We work across themes, regions, and sectors with national and international partners with a diverse range of missions and objectives. In the past two decades, DBI EA has reached all provinces and almost all districts of Nepal with community engagement, advocacy, awareness, and social behavior change communication projects. Our works include virtual campaigning to in-person training, public hearings to studio debates, media content productions to capacity building of media organizations, and storytelling to mass media campaigns based on facts, data, and verified information.
Here are some of the significant projects we have completed so far:
SUAAHARA II-Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) Campaign
Hellen Keller International (May 2016 - April 2023)
DBI EA is a consortium partner Suaahara II a seven-year (May 2016 to April 2023) program funded by USAID Nepal which is dedicated to improving the health and nutrition status of women and children who fall within the 1000 days, from conception until the child reaches 24 months of age. As a part of the project, DBI EA has actively participated in designing the Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) strategy of the Suaahara II project with other consortium partners. ‘Bhanchhin Aama’ (Mother Says – in English) is a mass media component in the form of a weekly radio program of this project has been produced by DBI EA. DBI EA has been producing magazine-format radio programs every week in Doteli, Awadhi and Nepali language. These programs go on air through 140 FM stations over 42 districts including National Radio.
- It is a public health-themed radio magazine program and outreach initiatives
- The team works very closely with National Health Education, Information and Communication Centre (NHEICC) to produce radio programs and design outreach and communication materials
- It has been produced in multiple local languages by the local radios themselves with oversight from DBI EA
- All partner local radios and their staff have been capacitated through training workshops on radio skills as well as thematic skills
In addition to the radio program, DBI EA also prepared radio spots/PSAs (multilingual) based on the priority behavior and graphical work such as stickers, posters, banners, T-shirt/bag/cap printing, etc. Similarly, DBI EA produced TV PSAs and the TV series named ‘Sunhara Safar’ (21 episodes) based on the priority key behaviours broadcasted from local television of Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Banke and Kailali districts and available on YouTube. Social media campaigns also have been done through Facebook page named BhanchhinAama (having 57,476 followers and 6.6 million reach) containing regular posts like short videos, posters, live radio programs, etc.
Besides the regular communication campaign, to cater the audiences’ response DBI EA deployed IVR and SMS system for feedback mechanism from the radio listeners, send periodic SMS messages to thousand days’ mothers (above 650,000 beneficiaries) according to the stages of the thousand days and cluster wise data collection at every month through IVR surveys to the 825 Field supervisor regarding the radio discussion group reporting and profile of participants. WASH messaging have been prioritized as key messaging in the content of this programming, where thousand days’ family members are encouraged to practice hand washing, along with other health and sanitation related behaviours and practices.
Hamro Samman Communication Campaign
Winrock International (USAID and UKaid) Nov 2020 - June 2022
DBI EA partnered with Winrock International to execute Communication Campaign for Hamro Samman project focused on Trafficking in Person (TIP). Its goal is to reduce the prevalence of TIP in 10 selected districts of Nepal, using the ‘4Ps’ framework- Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Partnership. DBI EA is undertaking communication campaign in three different phases, namely – Development of Strategy and Framework of Campaign, Content Production and Pretesting & Dissemination. In addition, DBI EA also conducted desk review around communication and awareness campaign in terms of the labor trafficking and exploitation in the foreign labor migration sector and in entertainment sector. Under this project, DBI EA carried out multilingual Radio program & Radio PSA production & dissemination, Produced IEC materials such as posters, leaflets and stickers, designed and disseminated 120 social media posts, Video PSAs and newspaper/online advertorials to contribute towards sub-objective of Hamro Samman project, i.e. “raise public awareness and foster safe migration and safe employment in the entertainment sector with GoN, CSO and private sector partnerships.
Community Sensitization and Advocacy on LF, VL & COVID-19 Program Activities in Nepal
DFID/Crown Agents (August 01, 2020 - December 31, 2021)
DBI EA has partnered with Accelerating the Suitable Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases – ASCEND program under DFID/Crown Agents to undertake Community Sensitization and Advocacy on LF and VL Program Activities in Nepal. DBI EA has undertaken communication and outreach activities namely school health education sessions, road crying, radio programs and media campaign for advocacy and awareness raising of Neglected Tropical Diseases and Social Audit targeting 74 districts of Nepal. DBI EA produced 24 episodes of high-quality interactive radio magazines with the effective modality of broadcasting, two versions of PSAs (Public Service Announcements) in each theme ie LF, VL and COVID-19 and translated into 10 regional languages of Nepal including broadcast over above mentioned period from 30 strategic geographic location in addition to Radio Nepal Network and Kantipur FM Network.
Raising Public Awareness of Early Grade Reading through Regional and National Radios
RTI Early Grade Reading/USAID (July 01, 2016 - March 31, 2020)
Public Awareness of Early Grade Reading through Regional and National Radios’ by engaging with the public with behavior change communication (BCC) and outreach tools with a monitoring, evaluation and research component with the support of RTI/USAID from 2016 to 2020. DBI EA developed SBCC radio content named ‘ramailo padhai, digo sikai, kachhya ek duii tiin ka baalbaalika laii’. This composite radio program contained three formats namely, Tips for Teacher (TfT), Drama (DR), and Guest Reader (GR) as respective segments. The composite program of 15 minutes was designed by having five minutes of each segments respectively. The produced radio programs and PSAs were disseminated through radio networks namely Radio Nepal and Kantipur FM along with 29 local radio stations that existed over those 16 districts. During the period, several orientation meetings were organized with education authorities. Besides that, four versions of PSAs targeted to Parents and Teachers were also developed in Nepali languages. These PSAs were translated into 10 local languages namely, Awadhi, Nepal Bhasa (Newari), Rana Tharu, Gurung, Maithili, Bardiya Tharu, Doteli, Dang Tharu, Lhowa, and Bhojpuri. Furthermore, DBI EA developed the Android app named ‘Ramailo Padhai‘. Through the IVR system, a recorded SBCC program was deployed to the stakeholders (parents, teachers, district representatives) in targeted 16 districts. Over 50,000 SMS were sent out with positive Behavior Change Communication (BCC) messages to stakeholders (parents, teachers, district representatives) in targeted 16 districts.
