“Mamie & Omo,” is back! The original series that aired on Cotton Tree News in post-conflict Sierra Leone has been revived by Media Matters for Women – Sierra Leone and is now playing to huge audiences nationwide. The two key fictional characters of the show were played by CTN journalists who are now part of our MMW-SL team and are responsible for the success of the revival. Our partner, AfriRadio, has seen an uptick in listenership since airing the program and now plays “Mamie & Omo” three times daily at prime times (6:30am, 12:30pm, 7:30pm) in conjunction with its “News Round Salon” show. Radio Makeni has signed an MOU to play the program twice daily.
The drama provides a way for women’s voices to be heard, something rare in the Sierra Leonean media. Mamie is a market woman while her friend and neighbor Omo has a teaching job in Freetown. Their conversation is informative and often very funny. Listeners can easily self-identify with one character or the other. They hear their own opinions defended in the discussion, but also hear the opposing side. Listeners learn in an enjoyable way about women’s rights, health, economic possibilities and available services they may not otherwise know about.
Episodes are short – about five minutes each. The first episodes covered the reunion of Mamie and Omo, human trafficking, rape, child marriage, education, teenage pregnancy, STIs, child labor, FGM, and maternal mortality. Since we began nearly 10 months ago, forty episodes have aired which are all available for free on SoundCloud.com/mediamattersforwomen.