Soon after the Gaza-Israel war started in October of 2023, every radio and TV station inside Gaza was confirmed to be off the air.  In many other countries, we might not notice that our favorite station was gone, or we might quickly switch to listening online without a thought.  As I read the media listening research about Gaza before the war I saw that Gazans are radio listeners and own radios.  Their internet was very slow even before the war with 2G internet being the fastest signal you could get on a mobile phone. Also, not as many people watched TV as on the Palestinian West Bank.  So in the first week of the war I spoke with my friends from Amplifying Voices and other partners and we started to ask if there was a strong role for Humanitarian Radio?

I have been working in the humanitarian world for over 20 years now and I have never seen a room full of UN staff and humanitarian workers who were so depressed as we all felt like there was nothing we could do to help support the people in Gaza while the doors were still closed to humanitarian relief and workers coming in from outside Gaza.

One local Gazan gave me hope that we might still be able to do something to equip those in the community.    Providentially, 2 weeks before the war started, a friend of mine introduced me to Mohamed al Sabe (Sabe for short).  He is a Gazan and has studied and worked in the humanitarian world for many years.  His family home is in Gaza City and we met on a Zoom video call before the war started.  Given the history of conflict in the area, it was only a matter of time before a humanitarian radio capacity would be needed again soon, so we started talking about how to equip him for this work.

My aim has always been to connect local communities with each other and with humanitarian responders by getting a radio station on air within 72hrs of a disaster happening. In supporting teams to respond to over 40 disasters, I have seen time and again that planning ahead is key, so we equip and train local community members to be ready with our “Suitcase Radio” to get on air, in the disaster area, as quickly as possible.

Before Sabe and I could work through that equipping process, the war had started. It quickly became clear that a 72hrs response would be impossible in such a complex conflict. We also realized that the equipment needed to be even more flexible than the suitcase radio; something that would not attract too much attention, that could be packed up and carried easily in an evacuation. We designed a studio for Gaza that could be built into a backpack and sent it to Sabe thru our UN partners. 

Another challenge is that normally we would deliver equipment and hands on training all at the same time, but this time we could not do that, but only send the equipment in.  Knowing that Sabe would have to assemble the studio bit by bit, by himself we created a set of “IKEA style” instructions and a step-by-step setup video that was sent on the included laptop.

A really positive thing has been the number of really clever and very resourceful people we have encountered in Gaza.  Basheer, a medical worker at local hospital lost his job when his hospital was destroyed.   He has proved to be a very handy volunteer and helped Sabe set up and test the studio.  Sabe also found many young “bloggers” who are experienced at interviewing and bring their own mics and cameras. 

Despite the many constraints, we are now hopeful that this growing team of Gaza staff and volunteers will be ready to start broadcasting humanitarian radio content very soon.

Amplifying Voices has worked in partnership with First Response Radio – founded by Mike Adams, now operating as Rapid Response Radio – for many years. We are supporting the Gaza radio project with equipment costs and advocacy, and stand ready to support further with training if requested by the local partners. Our crisis response toolkit, Amplifying Voices in Disaster (AViD), supports community voices to play a central role in crisis responses.

The post Backpack radio for Gaza appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

In 2022, Amplifying Voices Pakistan helped a local pastor and his wife to start sewing classes in a rural village to help women to build skills for earning. These Roshan Ghar classes also became a place for talking about problems many of the women had in common – especially issues affecting the health and wellbeing of families. Some of those conversations led to health camps and a mobile health clinic to take conversations into people’s home. Other conversations were recorded, as were interviews with health professionals, and then put together into conversational education programmes. Women would listen to the programmes on speakerboxes during the sewing classes.

Hazeen Latif and his team from Amplifying Voices Pakistan supported the group by teaching interview skills, recording skills, and editing skills. As the quality got better and better, Hazeen introduced Roshan Ghar’s programmes to a local radio station. These weekly 10-minute slots became popular and the station invited the group leaders to join them for a live show on International Women’s Day in March this year. The sewing teacher went along with Rimshah, the health worker. They were a little nervous about being live on air, so Hazeen joined them.

The live show received lots calls from listeners who were excited to hear women from villages like their own in the studio alongside the professionals. The Roshan Ghar women were creating an atmosphere of possibility.

The radio station called them back for another live show in June. This time focussing on the Roshan Ghar project and the partnership with Amplifying Voices. The local station started to invite the Roshan Ghar team for monthly live shows.