Support Truth-telling Efforts and Promote the Women, Peace and Security agenda
UN Women (2018-2020)
DBI EA partnered with UN Women to create an enabling and stigma-free environment and to encourage conflict victims to speak up about their experiences and abuses to end impunity through Intergenerational dialogues (IGD) and storytelling and radio programs at the provincial level. The Intergenerational dialogue created a platform to come together with the dialogue between school and college students, youth groups, the elderly, conflict-affected women & children, political parties, government officials, CSOs, religious leaders and other key stakeholders. The project engaged with around 1200 people through IGDs, including male, female and LGBTIQ. The project, with the support of the UN Women’s international consultant on IGD, strengthened the capacity of 30 participants through the training of trainers (TOT) to develop skills in facilitating IGD. The participants were from diverse groups from different gender, caste and ethnicity, conflict survivors, people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer), people with disability and single women’s group.
The project also engaged with 11 conflict survivor women and girls and built their capacities by helping them enhance their confidence and raise awareness on conflict issues throughout the process of digital storytelling. The activities are carried out in two phases; phase I- 21 September 2018 to 31 March 2019 and phase II- 23 May 2019 to 31 July 2020. The radio series named Samata were broadcasted through strategic 21 local FM stations located in seven provinces and the podcasting too from SoundCloud. Toll-free IVR and SMS were deployed for feedback collection.
Saathi Sanga Man ka Kura (SSMK)
UNICEF
Under the funding of UNICEF Nepal, DBI EA has been implementing Saathi Sanga Man ka Kura (SSMK) since 2004. The goal of SSMK is to inform, educate and capacitate adolescents and other stakeholders in the survival, protection, participation and development of the rights of children and adolescents and women for social change by using a 45-minute weekly radio show. SSMK radio program covers many issues in health such as Sexual & Reproductive Health (SRHR), education, psychological issues among many others along with the life skills component. SSMK aims at providing a platform for young boys and girls to raise concerns and questions including mental health and psychosocial issues that they are too shy or embarrassed to talk about with their parents, teachers, or even peers. By discussing these issues on air, and imparting life skills on issues about safe behaviours, SSMK seeks to break the silence surrounding these hitherto taboo topics. In addition of broadcasting from more than 250 FM stations and national Radio networks, the program also has been podcasting since 2017 through SoundCloud and sharing through social media sites like Facebook and YouTube too in video format.
National Media Partner
International Office of Migration (IOM)
Duration: 01 Aug to 14 Dec’22
Under this project, DBI EA undertook the production and broadcast of 60 captivating radio episodes, each meticulously crafted to engage and inform the public about the invaluable contributions of migrants in their places of origin. Through these episodes, we aimed to elevate awareness regarding the rights and responsibilities of migrants, shedding light on the efforts dedicated to their well-being in Nepal. Additionally, we also developed Public Service Announcements (PSAs) in Nepali, the principal language, and adapted them into five cluster languages: Maithili, Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Tamang, and Doteli. This initiative ensured that crucial information reaches diverse communities, fostering greater understanding and support for migrant rights and welfare across the nation.
Parenting without Violence
Save The Children (KIRDARC & Everest Club Dailkeh)
Duration: 14 June-30 August, 2022
DBI EA has completed a series of impactful project activities aimed at enhancing the well-being of children aged 0 to 3 years and their caregivers. Through a Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) approach, we meticulously developed 10 curriculum-based radio drama sessions, tailored specifically for parents and caregivers. These sessions draw upon a wealth of knowledge from existing resource materials, including the comprehensive training package provided by Save The Children International (SCI). Carefully crafting storylines and dialogues, we integrated key messages and evidence-based insights on topics such as Parenting Without Violence (PWV), early stimulation, and health and nutrition. Additionally, to amplify these crucial messages, we produced 16 Interactive Voice Response (IVR) push messages, each delivering concise yet impactful content derived from SCI’s training package. Through these efforts, we aim to empower caregivers with essential knowledge and skills, nurturing healthier and happier outcomes for children and families alike.
Development of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Digital Trainings
Netherlands Development Organization (SNV)
Duration: o1 Nov’21 to 31 March’22
DBI EA has completed a series of impactful project activities in collaboration with SNV Nepal. Initially, a comprehensive work plan was meticulously crafted to guide the implementation of digital, low-cost training initiatives. These efforts culminated in the development and delivery of specialized training programs, tailored to address Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) protocols, as well as protocols relevant to schools and health centers. With a firm commitment to inclusivity, DBI EA ensured that Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) considerations and disability-inclusive approaches were integrated into both the development and delivery phases of the training medium. For instance, GESI aspects outlined in the Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) were thoughtfully reflected in the content and delivery of the training sessions. Furthermore, DBI EA formulated a strategic and detailed implementation plan, delineating the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders involved in conducting the trainings. This meticulous planning ensured the seamless execution of the training programs, utilizing the developed tools and mediums effectively to benefit 1552 participants.