Imagine Dragons’ Thunder is blasting from the Out-Patients section at Red Cross Children’s Hospital. Not the kind of auditory greeting you’d expect from Africa’s best children’s medical facility, but its Alex’s Top 20, one of Rx Radio’s music shows.
Officially launched in May 2017, the brainchild of Dr. Gabriel Urgoiti, Rx Radio is children’s radio, by children. Rx provides the chronic patients of Red Cross a platform from which to tell their stories. These get broadcast to the hospital community, and to those who choose to stream (rxradio.co.za), or watch the action via the Rx webcam. They also have a dedicated WhatsApp number and twitter handle (@RXRadioSA), so that their listeners can actively participate in the shows from their hospital beds.
In the case of Alex’s Top 20 chart show, he decides on the play list, hosts, and conducts a quiz; with Noluyolo Ngomani, senior radio producer, pushing the buttons. The show also features news bulletins for the children, and traffic updates for the adults. The youngest participant in his show is just five-years-old, who, on the day of my visit, participated in a live general knowledge quiz.
Station manager, Dr. Gabriel Urgoiti, feels that it’s important for the children to have fun, and not make broadcasting feel like a job. They’re therefore given free reign as far as content goes, and this gives rise to shows about hiking, inspirational members of South African society, cooking, and of course, music. The children also interview the hospital community, their families, and other key role players who assist with their treatment. This helps the children, and their caregivers communicate even better, making the patients more comfortable during their stay at the health facility. Guided by junior radio producer, Wayne Boonzaaier amongst others, the presenters and content producers consist of past and present Red Cross chronic patients, their siblings, and children from the area, who are interested in broadcasting.
Andre Toerien is one such contributor. He and a friend launched an online radio station while they were in primary school. His mother, Reneé believes that his exposure to Rx Radio has helped him in his field of broadcasting, and has taught him the importance of sharing his skills, and learning from others.
Many studies have been conducted on the impact that music, and nature have on patients’ recovery from illness, and Rx Radio has partnered with researchers at Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town, to determine the impact that participating in a broadcasting environment has on the children’s recuperation.
While there’s nothing conclusive as yet, Dr. Urgoiti believes that the proof is in the Rx Radio pioneers. One of them is 17-year-old Qaqamba Cuba, originally from the Eastern Cape. She had to move to Cape Town in order to receive treatment at Red Cross.
Qaqamba was born with a curved spine, which has impacted on her physical development. One of her lungs is considerably smaller than the other, making it difficult for her to breath. Despite this challenge, Qaqamba wants to use her disability as an inspiration to others. She does this through her show on Rx Radio, Qaqamba’s Inspirational Corner. Having interviewed noted South Africans like Dr. Michael Mol (medical doctor, and TV personality) and Springbok legend, Chester Williams, Qaqamba shows her audience that everyone has had to overcome adversity in order to achieve greatness.
The passion for storytelling and broadcasting has been ignited in the children at Rx Radio; you can feel the positive energy and excitement from the moment you step through their studio doors, and judging from the young broadcasters at Rx Radio, the future looks bright.