The Community Green Radio on Saturday August 1, 2015 celebrated the completion of the 1st year ever since it went on air. The radio, which is one of the programmes of National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE), currently broadcasts through affiliation with Liberty FM from Hoima in Western Uganda on 89.0 FM.
The NAPE Executive Director Mr. Frank Muramuzi described the Community Green Radio anniversary as a great day in the history of NAPE and a great day in the partnership between NAPE and the communities in the Albertine Region.
“Though the Community Green Radio was initiated by NAPE, in essence it belongs to the communities. I am happy that in its one year of existence it has indeed turned out to be the voice of the people at the grassroots in the Bunyoro region,” Mr. Muramuzi said.
“This radio is aimed at amplifying the voices of the local communities in the eco-sensitive Bunyoro Region to effectively participate in natural resource management processes and reports from field indicate that it is already moving in that direction even when it has been on air for just one year” Mr. Muramuzi said.
He thanked NAPE’s development partners especially Rosa Luxemburg Foundation of German (RLS), the Open Society Initiative For East Africa (OSIEA) and the Fund for Global Human Rights (FGHR) whose financial support has enabled the Community Green Radio Project to get on its feet. He also thanked local partner NGOs in Uganda such as the African Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), Mid Western Region Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (MICOD), Mid Western Anti-Corruption Coalition (MIRAC) and Hoima Environment Project (HEP), among others for the support given to the Radio through sponsoring some of its programmes.
Mr. Muramuzi again thanked the listeners of the Community Green Radio who have enabled it to maintain a “community radio character” by their participation and feedback in all its programmes. He thanked in a special way the King of Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom His Majesty Iguru Gafabusa who has remained a great supporter of the Community Green Radio from inception up to now and who has encouraged his ministers, chiefs and people to use the radio for the development of their region.
The Community Green Radio celebrated the anniversary at a time when there is a lot of demand from the listeners that it should operate on its own and be accessed all the time other than the current affiliation arrangement. On this Mr. Muramuzi had this to say;
“We thank all those who have raised their voices strongly to demand for an own station for the Community Green Radio. This is encouraging as it shows that you are listening to the radio and you love its programming. We are making plans to ensure that your request is taken care of in the shortest possible time,” he said.
The function to celebrate the “Birthday” of the Community Green Radio was held at Kigaaga village in Kiziranfumbi sub-county, Hoima District where the radio has a Listeners’ Club. The NAPE Executive Director was represented at the function by Mr. Allan Kalangi the Manager of the Sustainability School Programme and the Community Green Radio. The Community Green Radio developed out of the Sustainability School programme which works on empowering communities to identify their rights and entitlements and work towards attaining and defending them.
At the function attended by hundreds of listeners of the Community Green Radio, Mr. Kalangi led a tree planting exercise to mark the first anniversary of the radio.
“At this function, we are not going to cut a cake but were are going to plant trees show the commitment of the Green Radio to environmental protection and Sustainability of Life on our planet,” Mr. Kalangi said before planting the first tree amidst ululation from the listeners and staff of the Community Green Radio.
Mrs. Lucy Mbuubi a leading community mobiliser for the Community Green Radio and who belongs to Butimba Listeners Club had this to say during the function: “No Radio has ever made us feel important like the Community Green Radio. With this radio, you only need to make a phone call or walk to their offices and your views will be on air free of charge. For us the women, this radio has helped us greatly by giving information on farming, health and sanitation issues, gender issues and how we can fight for our rights effectively. We thank the initiators of this radio and we request that you start broadcasting all the time so that we can tune in to Green Radio whenever we want”
The Station Manager of the Community Green Radio Mr. Julius Kyamanywa said that they are committed to ensuring that the radio serves the interests of the target communities at all times. “We did our programme lineup after extensive consultation of the communities and we keep consulting them for feedback at all times”, he said.
The Community Green Radio is always on air Thursday to Sunday every week from 1:00-3:30 PM. More information on the radio can be accessed
via: www.greenradio.ug
