SOUL CITY

Initial radio and television materials and associated adult education packs
Soul City, a multi-media project using the power of the mass media to promote health and development,  first incorporated child abuse messages into its  television and radio materials in  its first series, which was broadcast in 1994. Episode seven of the weekly television series told the story of a little girl who was being abused by her uncle, whom she stayed with while her parents were out working. When she was found crying by Thandi, who ran the local creche, child abuse was suspected.  An abuse theme was also worked into a daily radio drama.

The television and radio messages primarily covered community messages to raise people’s awareness of child abuse, and encouraged communities to think about how to protect their children from abuse. It also provided a model for empowering individuals and communities to talk about child abuse and its impact on them. The television material was supported by a resource booklet that covered eight priority mother and child care issues, including child abuse. The booklet was seen as a resource for parents, teachers, health workers and other people working with communities around health and social issues.

After the initial materials were developed and distributed, a set of adult education materials was developed. These consist of :

Although the initial materials are based on the mass media stories, they can be used independently of them, and they look at the issues of child abuse in greater depth. While they focus on child sexual abuse, they place the messages in the context of physical and emotional abuse and neglect. The messages in the adult education materials cover the following:

Contact person: Sally Ward,  tel. 011-728-7440; fax 011-728-7442; e-mail sallyw@soulcity.org.za

Soul City Children's Series (Soul Buddies)

The vehicle will initially focus on three key message areas:

These topics will be followed in the next series by topics such as substance abuse, healthy eating and chronic diseases of childhood such as asthma and epilepsy.

In addition the vehicle will establish a caring environment for creative thinking, by ensuring that the following underlying issues are integrated into a framework of children’s rights:

Soul Buddies will consist of

Television  drama (SABC 2, 5 pm).

Soul Buddies is a 26 part, 24 minute television drama, aimed at an audience of 8-12 year old children, with some extension into the early teenage years. The drama will principally be driven by the child characters, with some reference to their families and with an older mentor.

The television drama centres around a group of children who meet up in a park in an urban area after school each day. The group are from varied socio-economic, race and language backgrounds. Each episode will be told from the perspective of one of the group of children in the format of a voice-over narrative. Children will deal with issues that confront them in their everyday life according to the Soul City Children’s Series message brief. 

At the end of each episode there will be a two to three minute ‘reality check’ which will consist of real children commenting on the issues raised in the episode.

Radio

The radio component will consist of forty-five, fifteen minute radio drama and magazine episodes, in  four languages, including parenting advice.The radio series will also be an adventure series in much the same vein as the television. The drama will have a slightly more rural flavour to it. There will also be a section of the series which will encourage interaction by having a write-in section with a young person facilitating the answers. A section with a discussion group and a section on parenting issues will also be included.

Print material 

The print material ( a 112 page book) will be distributed in all schools in South Africa  and will take the form of interactive activities which will fit into the curriculum 2005, aimed at grade 7. The materials will be useful in language development, in the human sciences part of the curriculum and in the lifeskills section.  They will be high quality and use the popularity of the mass media stories to gain access and the attention of the children.

A parenting booklet, like the other Soul City adult booklets, will be made available at the same time, through various channels. 

 Contact person: Dr Sue Goldstein, tel. 011-728-7440; fax 011-728-7442; e-mail  suegold@icon.co.za

Copyright SASPCAN 1999 - 2003.  Last updated 19 August 2003 . 
For queries about SASPCAN please mail saspcan@absamail.co.za