Education for Afghans through Radio/TV

Dear Friends,

Radio Meraj has been in operation for just over a year and amazingly is now reaching over two million listeners!

In a survey conducted in May, based on the Cochran formula, 400 people were interviewed and results show that 90.3% of the people listened to Radio Meraj!  62.4% listened to Meraj for 1-2 hours a day, 19.1% listened for 3-4 hours and 8.8% listened for 7-8 hours a day.  If this is applied to the entire population of Herat City of 3 million (covering 2 of the 8 districts that Radio Meraj broadcasts to), then estimates would say that the station reaches approximately 2.7 million people on a daily basis!

The main purpose of all Radio Meraj’s programs is to educate and therefore develop and improve minds and behaviors of people, thereby creating a better functioning society. Helping people to understand their rights, encouraging participation in elections, explaining concepts such as freedom and democracy – these are part of the work of Meraj. The programs include contributions from experts, university teachers, lawyers and activists, both male and female. Including knowledgeable and respected people in the programs encourages listenership and gives credence to the programs.

One listener, Morsal from Zendejan District  had this to say, “I have three younger siblings in my family. They lacked interest in school and as a result received low grades. My older brother and I tried to help them but the end result was fruitless. I began to have them listen to Radio Meraj. While listening to the teenagers’ program, they became interested in studying and academics. Now they spend two or more hours  doing their homework and even reading in their spare time. I owe this to Meraj and only wish the station future success.” 

 Thank you for your support!

Dear Friends, 

TODAY June 15TH -9:00am ET TO 11:59pm!

50% Matching funds available for donations made to CHI projects on GlobalGiving.org! Donations up to $1,000 per individual donor per organization may be matched while funds available.  The money runs out fast- so donate now!

Are you a UK donor? GlobalGiving.co.uk has its own bonus day. Donations up to £1,000 per donor per organization may be matched 50% while funds last. Match starts 14:00:01 BST on June 15th and ends at 4:59:59 BST on June 16th. 

Radio Meraj continues its work reaching thousands of people with news and education. The programs are varied including frequent news updates but also such things as a poetry segment. This is a cultural and educational program in which they discuss the lives of different poets and invite poets from the city to recite their poems on air. This is beneficial for the station but also for the poets as they gain experience in reciting and writing and get feedback and comments. People enjoy the moments of contemplation afforded by poetry which is a revered literary form in Afghan culture.

Zi from Herat Airfield  who works in the army said, "We  soldiers are busy with our daily work and have less time to watch TV or listen to the radio. Although we have a lot of work, we do follow the programs of Meraj Radio and call in to your programs. Your programs make us feel positive and work better and we learned many things from the station programs.  I am thankful of you and your programs".

TODAY, your donation can go further!  Donate between 9:00am and 11:59pm and help CHI continue its valuable work.

Thank you.