A show in August focussed on neurological conditions. The mobile health clinic had found several families with children suffering from epilepsy but who did not understand what was happening to their children. Two of these women came and spoke on the show. One lady shared about her son being excluded from school because he had fits. They also shared about the advice and treatment they had received from the lady health worker and volunteer doctors visiting the village.

The women spoke with Hazeen later saying:

“before we felt ashamed [of our children’s conditions], but now we can talk about taking care of our children.”

… not just in the sewing class but live on air.

More women from the village are now taking part in monthly live shows accompanied by local project leaders, but no longer needing to have Hazeen or anyone from the Amplifying Voices Pakistan team with them.

“Before we could not talk to other men or people outside our village, but now we get such a confidence that we can talk to anyone.”

Listeners also feel like the Roshan Ghar women are opening new doors for them:

“You talk about things that are taboo – like skin rashes in private areas, and intestinal worms – we learned a lot from you.”

“Especially about toilets – the importance of keeping toilets clean. Most radio programmes are about glamourous topics and don’t touch on things like this.”

Yet, these are topics that make a difference in rural communities. In recent years there have been several projects or campaigns to provide latrines for village homes, but often without a corresponding rollout of advice on care or maintenance. As a result, toilets had become unhygienic and a source of illness. These women, who are not afraid to talk about the unpleasant, are helping people stay healthier.

The programmes continue. Often drawing out the wisdom within the villages as well as accessing the medical experts.

“Next we want to hear about smog and lung diseases, and especially about home remedies for building resistance to the effects of smog.”

The post Opening doors in Sargodha appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

Nyambura and others think harmful stereotypes have been around so long that many people in Tana River now believe them. She traces this back to the early days of Kenya’s independence, when President Jomo Kenyatta prioritised developing regions with rich agriculture, leaving drier areas like Tana River neglected. “This neglect,” Nyambura explains, “allowed damaging labels to stick—terms even used by aid groups and the media.” Over time, phrases like “unproductive and unskilled,” “conflict-prone,” “backward and isolated,” and “dependent on aid” have unfairly defined the region. Nyambura warns, “These narratives create a victim mentality, making people feel powerless to change their circumstances or challenge those in power.” 

Even journalists at Vox Radio sometimes reinforce these ideas. “It’s too easy to see Tanarians as victims instead of resilient people overcoming challenges,” says Nyambura. That’s why Vox Radio focuses on “solutions journalism,” which highlights how communities are solving their problems instead of only reporting the issues. “We need to listen to people, let them tell their stories, and showcase their strengths.”

Nyambura shared a story about Yoash, a Vox journalist whose farming show is helping change perceptions. One destructive narrative he challenges is the idea that pastoralists (from the Orma community) and farmers (from the Pokomo community) are enemies competing for resources. Yoash’s programs bring members of both groups together to discuss shared challenges and find solutions. He also highlights success stories, like a pastoralist couple (pictured above) who had set up a business of turning the parts of the animals that are usually discarded, like horns, bones and hoofs, into stunning ornaments and jewellery. After appearing on his show, they received many calls from listeners eager to learn more or buy their creations.

When Amplifying Voices initially set up Vox Radio in 2017 (formerly Amani FM), in partnership with the Amani Centre, its purpose was to build peace and disrupt the narrative of conflict that had plagued the region for many decades. With peace now taking root in Tana River County, the airwaves of Vox Radio are alive with a renewed sense of purpose and a new mission: to inspire Tana River’s communities to thrive – with a new narrative. One where farmers share sustainable practices, young entrepreneurs showcase their ideas, and elders envision a brighter future. Vox Radio has become more than a platform—it’s a symbol of hope, encouraging people to dream beyond peace and work toward lasting prosperity.

The post Tana River – a new narrative appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

Simooya Community Radio, Pemba District

Amplifying Voices partnered with the Chibozu Community Trust, an NGO registered in Zambia and the UK, to set up Simooya Community Radio station which went into its testing phase in April 2024.  The station provides education for children and adults, culturally relevant entertainment and dialogue, covering the Pemba district of Southern Zambia and serves a rural population of 81,000 people.

Chibozu Community Trust has employed a station manager and recruited a team of enthusiastic volunteers from Simooya village.  The radio team is responsible for engaging community members and local service providers to create content and develop the station as a locally sustainable non-profit community resource.

