration and Stabilization in the East – RISE
In December 2009, Internews launched a new project supporting reintegration of former combatants in conflict affected areas of the east. The pilot project focused on the Vaharai region of northern Batticaloa district, Eastern Province. Through the USAID-funded Reintegration and Stabilization in the East (RISE) project with DAI, Internews conducted media trainings for youth in Vaharai. After holding focus group discussions with the community, Internews selected 30 young people to participate in an innovative multi-media program where they received training on writing feature stories for print media, producing a radio program, and filming citizen video reports. Participants received intensive training from Internews and YATV over a month, and then put their training into action.
Over the course of two months, one group of participants wrote stories on society, culture, and development in Vaharai which were published in three editions of the areas first newspaper called The Bridge. An second group of trainees from Vaharai developed a new radio drama called “Valamam Gramam” or “Village of Natural Resources.” The three episodes of this radio drama were broadcast on SLBC Pirai FM (102 MHz) on Saturday evenings. The third group of participants filmed three citizen journalist video reports on their community, which were complied into a 30-minute documentary on Vaharai. The video was screened before an audience of more than 200 community members in Vaharai on March 28.
Internews is currently developing a second phase for the project to build on its work with the Vaharai community and potentially extend it to neighboring communities in Valaichchenai and Kiran in central Batticaloa district.
Download the RISE newspaper The Bridge (in Tamil, PDF file):
The Bridge Issue 01, The Bridge Issue 02, The Bridge Issue 03
