News

With recent warnings from Kenya’s electoral commission that a rise in ethnically charged “hate speech” threatens Kenya’s elections in 2017, the team at HCR partner station, Tana FM, know they have an important role – to promote peace.  Elections in the past have led to violence, particularly in Tana River County.  Next month,  some 22.4 million…

It is nearly 3 months since their country was declared Ebola-free and Sierra Leoneans are yearning for a return to normality.  But for many, life still remains far from normal, as communities emerge from trauma, where many still face social stigma, persistent health problems and don’t trust the health system.  Added to this, an estimated…

Dr. Ross James shows workshop participants in Pakistan his shoes, saying,  “If you want to change communities you need to get your shoes dirty.” HCR’s Founder, Dr. Ross James has been nominated for a Curtin University Global Impact Award for ‘outstanding contributions that have enriched the welfare of humanity on an international scale’.  The award, which…

Say “Pakistan” and people think the worst, because the news presents the worst. But Pakistan contains much beauty, much of interest and wonderful personal stories of hope. Nadeem Awan, disabled since childhood, is one of those stories. A few years ago Nadeem began listening to a radio program in his city of Muzaffarabad in Azad…

As the Kenyan Meteorological office warns coastal areas in Kenya of the high risk of flooding due to El Niño, newly founded HCR partner station Tana FM , is playing its part to get communities prepared.  Having gone on the air with the first test broadcasts only in May this year, Alex Stout and Jon…

Since the nineteenth century, eastern Kenya’s Tana River county has often been the scene of violent conflict, largely between two ethnic groups, the dominant Orma, who are nomadic cattle-herders and the Pokomo, who are farmers.   Many of the disputes have been over land use and access to water, however the intensity of these conflicts has…

By Celeste Larkins Did you listen to the radio when you were a child?  If so, what did you listen to?  Did you tune in for the music, or was it the dramas, or sports coverage? Dane and I had the privilege of being taken back to a time where radio in Australia was the…

An international conference in Pakistan has heard HCR explain how community-centred radio programming can help support sustainable development. International scientists gathered to report on sustainable crop technology at the “Scientists for Sustainability” forum in Islamabad, which was organized by the Lok Sanjh Foundation (LSF) and the Rural Business Development Center. HCR Pakistan Director, Hazeen Latif, was invited to deliver a paper about HCR’s…

Broadcast journalist Alex Williams has joined HCR UK’s Alex Stout to develop a community-centred radio station in Eastern Kenya’s troubled Tana River County.  Here’s his latest video diary.

By Celeste Larkins  Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. It is estimated that 45% of Australians will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime.  In any one year, around one million Australian adults have depression, and over two million have anxiety. The odds are high that during our lifetime we will be affected…