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Rwandan Soap Tipped for Award

"Urunana" depicts village life in Rwanda and is a candidate for the One World Special Achievement Award for Development Media.

A Rwandan radio soap opera, “Urunana,” is among the favorites to win special recognition at the forthcoming One World Media Awards.

The show, launched by the Urunana Development Communication (UDC) organization in 1999 and run in collaboration with a U.K. charity, Health Unlimited, depicts village life in Rwanda and is a candidate for the One World Special Achievement Award for Development Media, presented annually by The One World Broadcasting Trust.

The program, approaching cult status after more than 950 episodes, follows a group of inhabitants of the fictional village of Nyarurembo.

The twice-weekly 15-minute episodes attract an estimated audience of more than 10 million people. It is broadcast in Kinyarwanda on the BBC Great Lakes and is rebroadcast on Saturdays and Sundays on Radio Rwanda.

As an educational project, Urunana seeks to deliver to rural women and young people essential information about sexual and reproductive health, including HIV/AIDS.

“I am very proud that the good work of such a small organization, Urunana Development Communication, has paid off at an international level,” said UDC Managing Director Narcisse Kalisa. “This is a motivating factor for us to continue to serve the rural population in Rwanda and in the Great Lakes region.”

The 21st One World Media Awards event takes place 12 June in London. It rewards excellence in media coverage on vital issues of international development.

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