By Foday Moriba Conteh
Being part of their ‘More Than A Woman’ (MTAW) Project which is geared towards strengthening and promoting women’s participation in politics, governance and decision-making in the country, SEND Sierra Leone in partnership with Irish Aid has on Wednesday 2nd March 2022 commissioned The Nyapui Radio Station FM 106.1 in Kenema. The officially commissioning of the Nyapui Radio Station which was attended by dignitaries took place at the premises of the Radio Station on Reservation Road, Kenema City, the Eastern Region of Sierra Leone.
Giving a brief background of the radio at the launch, the Country Director of SEND Sierra Leone, Joseph Ayamga started by expressing his sincere gratitude to Irish Aid through the Embassy in Sierra Leone for taking the bold step to support the establishment of the Voice of Women Radio (Nyapui Radio) in Kenema which he described as a bold step in the right direction stating that because many multilateral institutions, donors, and NGOs shy away from similar initiatives to provide empowerment and employment creation for many people in Sierra Leone.
He pointed out that the Nyapui Radio Station which operates on FM 106.1 covering the Eastern Region and part of the Southern Region is legally registered with the Independent Media Commission, National Revenue Authority and other regulatory bodies in Sierra Leone.
“The vision of the radio is to stand for the truth, enhance transparency, accountability, voice, and commit to patriotic deeds that will contribute to improving good governance, strengthening democracy while extolling the good values of Sierra Leone. It must never be political and never shy away from holding authorities accountable for their actions that don’t exude national integrity and enhance the nation’s collective good,” he revealed.
The Country Director posited that radio should be an excellent example of how when women lead, there is responsible and responsive development in the country, and that it must never be a platform for the women to enrich themselves at the expense of promoting the values that add value to women’s lives, especially the farthest behind, to live resilient and thriving lives.
“To the women who lead the radio, your number one priority is not to confuse others. If you need to act, act without further hesitation or doubt. It will help if you stand for the truth because it will always survive with time,” he admonished.
Delivering her statement, the Irish Aid Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Claire Buckley, described the commissioning ceremony of the radio station as a very important day in the history of their partnership with SEND SL, adding that it is important because they are launching the first ever radio station dedicated to increasing the voices of women in the Eastern part of Sierra Leone
“Today, women in the Eastern Region, Bonthe and all over the country have the opportunity to own their narrative and change that situation. The NYAPUI RADIO provides the opportunity to increase your voices – make them louder and prouder than before. It also provides the space for women to educate their peers about their rights and responsibilities in politics and governance,” she disclosed.
On his part, the President Sierra Leone Association of Journalists Ahmed Sahid Nasralla said he is delighted to be part of history making in the development of women especially within the media landscape.
He said that there are only two stations in the country that are dedicated to women’s broadcast and empowerment; one is in Mattru in the Southern region, and now Nyapui Radio Kenema in the Eastern Region the second radio station dedicated to amplify the voices of women in the country which he described as a move in the right direction towards the development of women.
He added that the Station Manager of Nyapui Radio is a woman and that’s what makes it significant as the media in Sierra Leone is male-dominated and one would find few women in leadership positions in the industry maintaining that he is of the strong conviction that more women will emerge.
In his keynote address, on behalf of the Minister of Information and Communication, Honourable Mohamed Rahman Swarray, while doing the officially commissioning of the radio station, the Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, Solomon Jamiru said the media plays a very important role in promoting good governance and consolidating peace and security, underscoring that using it as a platform to promote issues affecting women and their empowerment in the country is a laudable venture.
He stated that this new development in the country will add value to the development of women and girls, noting that 51% of the country’s populations are women of which he used the opportunity to encourage women to take advantage of the percentage they own.
The Minister noted that Nyapui Radio is important towards educating women about their rights and responsibilities and it will digitalize into tangible result towards the empowerment of women, furthering that one of the clusters in the Mid-Term National Development Plan is geared towards the empowerment of women which he said the Government will continue to support in that drive.
Other dignitaries present, including the Board Chairperson of SEND-SL, Madam Lucy Gondor, the Executive Secretary Commissioner Khalil Kallon made salient contributions.
The Executive Secretary of the Independent Media Commission (IMC), Khalil Kallon presented the License of Nyapui Radio to the Board Chairperson of SEND-SL, Madam Lucy Gondor, of which he used the opportunity to admonish them to operate according to the dictates of the principles of the Independent Media Commission (IMC) in order to avoid penalties.
