Officially opening the radio station

8 May 2010: Plan Ghana in partnership with the Sissala district has officially launched Radio Radford, a community radio station which will be a voice for the community, promoting social empowerment and development.

Jobs, information, entertainment

Diyaka, a member of the Tumu community in Sissala and retired broadcaster, said: “The community radio in Tumu helps the children and the Sissala community as whole in terms of jobs, information and entertainment and it also will foster peace and unity.”

Communities in Sissala, including the Youth Network, initiated the project in 2005, but only recently has it been officially recognised by the government in Ghana, when the Minister of Communications, Haruna Iddrisu, attended the launch ceremony.

Promoting development

In his speech addressed to Radio Radford and other community radio stations, the Minister asked the programmes to promote the development so needed in Sissala:

“Among the critical areas here are poverty, food insecurity, illiteracy, environmental degradation, inadequate access to health services, poor sanitation and migration to southern Ghana in search of non-existent jobs...”

Commemorating the opening

He added that the move from analogue to digital broadcasting would offer a lot of opportunities to radio stations, and recognised Plan Ghana’s contribution of equipment, funds and human resources to Radio Radford.

"I could be a broadcaster too!"

Lutufia, a young girl from Tumu who tunes in to Radio Radford is 16 years old, and couldn’t hide her joy: “Now I can see all that the presenters do in Accra, right here in Tumu - I could be a broadcaster too!”

Through Radio Radford, Plan Ghana is helping communities provide children with a platform to advocate for their rights and participation.