Tina LeseilaneTina Leseilane is a 47 year old self-employed woman. Leseilane run the Bonolo Educare Centre in Alexandra Township, Gauteng. Being a resident of Alexandra, Leseilane has been a fervent listener of A.L.X Fm since 1997.
As an educator Leseilane says that the gender programmes at A.L.X Fm has been very education and helpful to focus mainly on HIV/AIDS as it is such a big problem in the country and in her community.
Leseilane says that she uses the information to teach young children about issues of HIV/AIDS. She say that this has been successful as the children take the information home which means that the information is spread is shared by the whole community. She also uses the information and her knowledge to put together a newsletter that she disseminates to the community. About the newsletter, Leseilane says ‘I created the newsletter to deliver the message.’
Through the dispatched Leseilane says the Information helps her understand how to deal with HIV/AIDS and help those infected and affected by the illness.
She encouraged Agenda to continue sending the dispatches as through these Agenda ‘works as the SAPS because they police what is happening and report back to the community about it. It works as a watchdog.’
She says ‘the information is important as it can be used as a tool to empower the community, especially women.’
Jane MadopeSikelela Day Care Centre educator 52 year old, Jane Madope says she started listening to A.L.X Fm in 1997. Madope says the programmes have also helped her both at home and especially at work. ‘I spend most of my time with young minds listening to programmes such as child headed homes, single parenting, rape and many others has brought some understanding about most of these issues and how to deal with children who come from these situations’.
Madope says sometimes children find it difficult to articulate their problems but with the help of the dispatches she is able to introduce these topics to her learners. The information she hears on the radio is easily understandable because it is in a vernacular which means that she is able to relay accurate information to her learners and also introduce it at their own level of understanding. This always helps the children to open up and discuss sensitive issues. The information shared and discussed at daycare is taken home which mean that the information is shared and passed continuously.
‘This does not only apply to my children at work, it also applies to my children at home’. Some of the programmes on youth and many other have inspired her to be the best she can be and she has also passed this on to her children both at work and at home.
Madope also says the discussion around Moral Regeneration, Virginity Testing and many other issues have made it easy for her to relate to her children at home because the discussion have encouraged them to open up and discuss such things with her.
Both the women encouraged Agenda to continue sending the dispatches out as they make a major difference in their lives. They would also like to see Agenda coming back to their community and keeping the lines of communication open.
Cynthia Nene
Frequently she found herself caught between conflicting emotions of love and hate. She learnt to live a life of total isolation, submissiveness and powerlessness. She always felt trapped because she was economically dependent on her partner, who abused her. She was also frightened to call police or leave, due to the threat of retribution or retaliation from her partner, family, or friends. She constantly felt embarrassed about her situation because she felt that it reflects on her abilities as a woman.
The Domestic Violence programmes that were aired by her local radio station provided her with help and information that made her aware of her alternatives, so that she may make her own decisions and choices. Through the radio programmes, Cynthia learnt that battering has cultural, social, economic and psychological roots as it is a culturally accepted norm for men to use force on women. She realized that the unequal power relationship between her and her partner contributed heavily to the problem. She learnt that regardless of what she had done, she did not deserve to be abused or beaten; nor did she like it or ask for it.
Cynthia is grateful to Agenda and ICORA FM as it gave her the courage to leave her abusive partner by approaching friends, relatives, and co-workers who were very compassionate, understanding and non-blaming. It made a great difference to her as a woman in danger to know that her colleagues and bosses will support her efforts to protect herself. Through the programmes she also found that she was not alone, that there are many women like her in the same kind of situation, and that it takes strength to survive and trust someone enough to talk about it.
Cynthia's advice to victims of abuse is that they must acknowledge that it is scary and difficult to talk about domestic violence. ‘Know that you don't deserve to be threatened, hit, or beaten. Nothing the abuser can do or say makes the abuse okay'. She believes that survivors of abuse should be encouraged to express their hurt and anger as it is part of healing.
The contact information provided at the end of every dispatch provided her with information on help available to battered women and their children, including social services, emergency shelters, counselling services, and legal advice helped her too.
