Other-Wise participants

Babalwa Nani

Babalwa editing on the computer

I engaged myself with Other-Wise a while ago. We would go out and do some video shoots together. I showed Kali and Davide where we used to hang out and sleep at night at the time when I was a street kid trying to find my way in the world. It was interesting doing this documentary.

It wasn't long before I became involved in the Other-Wise radio training Project. I began by learning how to use a field recorder. I recorded my life story of how I survived on the streets of Cape Town. I also interviewed   other women and girls who shared their lives on the streets with me.

I went on very well learning the processes of interviewing, logging, editing and from editing to distributing and marketing of the programmes. I was very excited to do the programmes especially working on the computer. At first I was slow because I didn't know the process so well. I had to learn the programme step by step. It was exciting doing the sound and music effects for the programme. I have finished a series of three programmes. I would like to explore more of this "create your own job". This is my way for the future.

Other Work

For Woman's Day I recorded some vox pops and I was also invited to give input about the event in a live radio broadcasting. In the studio I saw how to do reel to reel editing. I was also a sound assistant for a documentary about two kids living on the street called "Scars". The Gender and Communications course from Media Watch taught me a lot and I would be grateful to give input to the next course that will be taking place. I have done recordings for Media Watch on women's issues and events that took place in parliament and in the community. I also helped to facilitate workshops with young women and youth living on the street about Aids.

Plans for the Future

I want to work very hard so that I can earn money to support myself in future. I want to create something out of myself in the coming years so that I can be proud of myself and believe in myself.

Felix Grove

Felix out on the streets recording

As a kid I used to believe that being part of the media meant having power. It is true, the media is a powerful tool to influence people's way of thinking and it contributes to the way we see ourselves as well as other peoples images that are represented.

South Africa's media has formed part of the "make believe" world. Issues from townships of rural areas are reported on for one minute but the shoes of a politician makes headlines. You ask yourself, what are the important issues and why don't we see or hear our own faces and voices in the media. All in all - Power over the media means having money which puts you in a position of ownership.

Mainstream media is owned by white males who decide what makes the media. With Other-Wise you decide what issues are important to a community. We produce and edit our own radio programmes with the help of fundraising. In creating these programmes, we train people in the basic radio skills in order to develop independent media producers.

Our programmes look at women's issues especially those living on the street. We have produced a series of programmes and this year we will continue with the focus on women's issues. In this field you tend to build up contacts which in turn allows you to explore other aspects beyond radio like video and print.Seeing that we used sound in our programmes, it was interesting to learn that it applies to both radio and video. This I discovered while I was working as a sound assistant for a documentary called "Scars". All the radio programmes we produce were edited on a computer using a simple programme called Software Audio Workshop (SAW Classic). Our skills enable us to work with established radio stations.

Future

I had a chance at presenting and feel that next year it would be nice to have my own show. Radio in general is a powerful tool to distribute information because most South African households have one.

I am passing on my skills on in the underdeveloped areas of the Western Cape through training programmes Other-Wise is running in correctional institutions. By training other women it allows them to tell their own stories as well as makes them aware of how the media influences them. It feels good to be a role model and empower other young women. It makes me think that in five years time there will be more women in the industry opening up the way and making relevant media"

Message

My message to the youth is: "Let your voices be heard".

Charmaine Carrol

Charmaine with her daughter Lynne recording at a creche

I was first introduced to Other-Wise in 1996. I worked with a group of girls from Ons Plek. We did a series of programmes: "Nontlupeko", "The Break Through Girls" and "The Street Educators". During that time I learnt how to work with people also finishing what I started. I was very Interested so I carried on the following year to work with Other-Wise(1997). We sat down to write proposals. We each had a copy of the proposal. One day Kali said we were going to see the person who is funding our work but we had already started with the recordings. We went to meet Jean from the Open Society. I was at first scared but when she started speaking I felt at ease. She is a very nice person and it was a pleasure meeting her.

