CCJP trains communities in citizen journalism

Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) in Chikwawa has trained communities in citizen journalism reporting, with a call to document health rights violations and ensure transparency and accountability in public health facilities.

The call was made on Tuesday in Traditional Authority (T/A) Ndakwera during a daylong workshop some Area Development Committee (ADC) members attended.

Chikwawa CCJP diocesan secretary Lewis Msiyadungu said grass roots journalists play a vital role in exposing corruption and fostering accountability at a community level; hence, the training.

“We have given them a task to report critical issues, particularly on the health sector and they are supposed to make quarterly reports to us,” he said.

Msiyandungu said plans are underway to extend the training to other T/As in the district.

“So far, we have engaged 25 community members in citizen journalism here in Ndakwera and we are determined to scale up our efforts across the district,” he said. 

One of the participants, Esther Singano from Singano Village in the area, said the training was timely.

“We have gained new skills in reporting and tracking activities at the health facility. We will impart the same to the local community here,” she said. 

Apart from being trained in citizen journalism, the team also underwent a public expenditure tracking session.

CCJP is piloting a one-year project called enhancing citizens’ participation with funding from the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa.