The community of Bansang in the Central River Region have a new community radio station, and people there no longer need to depend on Brikama Ba community radio for information, as was the case before. The radio which is operating on the frequency of 107.2 on the FM band is sponsored by UNESCO.
Speaking to this paper at the community radio’s office in Bansang on Tuesday, Pa Amadou Jallow a youth desk officer at the National Commission for UNESCO (NATCOM), said UNESCO’s operational areas include to promote communication at the grass roots level.
He noted that this was the second community radio sponsored by UNESCO in the country, the first being the one located in Jarra Soma, Lower River Region.
He pointed out that prior to the coming of the radio, a survey was conducted and, when completed, the findings revealed that the only community radio in the area was Brikama-Ba, and it was difficult for Bansang and its cluster villages to tune in to Brikama-Ba community radio.
Mr. Jallow noted that the radio will focus on promoting culture at the grass roots level, and will be managed by the community themselves.
He stressed that staff have been recruited and, at the moment, two will be paid by NATCOM up to a time the radio station would be able to sustain itself, and the other support staff would be recruited by the radio through its programmes.
He said the new radio station has entered the airwaves since 12 August 2011, but will be officially inaugurated on 28 September 2011.
Already, they have started allocating airtime to the Regional Health Team in Bansang, and they will extend it to other government departments and NGOs working in the region.
He added that the staff have undergone training in radio and basic journalism, and all these are to equip them with working knowledge. He thanked the chief, alkalo and the entire community for the support they are giving to the radio.
Isatou Mbackeh the administrator of the radio said their first priority would be to build the capacity of their staff, and to come up with very good and educative programmes that would be useful to the people.
Maimuna Bandeh an announcer at the radio said they would be polite to their audience, and will always give their best to the community.
