Bilharzia
Storytelling Lab
Creating awareness of Bilharzia in Rwanda through innovative storytelling
Client
Year
2022
Category
Experiences
Storytelling
Type of Work
Facilitation
Event execution
Journalism
Innovation
About
As part of Merck Group’s efforts to raise awareness on the causes of bilharzia and ways to prevent it, Dalberg Media has developed the concept of the Bilharzia Storytelling Lab. The program has been rolled out in Kenya in 2021 and most recently in Rwanda in 2022.
The lab builds on a human-centered design thinking approach which is combined with concepts of creative communication. Throughout a week, 20 local storytellers and creatives worked with local experts from the creative sector, health organizations and non-profits to ensure solutions are rooted in reality.
The winning solution of the Bilharzia Lab 2022 developed a specially designed school notebook, which featured information on the disease. The aim is to inform both children and parents and ultimately change behaviors to avoid getting the disease. The pilot was rolled out in 2023 and have impacted and engaged more than 2.500 school children in Bugesera. The team is now looking to scale up the solution to more districts in Rwanda.
“Before the lab, some of us thought that addressing a health challenge requires having a medical background or being a health care practitioner, but the lab helped us discover the storytelling potentials in us that can help advance the aspirations of global health equity”
– Bertrand Byishimo, Storytelling Lab Participant