Context

Simooya Village is rurally located in the Southern Province of Zambia, where high levels of poverty create significant health risks. The nearest town to Simooya is Choma, on the main road from the capital Lusaka. Choma is quite accessible. Simooya and its 12 surrounding villages are not. The majority of people in these villages are subsistence farmers. Due to drought, and increased food prices, families spend around 65% of income on basic food needs.

However, Simooya community members want to change the outsiders' perception that they are too poor to help themselves. Their new radio station aims to equip villagers' own development initiatives, working towards “fullness of life” instead of poverty.

Our Role

Amplifying Voices

• provided studio equipment and support to repurpose unused premises into studios
• facilitated a community consultation and media training workshop
• and is providing ongoing project accompaniment

... to build the station’s long term sustainability by working with staff, board and volunteers to develop their skills in local media production, ongoing community engagement, station management (building partnerships), and volunteer training.

Due to ongoing electricity shortages we are also seeking funding so Simooya Community Radio can install solar equipment to keep the station running during powercuts. The solar will also power the village borehole and the school classrooms.

Station Goals:

• Voices of Simooya (and surrounds) will be amplified.
• People will develop through ...
  • Learning new skills
  • Learning about agriculture
  • Improved productivity and livelihoods

• More specifically ...
  • Easy access to news and information (eg announcements, local news)
  • School can reach parents more easily - announcements.
  • Business will be boosted (advertisements)
  • Education for young people
  • Opportunities for young people (eg volunteering)
  • Inform authorities about disasters.
  • Support the work of local churches.
  • Entertainment
  • Improve people’s health by sharing health advice and announcements.

Key Radio Station Policies

• Information/ News values -
  • Be objective – consider all sides
  • Be neutral/ impartial – no bias to one side
  • Be accurate – verify sources
  • Promote peace – don’t stir up hate/ or violent conflict
• Politics     - Equal representation to different parties – no favouritism
• Music         – 60% local, 40% non-local, including international music
• Culture     – Promote progressive local culture -Challenge harmful cultural practice
• Language     – mainly in Tonga and some English (other Zambian languages to be included if requested by speaker or audience)
• Religion     – All local churches will be included, and will be given slots throughout the week
• Inclusion    – actively seek out and partner with minority service providers, e.g. organisations working with blind or deaf people

Recent updates from Zambia

Going on air in a drought

We are pleased to announce that Simooya Community Radio is now on air on 94.3 FM. The new ...

Transforming life in the village

"Radio will help me with my missing animals," a local headman told Johnny when he visited the village ...

A new community radio station for Southern Zambia

There are only a few areas of Southern Zambia that don't have their own radio station. Pemba district ...

The post Simooya Community Radio appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

Opening doors in Sargodha

Transitioning from sewing classes to live radio may seem like an odd route for a project to take. ...

Amplifying with care

Through Bright Home groups, Amplifying Voices Pakistan promotes change at a pace that allows time for long-held cultural ...

From rage to peace

Taking part in a "Bright Home" group helped six sisters to overcome their rage at having “nothing to ...

See all project updates from Roshni ro Ghar

The post Bright Home – Cholistan appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

Bright Home principles developed partly in response to lessons learned a few years ago in a different project where change started to happen too quickly. At that time, we had supported a youth group to make radio programmes about local social issues and injustices. At first, we were excited to hear how young people’s confidence and hope grew. Things could – and should – be different. However, some powerful people felt threatened and pressurised the project leader to stop. The fierce backlash forced the team to bring the project to an abrupt halt. They returned the equipment to us, and we were unable to continue any further activities in that community. Marginalised voices had become too loud, too fast.

A Bright Home approach

Hazeen Latif, CEO of Amplifying Voices Pakistan, told me that Bright Home projects take a different approach. Rather than starting with a media project, local partners provide sewing classes for young women and free medical camps focussing on women and children. These address some very pressing needs in a culturally acceptable way, developing traditional skills to earn income, and bringing healthcare to women and children who are rarely able to travel to a city for advice or treatment.

However, Bright Home classes are also places of conversation. Hazeen told me how, through conversation, aspirations are emerging and possibilities for change are growing. In one Punjabi community, conversations in the sewing classes about food shortages and lack of shade in summer led to a kitchen garden initiative and a tree planting campaign.

“Like my own daughter”

Some of these activities also improved community cohesion between minority Christian groups and people from the majority religion. The Bright Home team extended health camps and healthcare home visits beyond their own Christian community to work with women and children in majority religion homes. People from the majority religion responded, with one of their leaders donating money to buy medicines for the health camps. One older woman said of the Bright Home healthworker, “she is just like my own daughter”.

