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Community Media 4 Kenya is a team of community media students from the University of Brighton's School of Media, For the past 7 years we have  been working to develop a partnership with a range of NGOs, CBOs, youth groups and Universities in Kenya to promote the utilisation of information and communication technologies to support social and economic development and empowerment in marginalised communities.

The experienced gained from these activities means that the CM4K partnership is well placed to explore ways in which ICTs can be made accessible so that Kenyan communities can harness the benefits of the digital age to address both basic needs and developing local economies by supporting small businesses, social innovation and entrepreneurs.

To this end we have been developing plans for a Community Media Centre (CMC) facilitated by our Kenyan university partners through the introduction of community media into the curriculum. Over the past 7 years we have been running a range of capacity building workshops and practices to support socio-economic and community development; improve inter/intra-tribal cultural understanding and communications in order to improve the quality of life for marginalised communities in Kenya.

The funds we have raised in recent years have enabled us to provide media equipment and training for our Kenyan partners whilst introducing them to the practices, purpose and goals of community media. Using a training the trainers approach we have succeeded in supporting our civil society partners to use media technologies in support of their outreach activities of giving voices to the voiceless whilst assisting our partner universities, e.g. the media studies degree at the University of Rongo to develop community media courses that  support and encourage both student and community learning through community university learning partnerships.

To this end we are now moving in to the next phase of our partnership programme of community media activities. In September 2016, Dr Peter Day, founder of CM4K, visited Rongo University to run a community media course. Whilst there he met with the District Chief of the Luo lands around Rongo in Migori County to discuss a plan to develop a CMC in that district. The Chief was attracted to the idea and organised a community meeting at the rural location of Cham gi Wadu (meaning share with your neighbours in the local language).

At this meeting community participants discussed the concept of a community media centre and what it might mean to them. They embraced the idea enthusiastically, undertaking to support it in anyway possible. Attended by village elders, a range of women's groups and networks, micro-financiers that support local business development, youth groups, local community development agents, the local police and a number of schools - identified media practice training and education; a community radio station and a mobile media wifi enabled training laboratory (4x4 vehicle ready for purpose) as priorities to support the training of youth; access to community relevant information in rural areas where radio is the appropriate technology - agriculture, education, health, government, crop prices, etc.

Future meetings have been planned for our visit in January when we will discuss the plans in more detail and conduct research to map both the assets and the needs of the community. This will enable us to identify how a community media centre can best serve the needs of the community.

As a result of this meeting this year's CM4K fund raising will be in order to get the processes of capacity and capability building through community media started. Your support will enable us to continue our training the trainers participatory learning workshops programme across the Rongo district but will also provide equipment to support Rongo University and the Cham gi Wadu community in establishing the CMC. Financing the entire project require us to raise around £50,000 but to make a start we need you to support us now with whatever support you can give.

ICTs are central components of modern life and yet, in a world where they are crucial to effective citizenship many Africans are disenfranchised from both access to the technologies and the literacies that enable them to use them effectively. CM4K seeks to help our Kenyan partners address this social and digital exclusion - not by getting them to copy the West but by enabling them to develop cultural sensitive solutions that respect their identities whilst embracing change in a socially responsible and beneficial manner. 

Please help us. Dig deep and donate now.