Millennium Voice 102.2

Millennium Voice, a radio station with a broadcast radius of 50 km, is one part of the Millennium Villages Project. Lots of people have radios here- operated by batteries or solar- and the station was put up as a public service to play Runyankole and Ruchika music and to disseminate information. They do shows on best agricultural practices, gender discrimination, health topics, and entrepreneurship. There are large solar panels to power the station but there are challenges. I’m learning about things like why inverters help- ours is blown. And it’s rainy season so that the sun doesn’t shine all day every day. They usually use a gas-powered generator in the morning (a problem since gas, which is more expensive than in the US, needs to be carried in jerry cans by motorcycle on the steep and slippery dirt roads) though they are often able to turn it off by noon. My spot of fame on the radio says, "I'm Dr. Linda. I'm from the US. I stay in Isingiro (district) and I listen to Millennium Voice 102.2!" The line-up is Wake Up, Workers, local music mixed with call-ins (this week they talked about things like whether jealousy is good or bad and why cross-generational sex occurs), then Welcome Home. The DJ in the photo is ‘DJ Papa’.