Video has not yet killed the radio star-- at least not in Zambia!

A couple of years ago, while on the bus from Kaoma to Zambia’s capital city of Lusaka, I chatted with a young visionary, well-meaning but, in my opinion, misguided. His mission in Mongu was to develop an “app” to inform and educate subsistence farmers in the Western Province. I loved his enthusiasm, but didn’t have the heart to tell him, that he was ahead of his time. Those of us working in the remote areas of the Western Province know it will be years before cell phone infrastructure is in place for many of these areas, and maybe even more years before rural subsistence farmers can afford the smart phones capable of accessing these “apps.”

 

One of the most efficient forms of communication remains the old-fashioned radio. Cheap transistor radios are readily available and affordable. With proper antennae, the range of a radio station can reach tens of thousands of farmers and villagers. Radio stations can be used for health and agricultural training, importance developments and announcements (particularly in the area of agriculture), and English-language instruction for children and adults alike.

 

Mundia Munukayuma is a local educator in Lukulu, a town approximately 150 kilometers from WISE’s headquarters in Kaoma. Mr. Munukayuma is also the founder and board chair of Lukulu FM, a local radio station. In this video Mr. Munukayuma and others share the value of the local radio station.

 

Mr. Munukayuma is also a partner with WISE, and is working with us to bring his old-fashioned technology to Kaoma, assisting us in reaching tens of thousands of people in this area–including our students and their families. Our goal is to have WISE-FM on the air within two years.

 

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