Feba’s partnership project with HDCS in Nepal is underway with staff trained and ready, and two stations off the starting blocks. Arif Mohamed finds out more.

Man with boy on his lap: Man with boy asleep on his lap in Nepal
With Christianity no longer a persecuted religion in Nepal, doors are opening for Christian radio in this beautiful, mountainous land.

On 14 June 2008, the first of several planned Christian radio stations in Nepal began broadcasting. These are part of the CoRIN (Community Radio Initiative in Nepal) Project, a partnership between Feba UK and HDCS (Human Development & Community Services), a Nepali Christian non-governmental organisation.

The aim is to build FM stations in districts where HDCS has hospitals, which provide vital services to thousands of Nepali.

Up and Running

The CoRIN stations broadcast mainly to Hindu audiences, coming alongside listeners who have little or no contact with Christians or the Gospel.

The first station to be up and running, on 14 June, was in Dadeldhura, broadcasting test programming four hours a day. The second station will be in Okhaldunga.

The singular goal and big prayer request is for these two stations to be fully on air having received final government approval.

At the time of writing, there was still much paperwork to complete, as well as installation of permanent transmission equipment, so prayer is needed, said Sean MacKenzie, Feba UK Development Director for South Asia, and Partner Administrator for the CoRIN Project.
Man with boxes on back

Opportunity Knocks

The Okhaldunga station was due to go on air first, but the opportunity in Dadeldhura opened up quickly, said Sean.

In June, as per the decision of the Council of Ministers, HDCS signed an agreement with the Ministry of Health and Population for the management and operation of the Dadeldhura hospital. “This was the trigger that shifted our attention to Dadeldhura since there is a close connection between the hospital and the radio station.”

Also, a number of technical considerations, and a rich human resources pool for radio staff, all contributed to Dadeldhura moving ahead more quickly. It was a good move and did not hinder the Okhaldunga effort at all, said Sean.

First Fruits

"Widespread and encouraging feedback"

“Listener feedback to the Dadeldhura broadcasts has been very encouraging and widespread,” said Sean. “People are so happy to hear radio in the local dialect with good music and relevant topics of interest being discussed.”

The Dadeldhura radio team were trained back in May, along with all CoRIN Project staff and volunteers, at a two-week training course in Kathmandu.

Sean noted, “Our local staff – none of whom had any previous radio experience – are coping very well. But they need prayer as they continue to hone and improve their radio production and broadcasting skills.”

The training workshops in May were successful on a number of levels, he said. Primarily, they created a team spirit with the CoRIN Project staff, who are spread out across Nepal from far east to far west.

Training is ongoing and will continue to be a big part of the CoRIN Project's focus.
Crop Pickers Walking

Final Preparations

Meanwhile, preparations for the Okhaldunga station are going well. “We are seeing good progress at Okhaldunga, and it has very good staff, which is its strength. A full complement is now in place and they are practising the skills they learned at our training workshop,” said Sean.

"Good progress at Okhaldunga"

Technical work is also progressing, as CoRIN maps signal distribution patterns. The mountains in the Okhaldunga area present a much greater signal distribution challenge than in Dadeldhura, so the big issue is where to place our transmitter to get best coverage for the least cost.

Self-Supporting

The long term goal for CoRIN is to see a number of stations around the country become self-supporting within the next four to five years, and remain a long term presence in their communities. Ongoing funding will be required for this.

Nepal itself provides rich opportunities for the Gospel to prosper. With the arrival of the new government and leadership, Christians are no longer persecuted as before. Nepal is also a leader in Asia in the development of community radio, so there is government support.

"Our heart is to serve"

Sean concluded, “Our goal is to serve the communities where we broadcast from a Christian perspective, and this is all within Nepali law. I would like to express a sincere thanks to all who read and respond to this with prayer for our efforts and the CoRIN Project.”