Radio Kwizera'z coverage areas include Northwestern Tanzania, including some parts of Uganda to the South, Eastern parts of Rwanda, Burundi, and some parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo with hopes to extend the reach to major parts of Tanzania and across the Great Lakes region. Currently, RK has over ten point three (10.3) million listeners. The radio was founded in 1995 as an initiative of
the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Catholic Diocese of Rulenge-Ngara. The establishment of the radio was a direct response to the huge deficit in information and education among the rising number of refugees fleeing from the Rwandan genocide and the instability around the African Great Lakes Region into the Western and Northern parts of Tanzania. Over 3 million people who were living in the region and its immediate surroundings did not have easy access to any local, national and international news. The radio came in at an opportune time despite having been met with challenges characterized by a search for identity, mainstreamed content creation, censorship and criticism from the systems while at the same time it has been used as a tool for the promotion of a culture of peace, stability, tolerance, understanding and development among a diverse group of people within the region. Over the years, the staff has been diverse including volunteer workers from other parts of Africa, Europe and America. The Tanzanian government continues to thank the Radio for promoting peace and security. UNHCR acknowledges it for promoting and upholding human rights, refugee protection, security, welfare, and settlement. UNICEF has appreciated it for encouraging children to produce programs by themselves. In fact, in one of its program co-sponsored by UNICEF, in which one of the children got an international Peace Award for producing a children’s program. The young girl was invited to receive the price in one of the most outstanding events in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Mission
Radio Kwizera, being a Jesuit non-commercial regional radio seeks to restore socio-economic prosperity in North-Western Tanzania and its environs that host a number of refugees from the great lakes regions of Africa. Through peace, reconciliation and development programmes, Radio Kwizera works to empower its audience with values, knowledge and skills they need to lead a peaceful and prosperous life. The promotion of peace, reconciliation, education and development programs that will empower audience with the right values, knowledge and skills they need to lead a peaceful and prosperous life forms part of the radio’s way to empower and support the community to realizing its potential. Vision
The vision and mission of the Radio is to defend and to promote a culture of peace and to enhance individual and collective development in the great lakes region. Most of the people in the region, local communities and refugees are regularly left with no forum where they can voice out their concerns to abate forms of oppression or exploitation. It is for this motive that Radio Kwizera provides a platform on which information can be shared and engage the community into effective communicative and participatory action. Values
As a community radio, we are guided by the following values and principles:
1. Transparency
5. Excellence (Magis)
6. Love and peace
7. Preferential option for the poor and the marginalized
8. Community oriented news
9. Gender balanced voices
10. Objectivity
11. Social ethics
12. Social Justice and common good
Radio Kwizera has been in the media industry for the last 25 years. In fact, its silver jubilee was on the 25th of August, 2020. This day marked the historic 25 years since 1995 when the radio made its first live broadcast. Essentially, RK has had a good record for broadcasting well-researched, balanced, impactful stories that promote positive change in the Radio’s coverage area. The radio’s success story is a result of lessons learned and best practices attained over a period of time. Due to RK’s diverse collaborative relationships with partner organizations such as UNICEF and UNHCR, the radio has managed to establish a strong base of listenership and a wider audience. It has also managed to strengthen continued collaboration involving the community to confront unhealthy social mishaps; to stimulate actions for change against diseases, environmental degradation, political decay and to advocate for good governance, peace and reconciliation; creating awareness on climate change, outbreak of pandemics such as HIV/AIDS and has spurred prevention programs as such, entrepreneurial skills and desirable standards of living. The radio has a wealth of experience including admirable personnel comprised of 31 staff; 24 fully contracted journalists (8 women, 16 men); 16 reporters/correspondents who are paid per story produced (1 woman, 15 men); 5 volunteer workers (2 international, 3 locals). Despite the lack of adequate educational background, all the journalists and reporters have worked for more than 7 years in the media industry. UNESCO and BBC Media Action (the BBC Media Bureau in Eastern Africa) have always contributed immensely to building the capacity of the journalists and reporters. In terms of academic qualifications, 14 of the journalists have Diploma level of education in journalism; 3 Bachelor’s Degree holders in Mass Communication-two of them with Masters Degrees and 10 have Certificate training in Journalism. RK continues to build the capacity of the journalists through in-house training as well as exchange programmes with other practitioners and international media agencies to enhance right skills for quality programs and media production at a higher level compared to other community radio stations. Soon, the radio has a strategic plan in which it aspires to upscale media delivery including starting up a television station.