Idea

The reason why I chose Iintsomi Programme was because I feel that our culture seems to be fading away. Our grannies these days never tell us iintsomi. there are different reasons why some of the grannies don't tell these stories: some have forgotten them, television also plays a major role today, the family's spare time these days is spent in the living room in front of the TV.

I want our culture to survive if we communicated better then we would know each other better. What is better than telling iintsomi. The children in those days knew if they go somewhere or next-door they would not steal or do something wrong because they knew there was going to be a punishment, something scary would happen to them. I think if we communicated this way than the rate of street kids would be fewer. Iintsomi are stories told by grandmothers just before bedtime these stories could be things that happened long ago and are told from generation to generation. It is also a form of communication between the whole family.

The training and making of the programme

The training was very interesting and tiring . We had to know exactly what we are working with e.g. the four track mixer we had to know the field recorder when and how to decrease or increase the volume . Getting contacts and phoning the people to make appointments. We also travelled to the Transkei to get some stories   which was fun until the equipment got moist and we could not record for that day, one set back for the day. The transport was terrible we could not go to as much places because off transport the day we were returning from Enxabaxa we had to walk to the main road and still wait an hour for a hike. We did manage to come with our stories .When we sit and talk about the trip to Transkei we can laugh for hours.

Other projects

At this moment I have just passed my matric at cape college. This year I am doing marketing management n4 at the Cape College.   I am also a member of Media Watch. I also sometimes take the minutes of the meetings that we have and type them out .I joined Media Watch because I am very interested in the representation of women in the media. I will be interested in taking part in their next course as I missed the last Gender and communication course.

Plans for the future

My plans for this year is to do a programme on Gay and Lesbian rights and what the community thinks about them. This will include a radio drama. It's time they let their voices be heard too. I also plan to pass the course that I am doing in Marketing Management with flying colours. I believe this course and this knowledge that I have about radio productions will take me somewhere some day soon.  My plans for the future also include being the best mother to my daughter LYNNE who is 2 years.

MY ADVICE TO YOUGSTERS IS IF YOU SET YOUR MIND TO DOING SOMETHING YOU CAN DO IT , MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Charmaine recording Iintsomi (children's tales) with grandmothers at an old age home

Updates

The young women trained by Other-Wise have continued to be actively involved in media. They have broadened their abilties to include many different skills besides from the inspiration and confidence from learning radio skills.

Felix Grove completed a video camera and lighting course given by CVET and Ubuntu Productions. Using her new skills acting as second camera for "Dead Time" on e tv and was camera assistant for an educational drama for the Cancer Association "Nokwezi's Story". She has continued to do the sound recording on Other-Wise documentaries , she was the sound person for "Doing it!" as well as for "Who's News?" She now work full time in the television industry as a sound person and assistant for "Shoot the Breeze" productions who produce the television programme "Free Spirit" for the SABC.

Babalwa Nani had spent a significant amount of her life living on the streets, on and off over a period of four years. The radio training inspired her to get off the streets. She lived for a long while at a shelter for gay and lesbian youth in Khayelitsha run by the Triangle Project. While living there she was brutally, although not fatally, stabbed by a homophobic person in the community. Afterwards she went to live with her estranged mother for a while but has since then disappeared and we have lost contact with her.

Charmaine Carrol worked for a film and television production company, Idol Pictures, for a year. She mastered a variety of skills from secretarial work to voice over, computer editing, logging and even catering. She has attended further radio training courses held at Bush Radio including a radio drama workshop given by Vuleka Productions. Through being part of the drama group "In Touch", a project of Umanyano which represents black lesbians in the Western Cape, she is exploring her acting talents further. Their educational theatre has been well received and they have performed at various venues around the Cape. Charmaine worked for an organisation CRED (creative education with youth at risk) running their media and life skills programme with young women incarcerated in Pollsmoor Prison. She now manages a restuarant "The News Cafe" and is a caring and supportive mom to Lynne her daughter who is now 10 years old.

We encourage the talents and resourcefulness of these young women as they make their way into the world.