Rx Radio Sa

RX Radio is a unique award-winning radio station that is by and for children, based at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town. We exist to empower South African children with voice and agency so they can exercise influence within the community and the issues facing them. We have trained 135 Child and Young Reporters aged 4 to 18, at Red Cross Children's Hospital, Paarl Hospital and Brooklyn Chest Hospital. We are also one of the first radio stations in the world to have children broadcasting from within a hospital. The RX Radio Team, volunteers and former reporters work behind the scenes to train, coordinate, and support the reporters – but the children are always behind the microphones and are active participants in the production. They design their own shows, choose the music, invite guests, write interview questions, and even plan fundraising events! RX Radio broadcasts 24/7, LIVE and Pre-recorded programmes (including shows, music, podcasts, and radio diaries). The station transmits audio and images through the hospital’s internal television system to all wards and public spaces in the hospital. We also live stream the same content on our website and app, and frequently update our social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). Magazine -format shows consist of music, interviews, stories, news, weather, and traffic updates. To become an RX Radio reporter, children first complete basic training: a week of workshops about important life skills (e.g. listening, storytelling), radio reporting and production skills. At the end of the week, children produce a five-minute audio-visual “radio diary” where they tell a story of their choice, and many narrate their experience in hospital. After basic training, they have the choice to become an official RX Radio reporter. They then can participate in on-going training: workshops led by staff and guest facilitators from a variety of fields.