She believes that Agenda and ICORA are sources of information that saved her life. Battered women living in rural areas have many of the same experiences as battered women everywhere. But rural battered women have certain experiences and face certain barriers which are unique to rural situation including culture and tradition.
Thembisile Mzulwini
Mama Thembisile Mzulwini has been an avid listener of Imbokodo FM since it first came on air in 2003. She says Zithakiwe - women's programme - is one of her favourite shows as she learns ‘many great things from it'. Mama Mzulwini says the show taught her significantly about issues of HIV/AIDS and now has a greater understanding of things like home-based care and what to do when caring for an infected person. She says this information has saved her life because the elderly are getting infected in numbers while taking care of their children and grandchildren.
She says that there is a very high unemployment rate in the area she lives in and this has impacted of the crime rate. Programme focusing on issues such as poverty alleviation has driven her and other women in the area to start vegetable garden projects. Once the vegetables have been planted, members of the community care for the garden and eat the food that comes from it. Surplus vegetables are sold within the community.
Mama Mzulwini says she is thankful for the radio station and Agenda because they have opened lines of communication. Through the radio station members of the community can discuss a wide range of issues from Domestic violence to culture and traditions. She feels that this as instilled a sense of responsibility and pride for their community as the now have knowledge they can use to empower and develop themselves and their community.
She stresses that the relationship between Agenda and the radio station is very helpful, informative and helps to develop communities. ‘For this reason, I want to encourage you to continue your wonderful work'.
Margaret Khululekile MthembuMama Margaret Khululekile Mthembu is a single mother of two. Ma'Mthembu lives in a government low cost house with her youngest son. Although she has not been physically abused she feels that the conditions under which she is living in the community of Emakhanyeni in Jozini are abusive.
She faces abuse from two 'fronts'. Years after her husband died, she met the father of her second child. Although he can afford to pay maintenance, the father refuses, which always causes fights and arguments between the two of them. His current live-in girlfriend also refuses to allow Ma'Mthembu's son to visit his father. This hurts her as a mother because she feels she has to watch her child suffer and wonders if he will ever be somebody in life.
'The reason I say this is because as an unemployed mother I cannot provide for him the way I would like to. I want to send him to the best schools and see him going to university, etc but I cannot do that on my own.'
Ma'Mthembu believes that the father's refusal to pay maintenance combined with the fact that her son is refused access to his father is a violation of his human rights which translates into abuse.
Ma'Mthembu also feels that the community of Jozini has also contributed towards her abuse. As a single woman on her own in a chauvinistic community, she has had to face being ostracised. Although she is unemployed she is involved in many projects that have helped her to empower herself and bring in a small income to support herself and her children. With the little money she makes in these various projects, she has been able to send her oldest son to Technikon. She has also been able to purchase household items that have made her life easier. This makes Ma'Mthembu a threat to the community, especially to men, because as a woman she is not expected to do well and succeed by herself.
'My successes, however little, have made enemies for me. I find this very sad because I've worked very hard to pull myself through but, even some women in this community have tried to pull me down as they see me a threat. I cannot tell you how many times my house has been broken into and I have had my property stolen. What kills me is that my child is excluded by other children because other mothers do no like their children to play with my child'
Ma'Mthembu is alone in all of this. The community hierarchy dictates that she cannot report any of these cases to the police as she must go through the chief, but as a woman she cannot go to the chief herself. The traditional rules state that a male must represent her in any form of traditional council and as a woman on her own this means that her problems will go unattended.
Thanks to the Agenda radio dispatches, Ma'Mthembu is well aware of her rights and points-out that they have helped to understand that her experiences are a form of abuse. She understands that a lot of change needs to take place in her community before domestic violence is eradicated. She also realised that by listening to the radio programme that she is not the only person going through this abuse. She encourages Agenda to continue sending the dispatches
'because we (women of Jozini) need the educational information that you send to the station. It important that we know what is wrong before we can fix it, the dispatch has helped me recognise that I am in an abusive situation. I also know about my rights and where to go to access them, which means I have concrete information which I can use to change my situation'.
Ma'Mthembu was interviewed and recorded in August 2004 by Lokile Molefe of Agenda.
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Listener Stories | 