Home visits -supporting families across the community

The tree planting campaign gave men opportunity to get involved. Men from both communities came together to plant trees in public spaces and in each other’s home compounds. Both religions value good stewardship of creation, and in particular, they see tree planting as a virtuous activity.

Coming together to plant trees, Punjab, 2024

“No one will harm you”

The sense of togetherness became very real after an incident in the regional city, Sargodha. Someone there had used religion as an excuse to provoke a mob attack on a Christian business. But in the village, leaders from the majority community came to the Bright Home team and said, “No one will harm you when we are sitting here”.

Instead of feeling threatened by the changes brought by Bright Home, people with power, whether through gender or through religion, have felt included and found themselves contributors to change.

“I am Light”

In KPK province, some of the young women attending a Bright Home class spoke up and said they wanted to learn to read, write and do arithmetic. In that community, many girls had not been allowed to go to school. However, the literacy and numeracy classes that are now underway are not perceived as a threat, because these skills are necessary for using sewing patterns, and for developing businesses to make money from the sewing skills. The girls called the literacy classes, “Zama Rana” (I am light).

Working with sewing patterns, Nowshera

In each of the Bright Home groups, they use speakerboxes for listening to health advice programmes made in other Amplifying Voices projects. And in each place, some of the young women would ask to learn how to make speakerbox programmes themselves – “If they can do it, we can do it” – They start by discussing topics that are raised in the class setting. The programmes are played within the class to start with, but as confidence, skills, and local acceptance of the Bright Home activities have grown, some groups are now airing their programmes on local FM stations.

Some people may still oppose changes, especially those that offer opportunity and influence to young women in very conservative communities. However, there are now more who support the changes, who even help to make change happen. Bright Home communities are able to amplify local voices, because they do so with care.

The post Amplifying with care appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

The new radio station in Pemba district of Southern Province, Zambia, started airing test broadcasts on Monday 8^th April. Johnny was happy to be present at the switch-on, along with Milden Choongo from our partner organisation, Chibozu Community Trust. In the week leading up to the switch-on, an enthusiastic team of volunteers took part in a media training workshop. They used community mapping exercises to build a picture of their communities’ various resources and challenges, and to develop ideas for how media could bring out their local strengths to tackle the challenges. New media skills included reading the news, making short educational announcements (CSAs), and preparing for interviews with local dignitaries.

Volunteers give feedback on their community mapping exercise. Simooya, 2024

There was a powercut when we went to practice working with the new radio studio. But this didn’t deter the team. One person took the role of presenter, another sat at the guest microphone.

Learning to use a studio during a powercut, Simooya, 2024

As the presenter moved the faders on the mixing console and interviewed the “guest”, a third person sang along to provide music for fading in and out between the speech segments.

It was a lot of fun, and when the power came back on, the lesson progressed quickly under the tutelage of Kelvin Muzelenga, the new station manager.

However, all this happened in the context of the worst drought Zambia has experienced in many years. The Zambian government has introduced scheduled power outages (loadshedding) to cope with a reduced electricity supply capability. The country is reliant on hydro-electric power, but the rains failed between November and March, leaving rivers and dams at very low levels. This means that government needs to ration electricity supplies until the rivers have been replenished by the next rainy season.

Underground water supplies have not yet run out, so there is still water for irrigation on large farms, and for communal water tanks supplying drinking water in villages like Simooya. However, the drought has ruined maize crops in rural communities where small-scale farmers don’t have irrigation equipment. Small scale farmers grow crops for their own food supply, so lots of households face a year of hunger if they can’t find money buy food instead.

One commercial farmer I visited, on learning that I had come to help get the radio station on air, said my time would be better spent digging boreholes to provide water as that is the real need. As you read this post, you may well feel the same way. It’s the sort of dilemma we are often confronted with.

Maize crops in Simooya, destroyed by the drought conditions. April 2024

The farmer went on to say how sad it is that so many farmers are selling their cattle and goats because there is a lack of good pastureland, and farmers need to sell to get money to buy maize for their families. The flood of livestock on the market has depressed prices, making this an inefficient way to raise money. The farmer also told me that the Tonga cattle, a breed native to this area, are very hardy, adapted to the harsh climate and resistant to local pests. When the drought is over, farmers will want to replenish their stock, but will have to buy in from other regions and the new herds will not be so resistant to local livestock challenges, causing further losses. She thought it would be good if local farmers could work cooperatively to protect their breeding stock.

