About 17 members of the newly formed Iyete FM listeners club in Morobo County have received radio sets from the Samaritan Media, with funding from UNESCO.
The awards came on Thursday after the conclusion of a two-day workshop for women and the youth, aimed at promoting community listenership and media development.
A Samaritan Media consultant and the lead trainer, David Knight, told Radio Tamazuj that the club is an important part of the radio that enables it to have continued interaction with the community.
”The listeners’ club is a very important part of the radio development. We have in the other parts of the country, radio communities that have been supported by UNESCO that were doing well, for instance in Amadi, Magwi and Pibor,” he said.
“There are people who call in to participate in the radio programs but have no clubs through which they could come up come with topics that can have a positive impact on the community,” he added.
Knight said the radio sets would enable the club members to actively participate in the activities of the Iyete FM.
A club member, Hellen Anyaku Christopher, expressed her happiness seeing the women involved and stressed that the training and the radio sets would help them iron out the community issues like domestic violence and the abuse of the rights of women.
“I am happy because the women are involved in this training and we have got the knowledge to connect with the community, knowing the constitution and the rights of a woman. We will also share the views on gender-based-violence and guide our people, and there should be continued support to the club as it expands,” she said.
Pastor Peter Modi Peter said the club membership would enable the listeners to actively participate in the daily affairs of the radio and raise the community concerns.
”These radio sets will help us a lot because most people previously lacked access to information. The radio sets will help the club members to actively participate in the community affairs as well raise their concerns on air,” he said.
Morobo County in Central Equatoria State first established a radio station in 2023. The formation of the listeners club and the distribution of the radios sets to the members will go a long way in encouraging participation of the residents in the community affairs.