Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight. I'm Ruby Jones.
Voice 2
And I'm Marina Santee. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Crowds of people gather. The hot sun shines on the dusty earth. There is a sense of excitement in the air. The people stand in a circle, watching with wonder. In the middle of the circle, music players sing and play their guitars. They move their bodies to the strong music beats. The people are watching a musician, Feliciano dos Santos! He is playing with his music group Massukos. It is a famous group - especially in Mozambique! And today they are visiting an area in the far north of Mozambique - Niassa. Only one dirt road connects Niassa to the rest of the country! The people here are poor and live in difficult conditions. There is not much to bring popular music groups to Niassa! So what brings Feliciano dos Santos here?
Voice 2
Feliciano dos Santos may have travelled the world - but Niassa is his home. He was born there in 1964. Santos grew up in a village with no clean water. Human waste infected water and food - so diseases spread quickly and often. When Santos was a very young child he caught the disease poliomyelitis, or polio. Polio is spread through infected water and food. The disease invades a person's nervous system. It left Santos with one leg shorter and thinner than the other.
Voice 1
People in Santos' village did not understand diseases and sicknesses. They formed opinions about Santos' mental health based on his physical condition. He said:
Voice 3
‘When people see a man with a physical problem they think he also has a problem in his head.'
Voice 1
However, Santos proved their ideas to be completely untrue. He worked hard, and decided to become a music player. He had loved music since he was a child. People around him questioned if he would succeed. But he continued without their support. He began to earn money from his music - and he began to get famous.
Voice 2
Today, Santos is part of the music group Massukos. Massukos is popular! The group sold over 80,000 copies of their first music record! But Massukos is not like average music groups! They do not only sing about love and life! They also design songs especially for communities in country areas like Niassa. The words to this song are very unusual:
Voice 3
Let us wash our hands.
Let us wash our hands.
For the children to stay healthy,
For the mothers to stay healthy
We build latrines.
Voice 1
Yes Massukos is singing about latrines. A latrine is a kind of toilet! The song encourages people to wash their hands after they go to the toilet. It is also explaining that they need to have well built toilets! Communities in Niassa know Santos for his unusual songs! He sings about things other people do not even talk about - sanitation! Everything to do with human waste and public health. Poor sanitation has been a big cause of disease in many places - including Santos' home area, Niassa.
Voice 2
Santos and Massukos members are doing more than singing about sanitation problems. They are part of an aid group called ‘Estamos'. In English that means ‘We are'. Santos set up this group in 1994. The group works to provide clean water and safe sanitation. Santos said:
Voice 3
‘Mozambique has severe health issues such as malaria, meningitis, typhoid, death of babies... Many of these are related to water-born bacteria. The government is trying to solve these issues. In Estamos, we are doing everything we can to teach people about what they can do to help.'
Voice 2
One way they are doing this is with the eco-san toilet.
Voice 1
A bamboo house protects the eco-san toilet from the hot sun. Walk in, and you will see two large square holes in the ground - pits. But they are not just pits dug in the earth. Villagers have built brick material inside and around the pits. This means that waste does not touch the earth, only the bricks. This stops the human waste from infecting the ground water that people use. At the side of the pits there is ash - from cooking-fires. After a person uses the toilet, he or she covers the waste with a handful of grey ash. This prevents the pit from smelling. And it prevents flies from gathering. Also, touching the ash makes people think to wash their hands! When one pit is full, they use the other pit. Santos explains that after six months, the ash turns the human waste into a natural fertilizer!
Voice 2
Human waste is not good as a fertilizer because it contains bacteria and other organisms that spread diseases. However, the process of mixing it with the ash and leaving it for a long time makes all the difference. The harmful organisms die and leave good fertilizer. It does not even smell bad
Voice 1
Santos and his music group are very serious about their work. Santos said:
Voice 3
‘When we perform we make the most of the time. We talk about sanitation-related issues. We write songs about sanitation. We also talk about HIV and how to prevent it. We do not only talk about these issues. We serve as an example, since we are part of Estamos.'
Voice 1
In 2008, Santos received an award for his sanitation work in Mozambique. The award was the Goldman Prize. The idea of this prize is to recognise environmental heroes at the community level. Santos and Estamos have helped thousands of people in hundreds of villages get clean water and sanitation.
Voice 2
It is hard work being a local health worker by day and a singer by night! But Santos and his music group are not strangers to difficulties. They have lived through sixteen years of war in Mozambique. In fact, the name of their music group comes from these experiences. After the war, the group saw that people were hungry for something to heal their crushed spirits. They wanted their music to provide some of this healing. And so they named their group Massukos - the name of a local fruit. This fruit is full of liquid, and tasty to eat. It helps satisfy a hungry mouth! Santos hopes their music will do the same for people's minds and spirits. He said:
Voice 3
‘People need this music. So when their spirit is hungry, they will come to it.'
Voice 1
The writer and producer of today's programme was Marina Santee. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can write to us at radio @ english . net. You can find this programme, and more, on our website, Radio.English.net. This programme is called ‘Make Music. Make Health.' Thank you for joining us, goodbye! |