I realised we were having exactly the kind of conversation that works so well on community-centred radio. An idea is born, and community members talk it over on the radio and in their homes. People are drawn together to work out the details or to adapt the idea and develop a workable solution which is also shared over the radio.

This also goes for conversations about boreholes, raising awareness that boreholes don’t have an infinite supply and could dry up during drought. Water should not be wasted, so radio can help build community consensus around prioritising water use.

We don’t yet know how the people of Simooya will respond to these challenges, but we have seen how innovative the volunteers are in their first attempts at creating content, and how much they want to see their communities flourish. Another commercial farmer from the district has already provided the station manager with sample radio programmes he is making with small scale farmers in the region, discussing ways to maximise productivity despite the drought. We are confident that Simooya and the surrounding village will use the new radio station as one of their primary tools to respond to the drought together, and to ensure as many people as possible can benefit from solutions they develop.

The post Going on air in a drought appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

Amplifying Voices is working with Zambian NGO, Chibozu Community Trust, to set up a community radio station in Simooya. The nearest town to Simooya, Choma, is on the main road from the capital Lusaka to the tourist centres at Victoria Falls. Choma is quite accessible. Simooya is not.

In earlier conversations about logistics and resources for the project, the term “but they’re in the village” seemed to suggest limitations. However, the implications were not clear to me, coming from a UK context where the term suggests an alternative lifestyle choice from urban living. In Zambia’s Southern Province, we soon recognised that “in the village” is a euphemism for isolation and lack. Life for people “in the village” is very different to life for people in towns like Choma. People in Choma have access to reasonable healthcare, toilets and running water in homes, but it’s often not so “in the village”.

Simooya is made up of several settlements each with its own headman. I went to visit some of the headmen and their households, to get a better understanding of what they hoped for in a radio station. I also wanted to introduce myself so that when I return to do installation and training, I’m not a total stranger. Three men and two women from the local charity came with me to translate, and probably also to vouch for me. Building trust is really important in community-centred media projects.

At each place we sat around until a few members of the household gathered. Some might exchange pleasantries, and then there was, what seemed to me, an awkward silence. When I tried to break it and get the conversation going, my companions cautioned me to wait, “it’s different here in the village from the town. We don’t just dive into things.” Then eventually there would be a lift of a chin in my direction and eyes glancing to one of my companions – it’s the cue for “so what’s he got to say then?”

After asking about who lived in the compound, how old were the children etc, I could ask about the radio station. What did the community members hope it would offer them? What kind of shows were they looking forward to listening to? And what if anything should the radio station not do – what mistakes should we avoid?

And so, we came to this man who told us that radio would help him get his missing animals back. These smallholdings don’t have any fences and cattle and goats roam freely, with some teenagers or children keeping an eye on them. The man said that whenever one of his animals goes missing, he has to go to Choma, (which is difficult for villagers to get to), to put out a notice via a commercial radio station (which is expensive and not very local). He is looking forward to having a local radio station to go to place his missing animal notices.

Other families were looking forward to sports updates, to educational programmes and to farmers being able to share ideas and advice with each other. One woman warned us that we should be careful that the radio station doesn’t become a source of misinformation.

People “in the village” don’t want the phrase “in the village” to always have the connotations of poverty that it has now. Our hope is that the radio station plays a significant role in villagers experiencing “fullness of life” instead.

The post Transforming life in the village appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

There are only a few areas of Southern Zambia that don’t have their own radio station. Pemba district is one of those. Weak signals from stations in other districts can sometimes be heard, but the voices and the conversations are not the voices and conversations of Pemba district. They serve the needs of those other places. In Zambia, as in many African countries, community radio is recognised as a vital tool for communities fighting poverty, creating new opportunities and helping to sustain better health outcomes. Our Zambian partner, Chibozu Community Trust and other community members in Pemba district have been advocating for several years to be allowed to close this gap in local radio availability. At the end of June, the government of Zambia allocated a license to Chibozu Community Trust to set up and run a new community radio station for Pemba District.

The station will be located in Simooya, a village in the middle of the rural settlements south of Pemba town. People living in this area are mostly subsistence farmers. Chibozu Community Trust has supported community members to build and run a school and a clinic in Simooya.

