y Emil Græsholm. Reposted from the FrontlineSMS:Radio blog
Pamoja FM is a community radio station located within the Kibera slum in Nairobi. The slum is a lively, vibrant place and is characterised by a continuous buzz of activity. Operating from a small office at the top of a tall building overlooking Kibera, the station has close ties with the slum as the community are actively involved in contributing to the broadcast content. Pamoja FM has received its primary funding from USAid and it focuses on community issues through debates and feature broadcasts, as well as airing a range of music shows and news. Emil Græsholm, who is currently studying at Cambridge University, visited Kibera in December 2010 and here he shares his experiences working alongside staff at Pamoja FM.
Community Radio When I visited Pamoja in December 2010 the staff, and especially the director Adam Hussein, were very open and friendly, inviting me to understand the inside of Kibera and the workings of the station. At Pamoja FM, everyone is a volunteer and many of the reporters are interns.
The station has a director, Adam Hussein who is supported by several editors including programme editor, Philip Muhatia and news editor, Thomas Bwire. In practice, however, the organisation structure is very flexible and flat, and requires reporter and technical staff to undertake a variety of tasks, including story collection, sound editing, broadcasting on air and researching. Local content from the slum is collected by the reporters and sometimes delivered on-air by the community. National and international content is mainly adapted from other media sources such as newspapers and television as it is filtered or moderated to fit the needs of the community…… (read more on the FrontlineSMS:Radio)