Storytelling Lab

As part of our efforts to raise awareness on the causes of bilharzia and ways to prevent it, we have introduced the concept of the Bilharzia Storytelling Lab.
The lab builds on the human-centered design thinking approach, developed by Dalberg, a mission-driven communications and experience consultancy, which seeks to empower and mobilize people to solve global development challenges by collective, sustained action. Our approach puts the risk group at the core of the solutions development. Throughout three weeks, the participants work with local experts from the creative sector, health organizations and non-profits to ensure solutions are rooted in reality.

Six teams, consisting of 20 Kenyan community leaders and storytellers worked on the challenge and developed innovative tools to raise awareness on bilharzia among risk groups. The three main risk groups as defined by WHO are domestic and agricultural workers and school-aged children. These are the three risk groups that the lab addressed in developing storytelling projects to ignite behavioral change. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the Storytelling Lab was rolled-out virtually. The best project received our support for implementation.