Promote & Improve Village Radio In Rural Cameroon

Boyo Community Radio (BCR) in a bid to continuously educate, inform and sensitize the population of Boyo Division on the need to achieve more develop how multiplies radio programs within the past three months in the areas of health, environment, human rights and politics.

Over the past three months BCR has ran many health programs. These were carried out to the population though radio spots and health talks given by Boyo Mutual Health Organization—which is a solidarity fund contributed by community members to enable them to acquire good health services at reduced costs. Also, BCR held a radio program focused on pregnant women the program is titled ‘Sweet Pregnancy’. It sensitizes women to attend clinks early so as to reduce the risk of their babies being infected in the case they have a disease live HIV. Programs also touch other health topics like malaria, cholera and dysentery.  This is done with the partnership of some organizations like Better Family Foundation (BFF), local government centre LOGNET and the doctors of the government hospital.

In the domain of politics, the radio played a very important role in educating the population to register and vote during the September 30^th, 2013 municipal and legislative elections in Cameroon. Between May 1^st to July 2^nd the radio informed the population where ELECAM was registering people and has now developed some radio spots to sensitize voters to get their cards and perform their civic duties when election take place on September 30^th, 2013. More women are encourage to join politics through radio program with the support of Community Initiative for Sustainable Development Change Communications and many others.

Human rights has also been the focus of the radio working with NGO’s like PLAN Cameroon, International Circle for the Promotion of Creating and government services of Women Empowerment and the Family through programs that touch mostly on the rights of children and widows. For example, radio spots in Pidgin English produced by CIPCRE on the need to denounce abuses of children’s rights. Coverage of workshops, seminars and conferences like the 16^th edition of African Child’s Day on 16 June 2013 and the 3^rd International Day of Widows on Junes 23^rd, 2013 was also done.

In the domain of environment, BCR on June 14, 2013 carried out a radio program with Better Family Foundation on how and why the population should protect water systems to ensure sustainability. Another program on the population’s participation in cleaning the town of Fundong was run on the radio June 26, 2013 and the District Medical Officer of the Fundong Health Center was a gust on the program to talk about the health effects of a dirty environment. Radio programs on the need to avoid bush burning or rampant tree cutting was also produced by the radio.

In the midst of all these struggles by the radio to produce these program to contribute in community development we faced challenges include:

-Absence of good recording equipment and good microphones

-Constant breakdown of the radio transmitter

-Insufficient financial means to carryout field work and motivate staff

-The radio lacks real trained journalists.

Station Manger Deng Eric