Sam Koang Malual, the Executive Director for Community Peace Radio Organization pictured in the studio of Akobo FM - Credit: CPRO

Residents of Akobo County in Jonglei State will now have their voice heard as a USAID-funded community radio station was inaugurated to keep communities informed on peace and important issues in their lives.

The radio station is a brainchild of local Non-Governmental Organization – Community Peace Radio Organization, which was registered in 2017 by a group of local youths.

CPRO was established with the aim of helping to mobilize resources and lobby funding to enhance access to information in Akobo.

Four years later, the organization’s Executive Director Sam Koang Malual, pioneered the program ‘Walk Talk – Talk’ – where local news and information is broadcasted using a mobile load speaker.

Mr Koang said the initiative compelled USAID-funded Internews to equip them with voice recorders and sound system – thus enabling them to collect people’s voices to compile news and play them in public places.

He said through the Walk Talk – Talk, they were able to sensitize the communities on issues affecting them including human rights, gender-based violence, importance of child education, health issues and peacebuilding programs.

December 2023 was a turning point for the local media service as the USAID South Sudan, through the Shejeh Salam program implemented by DT Global, installed Akobo FM 98.5 Radio station.

It was inaugurated and handed over to the Community Peace Radio Organization on Wednesday.

Speaking to Eye Radio from Akobo, Mr. Koang said the new radio station will create civic education among the local population.

“We will sensitize the communities to send their children to school not to keep them at home or sending them to cattle camp or either to get some guns for them, those young boys to reiterate or for revenge killing,” he said.

“So, they will be able to send their kids through advice or through the talk show that people will be addressing through the radio.”

He further said it will also advocate and sensitize the communities to engage in agriculture to alleviate hunger and poverty.

Sam appeals to well-wishers to support the new installed radio station with building the capacity of its reporters to provide accurate information to the public.

“The immediate support that I need now, the journalists that I am working with need capacity building in Journalism, the basic journalism training it is needed,” he said.

“We informed the partners; we informed the union of Journalists in this side of Jonglei state and yet nothing yet happened, but they said they will do something.”

“But I need a quick response on that I need these people to be capacitated such that they can give accurate information to the public.”