A delegation from United States Embassy in South Sudan has discussed the impact of the Voice of Hope radio to the community during their visits to Wau, Western Bahr El Ghazal this week.
The team comprised of representatives from Agency for International Development (USAID) and the DT-Global Sheja Salaam program. They met with Voice of Hope management to witness how best their support helps the performance of the station.
Public affairs officer for US Embassy, Moulik D. Berkana, reveals their visits is to look at the current projects and see for future collaboration with the radio.
He acknowledges the role media plays in South Sudan and is a key tool for accessing information.
Berkana called the journalists to follow journalism ethics and advance digital media through investigation and accurate reporting.
“The role of the media is always very important, especially in a country like South Sudan where so many people live outside the country. The radio is an important means to share communication.”
“In any democratic country, it’s really important that people find access to information. It’s the role of journalists to do investigative reporting to find information and to share it with the Citizens,” Berkana said.
Moulik further urged the government to understand the role of media and journalist role of finding and sharing information with the citizens.
“Journalists are free to practice their profession. So this kind of incidences of harassment and detention of journalists are quite concerning, you know in a democracy we said that freedom of expression is the fourth pillar of democracy,” he said.
Voice of Hope’s Assistant Station manager, Batista Ilario Kaima, says the radio has changed its operation to the best standard through USAID support.
He calls for more assistance to ensure the communities are informed through the radio as affordable tools of communication for ordinary remote and urban setups.
The U.S. Embassy is supporting South Sudan through the Sheja Salam project which includes radio equipment, furniture, and staff training.
Voice of Hope is a community church base radio station in the diocese of Wau, Western Bahr El Ghazal state.