Ata Nayeche FM

by Support | Oct 12, 2018

Ata Nayeche FM is a Community Radio Station started by Nayanae – Emeyen Youth Group (NYG) with the aim of promoting peacebuilding activities among the host communities and the Refugees in Turkana County. The radio station is located in Kakuma. It was set-up in September 2012 through the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with funding from the JAPAN under TICAD Project. The radio has coverage of about 70 Km radius, covering all the 24 villages in Kakuma including the Refugee Camps, areas which hold a population of about 120,000 people.

Frequency: 107.5 FM
Geographical reach: 70 KM Radius
Language/s of broadcast: Mainly in Swahili, Turkana, and Arabic.
Broadcast duration: 12 hours (5 am – 11 p.m)
Location: Kakuma town, Turkana County
Estimated audience: 120,000 listeners
Contact Person: Esekon Jackson, Station Manager

The radio is named after the revered ancestral mother of the Turkana people known as Ata Nayeche. Some of the founding objectives of the radio station include: to raise the socio-economic standards of Kakuma; to help foster peace in the entire Turkana West region that has been marred by violence and cattle rustling in the past; to help promote good relations between the refugee and host communities through various platforms; and to educate the youth on various issues including drug abuse and pre-marital sex. The bandwidth range of the signal is within a radius of 70 Kilometers, “but the distance does not matter, but who is reached.” says Patrick Donald Oucha, a former News and Information Editor for Ata Nayeche FM. “We do not look at the distance, because this area is sparsely populated, we look at the concentration here in Kakuma and how effective we are.” Ata Nayeche FM has devised various radio programs that focus on an assortment of issues for a wide range of its audiences: from the old to the young, to the hosts and the refugees. Some of these programs are sponsored by nongovernmental organizations.