A multimedia SBCC radio and video campaign driving educational equity, girls' school attendance, and community behaviour change across Southern Coastal Tanzania.
CLIENT
Foundations for Learning (F4L) Programme
OUR ROLE
SBCC Strategy & Multimedia Content Production
CORE METRIC
Education Metrics & Norm Shifts
AUDIENCE
Southern Coastal Tanzania (Lindi, Mtama, Ruangwa)
In Southern Coastal Tanzania, deeply rooted gender inequality, poverty, and social norms were keeping children, especially girls, out of school. While Tanzania had made progress on enrolment, quality and equity remained far behind. Girls faced barriers ranging from household burdens and unsafe travel to harmful cultural practices like early marriage and initiation ceremonies.
Boys faced child labour pressures, shifting farming demands, and peer influences that pulled them away from classrooms. The Foundations for Learning (F4L) Programme needed a communication campaign that could reach communities across Lindi, Mtama, and Ruangwa districts and drive real, measurable shifts in attitudes and behaviours, not just awareness. Studio 19 was tasked with developing the strategy and producing the content.
We started with the community, not the message. A rapid assessment across the three districts revealed which stations people listened to, when they tuned in, and which formats moved them, from jingles during breakfast shows to episodic radio dramas on Thursday evenings. Every content decision was rooted in what audiences already trusted and preferred.
The campaign ran across Ruangwa FM, Mashujaa FM, and TBC Taifa with three interlocking formats: 32 Radio Magazine Shows combining talk shows, expert commentary, and street dialogues; 24 episodes of the SHTUKA Radio Drama series following characters navigating real social pressures; and 16 jingles and PSAs aired up to three times daily across popular programme slots.
The SHTUKA drama followed characters Nneka, Rehema, Sada, and Sadiki through 32 episodes across three seasons, tackling girls' education, child marriage, peer pressure, parental neglect, and community accountability. The same character voices carried across the radio drama, video drama, and jingles, building recognition and emotional investment across all formats.
Field-produced radio and video content aired across 3 districts and 2 primary stations.
Districts
Reached
Scientifically estimated reach across Lindi, Mtama & Ruangwa districts, based on survey data from 142 respondents (77% campaign recall rate).
Survey respondents reported measurably improved equal treatment for boys and girls in schooling, the single highest-performing behaviour change indicator.
Respondents reported changes in household budgeting for education, frequently raised by listeners during radio call-ins and testimonials.
Surveyed respondents reported stronger parental engagement in children's schooling, the second-highest behaviour change indicator from the campaign.
Implementing Partner
Explore the radio programmes, video drama episodes, jingles, and campaign reports produced for this initiative.
Primary TVC
Research Report.pdf
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