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By Amy Geiszler-Jones

Daisy Kabagarama

Daisy Kabagarama believes in fostering cross-cultural understanding through her teaching, writing and various presentations.

And now the associate professor in WSU’s School of Community Affairs is taking to the airwaves to show south-central Kansans how much ethnic diversity is right in our backyards.

Kabagarama is one of six hosts for "zygo," a new 30-minute program launched last week by the public television station KPTS.

Each new monthly program during its eight-month season will be cross-cultural with a host of a different cultural background interviewing people of another cultural background, according to C. Everett Brown, the show’s producer.

The local portion of "zygo" will air every third Thursday at 7 p.m., with a rebroadcast the following Sunday at 3 p.m. The six hosts also will introduce nationally produced programs featuring stories on cultural diversity that will fall under the "zygo" umbrella. Those programs will air the other Thursdays at 7 p.m.

Kabagarama, who was the interviewer in two of the four segments that aired in last week’s local premiere, will introduce the national program, "Divine Mission: San Xavier del Bach," Sept. 30. The show is about the restoration of a Mexican baroque church near Tucson, Ariz., and the people involved with the project.

Brown says he expects Kabagarama to be one of their frequent hosts, likely having a role in each of the local episodes.

While "zygo" aims to enlighten viewers about other cultures, Kabagarama says she’s been on the receiving end of that education, as well.

In her new TV role, she’s interviewed a Saudi Arabian fashion designer (who is a student at WSU); visited the Scottish tea room, the Royal Scottish Company in southeast Wichita; and has attended a Middle Eastern wedding, a Native American powwow and the reunion of an African-American family whose 90-year-old matriarch shares Kabagarama’s love of writing poetry.

In next month’s local show, which airs Oct. 21, she will sample Japanese food at Tokyo restaurant, 21st Street North and Woodlawn.

"It’s so fascinating," she says. "It’s such an experience. Everywhere I go I learn so much."

It’s rather fitting that Kabagarama, who was among 40 auditioners for the host spots, was selected for this show. Her praise name, "Akiiki," bestowed by her Toro tribe in western Uganda, means "helper of nations." Members of the Toro tribe are given one of 11 established praise names at birth.

"Zygo" has other WSU connections. Rosalia Pereira, originally from Venezuela, received a WSU certificate of design, and Nabil Seyam, an Arab-American, graduated from WSU. Both are hosts. Upcoming segments will feature WSU alum Eddie Martinez, who has danced with a German troupe, and a special interview with Gordon Parks, conducted when the prominent photographer and artist visited WSU in conjunction with an exhibition of his works.