The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) has installed a community radio station in Lainya County of Central Equatoria State.
Being the only community radio in the area, the radio is expected to boost the return of people from refugee camps, restore hope and promote peaceful cohesion in the county.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, Moses Pitia, the Program Manager of CEPO, said the project is funded through a consortium led by International Organization for Migration (IOM), and it has three pillars; reconciliation, stabilization and resilience and that the radio falls under reconciliation pillar meant to support peaceful coexistence and social cohesion in a way to provide access to information in the area.
“This project is in a consortium led by IOM, and it has three pillars, the reconciliation pillar, the stabilization pillar and the resilience pillar and the community radio falls under reconciliation. They are meant to support peaceful coexistence and social cohesion in a way that they can be established to provide access to information by the grassroots because there has been this big gap in the flow of information from the national level to the grassroots,” he said.
“ Some people are living in a dilemma. They don’t know what is happening, even the level of the revitalized peace agreement; some only know that the president and Dr. Riek Machar signed a revitalized peace agreement in 2018, but they don’t know how far with the implementation,” Pitia added.
Pitia pointed out that the project is funded by a multi-partners trust fund under a program called Reconciliation, Stabilization, Resilience Trust Fund (RSRTF), being led in a consortium formed by IOM with partnership from CEPO, Finn church aid, Whitaker for peace and development initiative and SPEDP.
Retired Bishop Elioba Laku Obede, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Tomoret FM, said the establishment of the radio is important to the people of Lainya because it can help in addressing many issues as far as peace messages and the flow of information are concerned since Lainya boarders most parts of the green belt region.
“This radio is very important to us here in Lainya because Lainya is a very big county and may be the biggest in Central Equatoria state. This will help us bring news to our people and help in addressing many issues. Lainya borders Juba, Morobo, Kajo-Keji, Yei and Western Equatoria State because we used to listen to outside radios, but now we have our own,” Retired Bishop Elioba explained.
He further said the community would help in the sustainability of the radio and that the available NGOs on the ground, traders and prominent and influential people in the community will help support the radio.
“We have got many NGOs within. Also, we shall make members with the community and the traders to help us to maintain the radio. So we are hopeful about what we are trying to do. We have held many meetings with prominent people, and the community will help in maintaining the sustainability of the radio,” he stated.
The radio is called Tomoret FM in Bari language which means unity in English.