The Province of Maniema (eastern DRC) has more than three million inhabitants. Landlocked, access to information is via FM radio. It is confronted with armed groups and the governance of local resources. For peace and social harmony, populations, often manipulated by politicians' radios, need community radio for impartial information in which it can express itself. We need a solar kit to keep broadcasting.
Created in 2006 with funding from the National Endowment for Democracy, the Radio operates on solar energy from 2012. The batteries were renewed in 2013 by Fondation Hirondelle and Internews. . With the means on board, the radio replaced the batteries in 2017. These batteries and some aging equipment must be renewed so that community radio continues to serve the population (often in confrontation, because manipulated and poorly informed by politicians who defend their interests
Once the solar kit and the materials have been renewed, the Radio will increase its operating hours and consequently grant more air time to local communities so that they can talk about their problem, but also so that they are sensitized and have the right information. Our community Radio is the first of two community radios broadcasting in Kindu, capital of Maniema province, in an environment of 15 radios, 13 of which belong to political actors who use them to manipulate the local populations.
Once the operating hours are increased, local communities will have the opportunity to express themselves and appropriate the culture of peace, of peaceful coexistence ... an important factor for sustainable development at the grassroots. Local populations will also have the opportunity to discover true information and not be manipulated by the radios of political actors in search of positioning.
This project has provided additional documentation in a XLSX file (projdoc.xlsx).
