Why we initiated the Hope Rising radio campaign —First Bank

The need to sensitise the public to the plight of people with Down Syndrome and engender positive social transformation has been identified by a major player in the nation’s financial landscape, First Bank Nigeria Plc, as one of its reasons for coming up with Hope Rising Radio Series, a 13-episode radio campaign.

The radio series, which ran for 13 weeks on different radio stations, according to the bank’s   Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Folake Alli-Mumuney, was designed to give hope and add value to its diverse stakeholders.

The series, which began on September 2nd, 2014 and ran for over 13 weeks, she explained, had its focus on Down Syndrome, with the hope of highlighting the challenges of Down Syndrome and exploring efforts at combating the disorder, through advocacy and public enlightenment.

She explained that the Down Syndrome disorder was selected by the bank, based on its enduring partnership with the Down Syndrome Foundation which began in 2009.

According to her, the Foundation was established in 2001 to champion the cause of people living with Down Syndrome but have not been able to effectively tackle the misconceptions associated with the disorder, due to the little knowledge the public has about the disorder.

Some of the objectives of the show, Alli-Mumuney explained, include engaging stakeholders such as government in promoting awareness, advocacy and education regarding the Down Syndrome disorder, as well as developing and nurturing a culture that promotes the employment of preventive measures, as well as the importance of treatment of down syndrome.

For instance, all the episodes educate the listeners on the disorder through the different characters used in the drama series. Greg and Maryam, the major characters in the first episode of the series, typify the average Nigerian couple through which most of the information about the disorder is disseminated.

Through the couple, the listener is informed that contrary to widely-held notion about Down Syndrome being a disease, it is actually a genetic condition that causes delays in the way the child develops both mentally and physically.

Interestingly, besides demystifying the disorder, the radio drama series also educates the listener on the need to go for regular check ups so as to ascertain the health status of the unborn child on time.

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