Thursday, August 28, 2008

First Radio Program Report

We hosted a radio program on Thursday 28th August 2008 on Citizen Radio in Freetown.

We opened the program by introducing the aims and objectives of Why Cant We Get Married . Com West Africa Chapter. Our main topic was based on general acceptance and tolerance of every human being regardless of the age, religion, race, tribe, sexuality and gender. We raised awareness on the impact of acceptance and tolerance of all people as this can contravene traditional and social norms. For example, in Sierra Leone inter-religious marriage is prohibited between Islam and Christianity which are the two main religions. Likewise, in the area of sexuality marriages of same sex couples are frowned upon.

There have been many hate-based attacks and discrimination for individuals in an inter-racial, inter-religious or same sex relationship. The advocacy sessions were geared towards promoting peace, respect and understanding as we believe that this will enhance a sustainable platform for the attainment of equal rights and tolerance for all.

Towards the end of the radio programs callers shared the following opinions:
· People hope the program will have ongoing and sustainable impacts.
· They thought the project was educational as it opened peoples' minds towards general acceptance and tolerance.
· Some people frowned at the project, because they thought it seemed irrelevant to their lives.

In conclusion, there seemed to be obvious support for the project with people wanting to join the campaign and end the prejudice and discrimination affecting so many on our.