By Divania Timmal
The JDD-CMP course has been very educational for me, as I was exposed to a form of journalism that I had not encountered previously. We interacted with people from the township and learnt a lot about them and the problems they face on a daily basis. Although most of their grievances were too serious for us to deal with (eg. RDP housing and the lack of water), we did attempt to expose the shocking situations that they lived in.
Our aim was to get the community to create sustainable solutions to some of their problems. For example, since children often had nothing to do and therefore resorted to alcohol or crime, our group decided to host a soccer tournament. Although we organised the day and time, it was up to community members to come together and form teams. It was a huge success, proving that the community is able to unite. Our hope is that these soccer tournaments become a regular weekend activity in the township, therefore providing the youth with a form of recreation.
The writers' articles will be published in Grocott's Mail. This will reach a huge audience, and we hope that the problems we brought up in the stories receive the attention they deserve.
I think that it important for journalists to engage with the community and allow them to set the news agenda. In this way, the stories that are actually important to them are given a forum. It was challenging to earn the trust of the community as they are very wary of student journalists. However, I think we were successful in establishing relationships with some amazing people, and I think our work will make a difference, if only a small one.
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