Talking Drum Studio - Jujay

The objective of Jujay is to deepen the discussion and analysis around children's rights and responsibilities with children, adults, and policymakers alike.

Talking Drum Studio in Liberia has been engaged in kids' media programming since 2002. Golden Kids News, one of the first TDS radio programs, is a news and issues program that is identified, reported, and partially produced by kids. It engages children of mixed background who serve as producers, cub reporters, and presenters who identify issues for and about children and advocated on their behalf. Golden Kids News remains one of the most popular programs of TDS.

As this kids program developed raising the issues of children, it became increasingly difficult for the cub reporters to explore the critical issues in communities, as they are vulnerable to pressure from within their homes, classroom, and community. Drama is one of the popular ways of transmitting information that is talked about publicly and protects the identity of individuals raising the issues. Therefore, another program was created to explore these critical issues. Jujay, and its sister program Olu in Sierra Leone, are written by young playwrights who share with the cub reporters the sensitive issues they find in communities.

Jujay is a Bassa word for child's business. The story is about three young children, Wisseh (10), Miatta (11), and Ayee (13), who are siblings from a very poor home. The dominant conflict in the home is that the mother only recognizes her own two children and not her stepchild, Ayee, who has no mother to protect her. Wisseh works at the markets to raise money for his schooling, and Miattta is sponsored by a neighbor. This common Liberian story of discrimination against Ayee and the children's struggle to find the ways and means to go to school is interwoven with the protection issues that are particularly relevant in Liberia today.

The Jujay program is shared with community radio stations. After each episode airs, the cub reporters from Golden Kids then host a round table discussion on the issues raised by the program. These discussions include panelists from the community, such as teachers, parents, local leaders, and other kids.

Click here to listen to episodes of Jujay.

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