The MDG Fellowship Scheme - Fellows' experiences

Between March and June 2008, the One World Broadcasting Trust, together with TVE (Television Trust for the Environment), supported five broadcasters to go to developing countries and explore projects relating to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). All of the fellows have now returned - read below to find out where they went, what they did, and the reporting and programme making they have done since coming back.

Anna Lacey 

Anna spent five weeks in Rwanda and investigated whether it is possible to have development and conservation together – or will the environment lose out if a greater emphasis is put on projects that directly benefit people? During her stay she visited many regions of the country and interviewed all types of people, from villagers and conservation officers to politicians and representatives from international organisations.

Among other places, she went to Butare, in the South, which is known as the intellectual centre of Rwanda; and Ruhengeri, in the North, home of the mountain gorillas that were made famous by Dian Fossey. In Ruhengeri she spent time with Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, an organisation that aims to conserve the natural environment while bringing home the benefits of its projects to local people. Since her trip, Anna has produced features and reports for BBC Radio 4, the World Service, and Deutsche Welle.

Read an interview with Anna to find out more about her time in Rwanda

Huub Ruigrok

Huub went to Sierra Leone, and was based with the organisation Environmental Foundation for Africa (EFA), which has started a campaign to raise awareness of environmental issues in that country. Huub has known the organisation since 2006, when he set up an audiovisual studio in its office and trained some of its members.

The fellowship allowed Huub to help EFA set up this new campaign, which is called SOTE – State of the Environment. Working together, their aim was to locally produce a TV series of about 12 episodes on environmental issues in Sierra Leone. As well as broadcasting the series, they plan to distribute it among key decision makers, including politicians and donors.

Huub also worked with EFA to make a pilot progamme on land degradation. This involved travelling to various parts of the country and filming mining and logging activities, unsustainable agriculture techniques, and even a group of villagers and local chiefs who were promised a school but had so far received nothing. Huub is also working towards broadcasting the pilot programme in the Netherlands.

Paulina Tervo

Paulina focussed on the MDG concerning gender equality and women’s empowerment, by visiting a small community called Awra Amba in northwest Ethiopia. She writes:

"Awra Amba has in recent years had a lot of attention thanks to its progressive ideas of gender equality. My aim was to paint a positive picture of a country that usually only receives media attention when a disaster happens. I’m producing a 30-minute documentary about the lives of people living in the community. My main characters are a 50-year old woman (the village café-keeper) and her daughter who had recently moved in with her. Through their stories, I learned tremendously about the hardships and inequalities women and girls face in this region of Ethiopia, dominated by lack of education and reproductive rights. I was also shocked to learn how common violence towards women is. Since moving to Awra Amba, their lives have improved dramatically and they are able to get on with fulfilling their potential.

The brilliance of Awra Amba comes partly from being established by a man, who wanted to improve conditions for women and who believes that all humans are equal. I was very impressed and touched by how a small, home-grown community founded by mainly illiterate farmers has had such an impact on people’s attitudes and become a model for gender equality in Ethiopia."

Rafael Estefania

Rafael spent time in the Hansala region of northern Morocco, home to large numbers of people who try to cross the Straits of Gibraltar and reach Spain. Many of those who attempt this illegal immigration are now dying, and among other people, he spoke to natives of Hansala who had been directly affected by this growing humanitarian crisis. He also spent time with the NGO Solidaridad Directa, which aims to tackle the circumstances that create the need for illegal immigration.

Rafael has worked on features for BBC News Online, as well as content for the BBC Spanish Americas section, and articles for Prodigy, Mexico's biggest website.

Nadene Ghouri

Nadene went to Afghanistan to investigate the effects of rising crime rates on ordinary Afghans, a topic which is often neglected in the war on terror. She wanted to focus on development goal 8, which explores good governance – in Nadene’s view this is the most complex, difficult, but important of the MDGs, and only with that in place can the other MDGs have any hope of success.

Nadene has since made reports for BBC Radio 5 Live, and has been commissioned to go back to Afghanistan by a major national newspaper.