Using a mix of radio and digital content to train young learners in rural areas

Outlook Humanitarian Care Initiative (OHCI) from Nigeria has developed ‘Interactive Audio Instruction’, a mixture of radio and digital platform for distance learning. The educational offering is aimed particularly at women, young people, and children both with and without disabilities.

In 2015 the Outlook Humanitarian Care Initiative (OHCI), an NGO based in Aba, Nigeria, developed Interactive Audio Instruction (IAI), a mix of radio-broadcasting and a digital innovation platform for remote learning. IAI targets vulnerable women, youth, and children both with and without disabilities to provide education and develop skills. IAI encourages interaction between teachers and students, and subjects include digital skills and entrepreneurship. In 2022, IAI had users in all 36 states of Nigeria.

Problems Targeted

Families living in poverty, remote communities, and unstable environments such as conflict zones often have limited access to education and training.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

Between 2020 and 2022 the OCHI project has implemented interactive audio instruction (IAI) programmes throughout Nigeria, delivering high-quality education to children through storytelling literature as well as through lessons that provide guidance to teachers and students. OCHI predominantly uses broadcast radio to convey lessons, though multimedia content is also created in mobile, video, and software formats to increase the ability of teachers, administrators, and parents to offer customized material to students of all ages. OHCI focuses its work on vulnerable children, women, and young girls, supporting them to manage the challenges they face regarding violence, sexual and reproductive rights, child marriage, and drug addiction. Moreover, the broadcasts serve as an educational tool in areas where school facilities are not available. OHCI’s IAI programmes have reached over 100 million learners and hundreds of thousands of facilitators.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

OHCI funding in 2020 was $60,000 through private donors and other fundraising activities. The organization raises income from the sale of storybooks for children as well. Other support partners include the organizations Girls Not Brides and the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children. Going forward, OHCI plans to scale up and replicate IAI in other countries, with particular focus on supporting children and girls in pursuing careers in the tech sector. This includes six vocational training providers in different parts of Nigeria that will provide ICT training, business development skills, and mentoring. OHCI also plans to work with the government to expand early childhood learning.

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THE STORY OF ABRAHAM VICTOR CHIDIEBUEBE, A USER OF THE OUTLOOK HUMANITARIAN CARE INITIATIVE RADIO PROGRAMME

“I was able to study online through the radio.”

My Name is Abraham Victor Chidiebuebe and I am a 14-year-old student at Osusu Community Secondary School in Aba Abia State, Nigeria. I have been living with disabilities from childhood, and I am one of the students from the school who has benefited from the Outlook Humanitarian Care Initiative (OHCI) radio programme. OHCI gave me a small transistor radio, which was especially useful during the peak of COVID-19, when lockdowns restricted movement. I was able to study online through the radio. Learning became more accessible to me and others like me who need education most, living in low-income rural areas. The radio programmes not only addressed issues of education but also touched on topics such as empowerment and gender equality training. I could study in English and local languages, guided by an instructor. This mobilized the community to listen to the radio as well, encouraging us to come together informally to share ideas on issues affecting us all. OHCI provided very accessible and affordable tools for young learners like me to understand real-world constraints, both inside and outside the classroom.