Background

HIWOT SINKA is an Amharic radio show aired on 102.1sheger Fm for the past 2 years.

The show has two format. One format encourages it’s listeners to reflect on any grudges , resentment or anger held on someone. Once they have identified the person they are requested to weigh the cost of holding on to this negative emotion and ask if it is worth it. When they have passed the venting stage and are ready to release themselves from this toxic bondage they are moved to writing a forgiveness letter to the person asking or bestowing forgiveness.

The intention of this segment  is to become a bridge between anyone with the desire to heal their broken relationship get past their emotional barrier and create new possibility for a renewed relationship. The show uses as a guide the books, the Sedona method by Hale Dowskin& radical forgiveness by Colin Tipping. The show aims to serve plenty of listeners due to fear, inhibition,  guilt or any other emotion are held back from restoring their broken relationship.

The other format focuses on appreciation of everyday people who go out of their way to help, support, encourage & inspire people around them. Through an interview their life is shared with the audience.

The feed back we got in the last 3 months include

 

  • Generally the listeners are enjoying the show
  • They would like us to add a show on another day or repeat the Sunday show.
  • They want to send us stories
  • A show focused on women & children was requested
  • They would like to have resources sent to them through email.
  • Love for stories presented,
  • being inspired by the life of the guest appearing on the show,
  • liking the presentation of the host
  • interest in the topics of gratitude & forgiveness
  • practicality of the tips given were some of the reasons why people listen to the show.
  • Most of the listeners felt inspired to be more thankful in there day to day life and to start the process of forgiveness.
  • The listeners suggested to expand the topics covered, more air time, more gifts,& invited guest from the entertainment industry

 

The show has used the principle of seed scale with the emphasis on  the four principles.

  • Building on success is a principle continuously used on the show as our guests are asked what is working in your life? What is good? What are you proud of? The tendency is to focus is to zoom in on what is lacking, what is not working out, what is yet to be achieved, so to turn it around and see the already existing success is a nice practice.
  • Partnership is another principle which can be applied to the listeners life by taking the time to focus on the pool of support system they have or need to put in place. This includes mentors, friends, family, teachers, role models.
  • We emphasis on learning new tools & applying them to see change in ones life. The third principle is Evidence based decision. there is a tendency to get excited by the promise of a better life through learning new skills but the new knowledge need to be continuously checked against actual results in ones life. 
  • Iteration as a means of continually acting,  making mistakes, falling forward, learning and expanding based on what is learned.  This is another tool we are imparting on the show..

 

People / Human Energy Present

 

The listeners base continues to grow each week. The station we are working at is by far the most popular within the country. We collect feedback  through online sms line, direct phone call & email. Our weekly sms line receives 200 message on average and growing.

 

Financial Demands / Resources

Weekly to produce the show we spend around 2000 birr. Because the show is produced and hosted by myself I was able to lower the cost. Editor’s, customer care assistant,  accountant  & marketers are all subcontracted.  As the show production increases we may higher staff. Our Main income is generated from ad sells. This continues to grow as well.

 

Partnerships (Existing/Potential)

 

We partner with sponsoring companies, the radio station & contributors. We just began working with few companies who are willing to sponsor the show. This partnership is mainly based on the reach & popularity of the show. Through the marketing companies we have partnered with we are getting more clients.

The radio station we are working with has been very supportive of us and as our relationship grow we are planning to expand and add another show.

Our contributing experts are also growing as we connect with more people and our network grows. Our listeners also contribute by making suggestion of the topic and the resource person they want us to feature.

 

Non-Financial Resources

 

We use books & audio on psychology and self help, movies, songs as the main resource for the show. We gather such materials from all over the world . Contributing experts are also our resources. We interview and make frequent contact with them as our board of advisors. Our database of educational material continues to grow and in the future we would like to associate with experts from all over the world.

 

Why scale up this seed?

Our culture mainly promotes holding on to grudge . We have a long held tradition of resentment passing from parents to children. The show intends to create a forgiving  & grateful  culture. 

An example of this intention in action happened between two friends who where not  in speaking terms for the past 7 years. This collage friends had a very close relationship through out their school years. Once they graduated as civil engineers they helped each other out in their jobs. One day one of them needed to contract a machine hence asks his friend where he can find one. The other friend introduces a third friend who is in the business of renting the machine in question. The machine was rented. After the machine is returned they find out something was wrong with it. The one who rented the machine makes a phone call to ask for compensation. The friend who took the machine was busy so didn’t pick up the phone. The other friend who introduced the two gets upset and stops talking to his friend who started calling back with no response, he was puzzled as he didn’t know why. Seven years passed and this friend still longed for his friend so as the opportunity was presented on Hiwot Sinka  show he jumped to write the letter asking for forgiveness. The receiving friend was surprised upon reading the letter and called back crying. Now the friends are happy reconciled.

This show needs to be nurtured and grown not just for the current listeners but for generations to come.