The Media Development Institute (MDI) on Thursday unveiled equipment they purchased through funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the institute’s administrators said.

 MDI is the training and capacity building wing of the Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS) and the support from USAID is aimed at bolstering the training of journalism students. 

The gadgets included cameras, tape recorders, and hard drives among others. 

Ayaa Irene Lokang, the MDI principal said they received a cash fund from USAID which was used to buy the new media tools. She added that they were facing many challenges with practical training due to the absence of gadgets.

“We have received funding support from the USAID through the Shejeh Salam Project and we were the ones who procured the recorders, cameras, microphones, and hard drives,” Ayaa said. “Journalism is practical and you cannot do the practical training without equipment. We have been having challenges delivering practical training because we did not have enough equipment. We received a few items from Internews in the past.” 

Juma Peter, the media development officer at AMDISS appreciated the American agency for donating funds that were used in purchasing the equipment.

“It is part of resources mobilization to empower the Media Development Institute,” Juma said. “The Institute is among those that offer courses to people aspiring to become journalists.”

The MDI students’ representative, Tito Yiey, said they are delighted to use the tools which will improve their practical skills.

“We are very happy because the equipment is so important for the MDI students and we are so grateful,” Yiey said. “We thank the MDI administration plus the donors for the support to us.”