In the region of Tabora, located in the Western part of Tanzania, there is a new voice of hope is being born. This area, home to more than two million people, has recently received the materials to build a new radio station in order to bring the Good News to the people and to keep them informed, entertained, and educated.
The brand new Taa Bora FM will be the second Catholic radio station in the Region, located in a place where it is especially needed since the number of priests is very low in comparison to the devoted that need them, thus bringing a new voice that can serve the local catholic community will allow people to engage more with their faith. As Fr. Thomas Mambo, Coordinator of Social Communications for the Archdiocese of Tabora, told us in an interview during our Facebook Live program SIGNIS With You Live, he thinks that the radio station will “help send Jesus Christ to the people who are in need of his teachings”. As radio has the outstanding ability of reaching even the most secluded places, he considers that “having this radio station will allow people living in remote areas to enjoy the Good News and the Good Tidings, the word of God”. Actually, most of the inhabitants of Tabora are farmers or pastors. The latter live in the forest, making it very difficult for them to come to Church on Sundays. But now, they also will be able to be present in the mass and receive the word of God by just adjusting a frequency!
Fr. Mambo shared that this project means to be self-sustained. With the income generated from the Nazareth Canteen, where food and drinks are offered, they can raise money for the expenditure of the radio station. Same with the local hostel, where food and accommodation are supplied. These are only some examples of how Taa Bora FM plans to support itself, apart from the donations they have received from various organizations in order to make this radio station a reality. The main goal of this project is “to improve the evangelization efforts” to make people understand better the catholic faith through the radio, a means of communication that “is boundless”. The second is education. The radio wants to be strictly for religious purposes but also for education in general: education on best health matters, what are the best practices for cultivating, growing crops, beekeeping… in an effort to reduce ignorance in the area.
At the moment, all the material and equipment required for launching this new radio station have arrived in one of the main Tanzanian cities, Dar es Salaam, and they are being transported to Tabora, located at an 822km (511 miles) distance. All of it was purchased thanks to the support and guidance of SIGNIS Services Rome, who studied the needs of the area to choose the materials that were most appropriate, to then acquire them and ship them to Tanzania. After the final touches are done to the building that will host Taa Bora FM, all this equipment will be put in place at the different radio studios, the control room, and other rooms such as the newsroom where journalists will meet, and those dedicated to the programming managers. All that is left to do is get the transmission tower and then the radio station will be completed.
The wishes of Fr. Mambo are for Ta Bora FM to start broadcasting in mid-2021, and as he thanked SIGNIS Services Rome for “the endeavors (we) are doing to help the church in the area of communication” we cannot but renew our commitment to making this radio station a reality and to keep working on our goal to improve the world through the support of media for a culture of peace.