Members of the community in Itezhi Tezhi in the Southern province of Zambia district believe the coming in of ITT FM radio had transformed people’s lives and called for more resources to be directed towards the station to make it even more effective.
PSAf set up ITT FM radio in 2009 with support from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). The station became operational in 2010, and got a full broadcasting license towards the end of the year.
According to Mr Victor Madyabi, a farmer in Mulibanyama area along Lusaka-Itezhi Tezhi road and who had embraced semi-organic strategies to increase yield and was involved in gardening, the station had improved people’s access to important information such as announcements, notices of meetings and other developments in the community.
“The inception of the radio station has changed my life in agriculture through different information and knowledge I have accessed and acquired from programmes," said Madyabi.
"I have appreciated programmes in which the listeners participate and contribute such as on topics where teachers are involved in relationships with school children and why couples tend to have differences in homes. This is very good because we are now able to know what’s happening in different areas quickly and more effectively than using mobile phones. HIV/AIDS programmes are very helpful because we are badly hit, so the public require more and more updated information about the disease and ways of staying safe.
“The community in Itezhi tezhi and surrounding districts should support the radio station. We should help the staff of radio station in many different ways in their programmes. Let’s work together as community to help the radio station to develop even more”.
And Mrs Lina Mweemba Kaponda, a housewife who owns a small grocery shop and earlier thought the idea of a local radio station was just a pipe dream had the following to say: “…….There are so many good helpful programmes that are aired on ITT radio such as greetings, lessons on marriages and so on. The community is so happy and always listening to radio; people are walking with ear phones, showing that they are listening to their radio”.
Kaponda is also a major contributor to ITT FM radio’s local language programmes and also features on a cookery and nutritional programme. She encouraged fellow community members to give their best to the radio station.
“I am encouraging the community to take care of the radio station because it’s ours. We should not disturb its operations; the people that initiated this saw great need that the people of Itezhi tezhi should benefit greatly through radio”.
