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This past month, our sister organization CHIRAPAQ released Nuestras Voces al Infinito, a short film exploring the lives of two Indigenous women who are making a difference in their communities as radio broadcasters for Voice for Justice. Leónidas is a sheep herder from a remote community in the Andean region of Peru. Paquita studies early childhood education at university and is from a Shipibo community in the Peruvian Amazon.

Leónidas starts her day at dawn, cooking soup and potatoes for her family. After her daily work she goes to the shack, which serves as a radio station, and begins her broadcast. Since becoming involved with Voices for Justice, her commitment has never wavered. She firmly believes in the importance of communication for Indigenous Peoples and has dreams for her future and that of her community. Leónidas hopes that one day her family will be able to move to a nicer, cleaner community, and that younger generations will continue to speak Quechua and maintain the cultural traditions of their ancestors.

When Paquita was first offered the chance to participate in the weekly radio series, she was unsure of what to say. Today, she contributes with confidence, sharing lessons learned from her classes at the university and speaking with pride about Shipibo culture and other topics of interest to her community back home.

The radio program has benefited not only volunteer broadcasters like Leónidas and Paquita, but their listeners as well. Parents report that their children are listening and learning, and in the words of Paquita, “today, I see many youths that are no longer marginalized or ashamed, because they have understood that who one is and how one lives is something that no one will ever be able to take away”.  The voices of these women “flow like rivers and move with the wind…rising from Mother Earth…they are one with the universe”.

Their voices are infinite, and infinitely powerful.

Tarcila Rivera Zea, president of our Peruvian sister organization CHIRAPAQ, was recently interviewed about Voice for Justice, her radio program for Indigenous Peoples in Peru. Below is a brief summary of her interview:

In her recent interview, Tarcila Rivera Zea, president of CHIRAPAQ, noted that Indigenous Peoples in Peru are not just excluded from national society, but from information society as well. Even though Peru has recognized itself as a multicultural and multilingual country, it has not developed communication policies and programs for its Indigenous communities. It’s as if “they could not imagine Indigenous communities as creators of media” stated Rivera Zea. This is why Rivera Zea, an Indigenous activist, is working with CHIRAPAQ to fight for Indigenous communities’ access to communications, so that they can share their own experiences, develop their own messages, and be recognized as citizens of the State. Sapinchikmanta, or Voices for Justice, creates communication spaces and networks for Indigenous Peoples, by Indigenous Peoples.  

Overcoming Indigenous Peoples’ lack of access to media and information is one of the various challenges that these communities face. But they will not be discouraged. Rivera Zea said: “Indigenous communities are more intercultural than anything else. We have survived colonization, genocide and exclusion and we have adapted to all contexts. This is just another challenge in our struggle.” 

To see a full summary of her interview in Spanish, click here.