Twubakane Season 2: Randomised Controlled Trial
Rwanda 2025-2026
Building on the Season 1 findings, we produced a second Season of 12 episodes. Together with Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) we are running a Randomized Control Trial to rigorously evaluate the impact of our dramas.
What is Season 2 about?
Season 2 follows Karinda and Mbabazi, a young couple whose trust is tested when Karinda secretly spends their household savings, setting off a spiral of shame, withdrawal, and broken communication.
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Their story runs alongside that of Munyanziza and Iribagiza, a couple where excessive drinking, financial neglect, and escalating conflict show what happens when help is sought too late. There is also Dorosera, a widowed neighbour who drinks to cope with her grief and gradually finds strength through community support.
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Guiding all of them are Hakiza and Mwamini, a couple who model healthy communication, mutual respect, and shared decision-making, and who help others navigate conflict through mediation and example. Through these intertwined stories, the drama traces two contrasting paths: one couple that rebuilds together, and one that shows the consequences of a household in lasting conflict.
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Explore Season 2:
Built on Season 1 and listeners' feedback
To determine which messages should be featured in our storylines, we follow an iterative, research-based approach.
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Formative research: 8 focus groups + 20 interviews → 9 potential messages
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Internal review: narrowed to 7 promising messages
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Stakeholder meeting with government + NGO partners → prioritized 5 messages
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Early testing: produced 5 short scenes, tested with 4 focus groups + 20 interviews.
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Read the short scenes from the message testing →
Based on the results we centered Season 2 around three key themes:
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Joint decision-making through healthy communication (small adaptation from Season 1)
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Reducing alcohol consumption (new)
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Seeking help early and through appropriate channels (retained from Season 1)
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View the results from the message testing →
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For the full methodology, see our approach →
What we found before broadcast
Before airing, we ran a pre-airing evaluation with 64 participants (32 couples) to test whether the messages landed as intended and to screen for unintended effects.
Participants recalled detailed plotlines a week later, said the story reflected real family life, and reported discussing it with their spouses and neighbours.
Strong positive shift
Shared decision-making
Most men and women reported behavioural changes after listening, including consulting their spouse before financial decisions. Participants articulated a clear cognitive shift, recognising that women's input leads to better household outcomes.
Moderate positive shift
Reducing alcohol consumption
Participants who listened reported significantly lower acceptable alcohol consumption levels than the control group. A few men explicitly reported cutting back on drinking after listening.
Mixed results
Seeking help early
Many participants showed shifts toward proactive help-seeking. However, some women continued to normalise endurance of violence, which led us to make seven targeted script revisions before the full broadcast to sharpen this message.
Pre-airing evaluation designed and analysed by Juliane Walther, research intern at NOVAH, as part of her BSc thesis in Economics, Politics & Society at Minerva University.
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How we rigorously measure impact
A randomised controlled trial across 96 villages in Rwanda's Nyagatare district, in partnership with Innovations for Poverty Action. ​​It started in January 2026 and preliminary results are expected by the end of 2026.
96
Villages enrolled
Villages matched in pairs and randomly assigned to a treatment group (Twubakane) or a placebo control group (an unrelated radio program)
2400
Couples participating
Sample of 2,400 couples: 25 couples per village, aged 18 to 45, randomly selected.
12
Weeks of broadcasting
Participants receive a radio and small compensations to listen. Additionally, 192 youth volunteers encourage households to listen using regular reminders.
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Survey rounds
IPA conducts a short (~10-minute) baseline survey and a detailed endline survey five months later. Endline will measure IPV, theory of change and health outcomes.
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Team of principal investigators
Lafayette College
Expert in evaluating mass media interventions, assistant professor at Lafayette, director of the Global Media Lab.
University of Rwanda
Professor in Public Health, expert in IPV and IPV prevention.
Columbia University
Professor and expert in political science, evaluated the impact of three short edutainment videos on IPV in Uganda.
African School of Economics (ASE), Université Laval & UNICEF
Expert in intersection between development economics, gender economics, health and education economics, and public policy evaluation.