Tido Mhando, retiring Head of 大象传媒 Swahili, enjoyed an unforgettable 'rock star' experience aboard the Swahili roadshow tour bus as it visited 12 towns across Kenya and Tanzania.
I've been Head of the 大象传媒 Swahili since 1999 and our recent
大象传媒 - Your Compass to the World (
Dira ya Dunia) roadshow in Kenya and Tanzania was an amazing opportunity to meet some of our listeners face to face, discuss with them issues that matter to them, let them challenge figures of authority and have their voices heard by Africa and the rest of the world. It was an experience I will never forget and a fitting way for me to say goodbye, as I shortly retire from the 大象传媒.
Our biggest audiences
A 15-strong team of 大象传媒 Swahili producers and presenters - based in London, Kenya and Tanzania - travelled almost 2,200 km during the two-week roadshow. We met thousands of listeners on a route which took us from Kisumu in the west of Kenya to Mwanza in the north of Tanzania. During that time we broadcast 12 live programmes, spoke to thousands of people and interacted with thousands more through text messaging on mobile phones. We also collected more than 3,000 questionnaires completed by people desperate to tell us what they think of our programmes and what they would like to hear in the future.
On the roadshow I felt like a rock star, travelling from place to place on a rickety bus, being mobbed by listeners and signing autographs.
Tido Mhando |
|
We chose Kenya and Tanzania for the roadshow because our biggest listenership is in these two countries, almost 5.1 million weekly listeners in Kenya and a whopping 12.9 million weekly listeners in Tanzania. Our route was to take us through the heart of each country, visiting big as well as smaller towns, enabling us to link up with local radio stations who re-broadcast our programmes.
Memorable experiences
On the day of each roadshow the plan was for the huge truck, which transforms into a mobile stage, to roll into town. Each day the stage had to be set up and the comperes would gather and warm up the crowds with a series of games and acrobatics. Then 大象传媒 Swahili team would invite the locals and special guests to discuss the key issue of the day. Later in the day we'd broadcast a live half hour from each town via our programme
Dira ya Dunia - a technological feat in itself. Our poor sound man, Sam Keni, who works at the 大象传媒 bureau in Nairobi, was under a lot of pressure throughout but managed to survive.
Memorable experiences from the
大象传媒 - Your Compass to the World roadshow include the mayor of
Kisumu being booed when she took to the stage to discuss the Boda Boda bike taxi - a bike adapted to carry a passenger. She was booed because she had made lots of promises about its regulation in the past which have not been fulfilled. Nevertheless, I admired her because she was one of the few politicians that came in person to meet the people and the booing made very good radio. In
Kakamega the popular broadcaster and comedian, Mshamba, from our partner station West FM stole the show. When he came on the stage the crowds grew bigger with people pushing forward eager to be as close to him as possible. We didn't mind though because it is our partner stations that help us to reach the people.
The mayor of Kisumu was booed when she took to the stage. Nevertheless, I admired her because she was one of the few politicians that came in person to meet the people and the booing made very good radio.
Tido Mhando |
|
Adoring crowds
Our first broadcast in Tanzania,
Arusha, was particularly memorable because of the huge crowds. In Tanzania we have more than 12 million weekly listeners. The people knew us by name, our history, they told us they adore us and asked for autographs and mobbed us everywhere we went. I met a couple who had travelled more than 60 miles to meet the 大象传媒 Swahili team. They had arrived early in the morning and had been waiting all day for us to arrive. This crowd really paid attention to the pre-publicity before the roadshow which included a van announcing the roadshow the night before and press advertisements in key newspapers. The crowds were so enthusiastic, we were all surprised and sometimes overwhelmed. They were so knowledgeable. They would recite back what you had said on a certain programme with the date and the time - simply amazing.
大象传媒 Swahili achieved what it wanted to on this roadshow. We all worked well together as a team. And even though travelling from place to place on a bus was sometimes gruelling, fortunately no one fell sick. Meeting our listeners face to face was unforgettable, suddenly they were real, they wanted to shake your hand and give you a hug. Of course, some people criticised us but that was OK because they appreciated the opportunity to address us in person. When you are in London or in the 大象传媒 bureau in Kenya or Tanzania you are sending messages through the airwaves but here we were really engaging with them.
Meeting them was educational, revealing, enlightening and an eye opener. It was heart warming to see just how much we mean to them. These people trust what we are telling them and I realised, more than ever, that we have a responsibility to deliver the best quality, authoritative news and information that we can.
Tido Mhando is retiring head of the
Celebrating excellence - visit the website of the 大象传媒
