Informing Pakistanis about Life after the Earthquake

The 8th October 2005 earthquake killed more than 73,000 people and left 3.5 million homeless in northern Pakistan. Since then a group of ten radio reporters have worked tirelessly to cover the disaster and relief reconstruction effort. On 18th April 2006 – six months after the quake – the team broadcast their 150th show.

Currently broadcast by seven emergency FM radio stations in the earthquake zone and several other stations in Pakistan , the show is heard in many of the cities, towns and villages badly affected by the earthquake. These include Mansehra, Batagram and Balakot in the North West Frontier Province and Muzaffarabad, Bagh and Rawalkot regions in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

With a bent on instilling hope and a ‘news you can use' format, the aim of the programme is to provide accurate and impartial humanitarian information to help people make decisions about their future. Such information is vital in countering many of the rumours and myths that circulate in the absence of formal communication lines. One of the first Jazba-e-Tameer programmes explained the science of earthquakes to counter rumours that the quake was divine punishment.

Other stories have focused on tent schools, life in refugee camps and the specific needs of women in the wake of the disaster. There have been stories on spinal injuries, amputations and where to find help.

There are uplifting tales such as the story of Samard Tariq, who has been a parapalegic for 14 years. Sarmad survived the quake and took part in the New York City marathon in an effort to raise funds for earthquake affectees.

Each 60-minute programme is followed by an hour-long call-in programme in which affected people discuss relief and reconstruction issues. The journalists also provide relief organizations with vital feedback from affected communities.

Internews is also conducting a series of week-long trainings in humanitarian reporting for emergency broadcast stations to build local journalism capacity and include more local voices in the Jazba-e-Tameer radio program.

The current programme is produced by Internews, an international NGO that supports media development worldwide and funded by Britain 's Department for International Development (DFID).