WATOTO TV, a children’s TV to promote Education

Jean Baptiste Nibishaka, also known as ‘Yohana Umubatiza’ has brought out an idea of starting a new Television called ‘WATOTO TV’ dedicated for children to allow them enjoy their potentials as well as to advocate for their rights.

Nibishaka, currently is a Rwandan journalist working with Radio and TV10 and has been working in Journalism since eleven years ago with passion of children’s talk shows and more on Radio and Television.

He says that the Television will be broadcasting news and talk shows based on children’s lives and welfare in their daily circumstances.

Inspiration

“This Television’s project has been in my mind since three years ago after I revealed that children do not have a big opportunity to express their views and enjoy their full potential in media publications especially with broadcast images, simply because parents used to raise worries about televised images of people in the war, fights and shameful images,” Nibishaka noted.

“This made me to think  deep soon after the children’s talk show I was doing which called ‘Ijwi ry’abana’ (Voice of Children) on radio 10 that was aiming at promoting children’s talents also encouraging parents to support children’s talents,”

Nibishaka started by approaching his close child-neighbor called ‘Machali’ and found that approaching a child can be a pathway to reveal hidden talents in them which can play a role for many people.

Education platform

“After I thought about this Television, I found that a child from his mother’s womb starts the journey of life and learning from there until he reaches 18 years and beyond. So, when we talk about a child, we also talk about education, it is the reason why this Television will gather both Child and Education,” Nibishaka said.

He notes that the Television will first give a talk to a child to be able to express his/her potential views and this will enable him/her to exercise his/her rights as International laws on child rights established this framework.

“When a child gets opportunity to express views and choose what he/she wants to watch at his age and his daily environment, Education for example, Religion and leisure, it will be better. The second thing is that a child will participate in doing talk shows which he sees fit for him/her on TV. The third thing is that the Television will be a good platform linking children and parents because today children misbehave because they lacked a talk with parents,” he noted.

As he says, the Television will employ kinds of debates between children and parents as well as educators (teachers) where a child will be able to advocate for what he finds negative and against his rights and so the parent will do the same at the same time showing children their responsibilities.

Nibishaka says that it took him a lot of energy seeking for basic requirements and documents to start this project and that he reaches now at the end.

“I have today received all possible documents from the government and it only remains to install the studio’s lines and to organize the works,” Nibishaka said.

Among the recommendations he received include one from the Ministry of Education, National Child Commission, Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion save the children UNICEF and many more.

He says that ‘Watoto TV’ is not a commercial Television as it is set to promote rights and talents of children as well as promoting quality of education.

The Television will bring on board various International Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations advocating for child rights and with principles of the government through the National Child Commission (NCC) and other government entities to further children’s rights and education.

Through NCC, 30 representatives of children countrywide from all the districts raised views on this Television.

Nibishaka says that the Television was given a Kiswahili name ‘Watoto’ as Rwanda made a considerable step in East African Community countries with linkage of good diplomacy and language and that the Television will not be limited in Rwanda, but will gather all the information relating children in the region.

In this regard, he explains that Kiswahili language will take 30 percent among all the programs on this TV.

The Television is expected to be on air before this year ends, and will be run with Rwf 75 million.

By Elias Hakizimana.