Calvin Edwards and Company (Atlanta, GA) completed their evaluation of our project among the Samburu people in northwest Kenya.
Their conclusion: “The project was highly successful. Both men and women listened to the MT4 players and learned from the messages. Knowledge, attitudes, and behavior showed remarkable changes.”
Calvin Edwards and Company identified several success factors:
1. The MT4 players were distributed by pastors who viewed the project as very congruent with their ministry and thus were highly motivated.
2. The content was contextualized effectively. Credibility was established within the messages by identifying with the Samburu world-view and communicating using their language, cultural stories, idioms, proverbs, etc.
3. The programming was developed in a way that “bridged” the cultural/religious chasm.
4. The content was not “talking head” monologue; it was creatively programmed to entertain, hold the listener’s attention, and instruct.
5. The messages were designed to be interactive and encourage listener interaction, this increasing enjoyment and learning.
6. The Kenyan partners assembled a quality team of managers and distributors.
We will unpack their evaluation and findings and report more on them in later postings. A copy of the executive summary of the evaluation can be downloaded from our website.