We asked how community members were responding to the news that the community radio license had been granted:

The head teacher of the school said

“The community radio station will be a great way to preserve culture and traditions through story telling, interviews and music. Making culture and tradition as part of radio is a great way of passing it down from generation to generation and hence keeping it alive.’’

Another teacher saw the potential for extending education opportunities to those with limited or no access to school.

“the school can broadcast the lessons that can reach many learners thus increasing learning time”.

Simooya Headteacher

Teacher at Simooya School

Community members and health workers also see the potential to support the school and the clinic. These are a great benefit to those living closest, but some community members living more remotely may not be know how or when to access the facilities.

The nurse in charge at the local clinic saw the importance of the radio station when she made the following remarks: ‘’it will be possible for us to send various health information to the community relating to health activities. … For instance when we carry out what we call ‘child health week’.’’

A local mother agreed: “I am happy to be told that there will be a radio station in the area as it will help me get the information on when to take the children for under five clinic services.’’

Community radio will increase local trade opportunities, and support informal local advice networks:

“The coming of a radio station will be very helpful to farmers as it will be easy for us to market our farm products and when it comes to animals diseases, it will be possible to share information about prevention and treatment of various animal ailments.” (A farmer from Simooya)

Local government in Southern Zambia is shared between elected government and traditional chiefs. One of the chiefs said:

‘’The radio station will help us as traditional leaders to send information to our subjects like inviting them for meetings”

This is not just a tool for chiefs getting their messages out. It is a platform that creates opportunities for more local people to get involved in local decision making.

The chief also sees the value of community radio for communication between community members: “it will be easy for someone to trace something if it gets lost such as animals.”

The enthusiasm continues. There are the local businesses looking forward to staying in touch with customers and reaching new contacts, and the local pastors who look forward to better connection with congregations and reaching new people with the Gospel. There is a palpable excitement about the imminent arrival of the new station.

But there are a couple of catches. A brand-new radio station needs to be set up and ready to start broadcasting by the end of October to meet conditions set by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) and ZICTA, government agencies responsible for granting the broadcasting license and a station frequency. The station needs to have suitable premises ready and equipped. The equipment needs to be purchased, shipped, cleared through customs, and installed. Some of the license conditions, e.g., for soundproofing the studio, are more stringent than we would expect (or recommend) for a community radio station, leading to unexpected costs and a larger longer term challenge for the local community to make the station sustainable. A station manager needs to be recruited and local team members trained to use and maintain the equipment, and very importantly, how to create community-centred content in collaboration with community members and local service providers.

We are not standing still, and neither are Chibozu Community Trust or the Simooya Community Members. We have already provided two sessions of online training for the board of Chibozu Community Trust so they are prepared for recruiting and providing governance for a local team. The board have visited other local stations so they understand what the finished setup could look like and what is expected of them. They have started to adapt an unused classroom at the end of the school building for the studio. Amplifying Voices has sourced most of the equipment which should be ready to send to Zambia within the next couple of weeks. We are planning to visit Simooya in the second half of October to oversee the final stages setup and provide training workshops for station staff, community volunteers, service providers and other local stakeholders.

The post A new community radio station for Southern Zambia appeared first on Amplifying Voices.

Meanwhile the Minjilla station, which is solar-powered has given the team a new lease of life and has helped them become more environmentally and financially sustainable. As Fatma says: “In the old station we were on and off air, depending on if we had sufficient funds to pay the electricity bill, but now thanks to the solar power we never have to worry.”

An engineer installs the Solar Panels to provide power to Vox Radio

Alongside the radio station, plans are also progressing with the development of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) hub which will be co-located at the Vox Radio site.  The Vox team has just launched an exciting new programme in partnership with the Paradigm Initiative, known as L.I.F.E, an acronym that stands for Life Skills, ICTs, Financial Readiness, and Entrepreneurship. This programme offers free ICT skills to young people and women in Tana River County to give them digital literacy skills. Twenty excited students took their place yesterday for the first 10-week course, which was such an event that it even made the evening national news bulletin. John believes this and other ICT initiatives will be crucial to reducing poverty in Tana River, while improving community access to health and education services as well as creating new sources of income and employment.  “It will bridge the digital divide that has for years left the marginalised communities in Tana River and especially women and girls excluded from present-day opportunities,” he says.

Participants and Vox Radio team members at the inaugural ‘LIFE’, digital literacy skills workshop (photo: courtesy Vox Radio)

The post Vox Radio Goes Regional appeared first on Amplifying Voices.