12 / 52
In June, at the One World Media Awards in London, a small community radio
station in Democratic Republic of Congo was catapulted into the limelight:
Radio Canal Revelation
scooped the prestigious Special Award – an accolade
normally assigned to media heavyweights such as the BBC World Service. “We
feel very small in the face of this very big thing,” said Richard Pituwa, the
station’s founder, to a crowded audience of broadcasters, filmmakers, aid agencies
and non-governmental organisations. RCR started broadcasting during ethnic
fighting between Hema and Lendu militias, when “many people found themselves
voiceless”. Operating on a tiny budget, the station continued to provide news,
civic education, health and music programmes to the town of Bunia throughout
the ethnic disputes, aiming to remain neutral.
Suzie Schilling
traces the story of RCR.
Above
Rebel soldiers take cover as fresh fighting erupts in Bunia, June 2003. Tribal militias had been
fighting in and around the town for a month, killing hundreds and forcing tens of thousands from
their home.
Right
Radio Canal Revelation presenters outside the station in Bunia
REUTERS/Antony Njuguna
The Channel
- supported by
FROMWAR TO AWARD
t cha nel
- supported
by
www.aib.org.uk12
|
the
channel