When you made a donation to our "Send a Radio" appeal you may have hoped your contribution would go towards sending a radio to an area in need of receiving life-saving information.  It did.  We were thrilled to be able to send 1,000 radios to Sierra Leone for distrubion to priority communities affected by the Ebola virus.  International NGO's, radio stations, famous musicians, local communities, health workers, grass roots organisations -  all were involved in various responses to the outbreak, many using media to raise awareness and help combat the virus.

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Our little radios, supplied by Lifeline Energy and distributed by our partner Tearfund's church network, went out to villages across Sierra Leone so people in remote and rural areas had access to vital information.  

But what did this potentially life-saving media sound like?  

We've picked 3 of our favourite media segments used to inform people about Ebola:

1.  Oxfam - Ebola Radio Jingle

A short and excellent accessible message with a song at the end that lists various risks to infection such as eating bushmeat or not touching people who have died from Ebola. Make sure to listen right the way through, as the song gets into full swing at 1m20s:    

2.  BBC Media Action’s Mr Plan-Plan and the Pepo-oh   

Capturing situations and characters familiar to West Africans, a team at the fantastic BBC Media Action used drama to get across information about Ebola, making it an easy and engaging way for radio to deliver advice about prevention.  

3.  We Survive  - #ISurvivedEbola

We just love this song.  Popular Liberian artists, Takun J, Angie Tonton, Peaches, Deng and JB collaborated to celebrate the resilience of Ebola survivors and West Africa.  #ISurvivedEbola is a multi-dimensional communications campaign that uses entertainment media to inform, engage, and empower audiences to tackle Ebola.  It is a refreshing change to the international narrative of fear that often accompanies Ebola.  This song captures the strength and resilience of West Africans as they sing about overcoming the virus. 

(Commissioned by campaign partners the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation/Vulcan Productions, implemented by PCI Media Impact in collaboration with UNICEF.) 

Published: 9th December 2015