In Vikes’ partner countries Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, the majority of the population lives in rural areas and earns its living by cultivating the land. Basic services such as electricity or running water are often not available.
But radio is part of almost every home, and in Africa it is by far the most important media.
There is little national media coverage of rural issues and the rural voice has not been heard in national policy-making in the past.
Thanks to radio portals built in Tanzania and Uganda with Vikes support, local community radio stations in rural areas have gone online. This has enabled them to reach a wider audience and new partners and donors outside their local coverage area.
Community radios reached millions of people in rural Tanzania
The Tanzanian community radio portal, Radio Tadio, was launched in 2020 and now includes 40 radio stations from almost every province in Tanzania. The portal allows you to read news and listen to live recordings from rural radio stations. In 2023, the portal hired a dedicated editor-in-chief and trained more than 300 radio journalists from across Tanzania to work on news and podcasts. Around a third of those trained are women.
Vikes also supports the production of programmes of Jamii FM, a community radio station in Mtwara, Tanzania. In 2023, Vikes supported the production of 34 thematic programmes on women and girls, disability rights, local environmental issues and the impact of the climate crisis.
Jamii FM currently gets its electricity from 20 solar panels. Mtwara local radio’s positive experiences with solar power will be shared with other rural radio stations in Tanzania and Uganda.
The fundraising of Uganda’s rural radio improved greatly
A community radio portal was made at the end of 2022 in Uganda. The Radio Comnetu portal brings together 22 rural radio stations from across the country. In its first year of operation, 68% of the participating stations reported a clear improvement in their fundraising performance, with programmes also being listened to in the capital, Kampala.
In Uganda, 220 radio journalists have been trained to produce news and use the online portal, a third of whom are women. Last spring, the Ugandan portal hired a dedicated editorial team of three.
In Kenya, most of those trained are women
Vikes is helping to train young journalists to do better stories from rural areas in Kenya. Under three and a half years, 67 journalists from across Kenya have been mentored and trained to produce online stories and radio programmes for Radio Baraza, an online media outlet.
In 2023, trainings were organized for young journalists from Mount Kenya, South-East Kenya and Maasai regions. In previous years, young journalists have been trained in the Lake Victoria and North Rift regions and the Indian Ocean coast.
In Kenya, 54 percent of those trained are women. One of the key themes of the trainings is the role of media reporting in strengthening the position of women.