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Rachel Awuor Adipo wins this year’s George Atkins Communications Award!

Rachel Awuor Adipo of the Ugunja Community Resource Centre (UCRC), a Farm Radio International partner since 2005, is the winner of the 2008 George Atkins Communications Award. Each year, the George Atkins award is presented to a Farm Radio partner who demonstrates a commitment to food security and excellence in radio broadcasting. UCRC is located in the Siaya District of western Kenya. Rachel has been a prolific script producer, writing an impressive six scripts for Farm Radio over the last few years. In 2006, her script, Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women, was a winner of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) scriptwriting competition. This year, her script, Farmers Can Prepare for Changing Weather Patterns, was a winner of the Climate Change Adaptation for Smallholder Farmers scriptwriting competition. Rachel has written four other scripts for Farm Radio International, including: Cooperative Farm Labour: Many Hands Make Work Easier and Storing Cowpea Seeds for a Season and a Reason. UCRC is looking forward to launching a community radio station in the near future, which will help the organization fulfill its mission of “facilitating sustainable development in the community through networking and knowledge exchange.”

An interview with Rachel Awuor Adipo

Rachel came to Ottawa, Canada, in November to attend a ceremony where she received the 2008 George Atkins Communications Award. Farm Radio International’s Development Communication Coordinator, Blythe McKay, interviewed Rachel about winning the award:

Blythe: What does winning this award mean to you?

Rachel: Winning this award means a lot. I feel that the work of my hands is bearing fruits that can be seen not only by my organization but across the globe.

Blythe: What do you think about your visit to Canada?

Rachel: My visit to Canada is like a blessing. I have been able to meet many people. Many have been to Kenya and understand the situation there. I can have an audience with which I can share what we do. Through this, whoever wants to join us [UCRC] to help volunteer or support us, can do that.

Blythe: How will winning this award motivate you in your work?

Rachel: I feel really energized. It motivated me from when I first heard that I received an award. Now that I have it in hand, it is evidence. Even if I die, people will see what kind of achievement I’ve made. I’m going to put more effort into our radio project initiative.

Blythe: What message do you have for radio broadcasters and others in our network?

Rachel: Everybody can! Just keep the candle of using radio as a tool for development in the community alight!