Feba India with a local partner recently launched a new radio initiative to an “unreachable” tribal area in southern India. Way of Light is a 15 minute programme on short wave produced exclusively for the Koya, a tribe who are about 80% of the tribal population living in the Dandakaranya forests.

Speaking their language
This spring a team from Feba India visited the region to study the impact of the Way of Light programme. Kenneth Edward, Programme Coordinator, says: “We were very encouraged to see our programmes reach such a remote area where one could find it very difficult to go. Kurubadas, one of our Koya listeners shared: ‘Way of Light has strengthened me and my wife in our faith. My mother is still a non-believer, but of late she also has begun to hear this programme. Whenever this programme is broadcast, I keep the transistor outside and play it loud so that all the neighbours can listen and believe.’ ”

The Koya language (with over 300,000 speakers) bears many similarities to Telugu, the official language of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. With high illiteracy rates among this people group, the radio is a key way to speak to them in their heart language. The programme is also being streamed on the web radio site www.febaonline.org in the Telugu programme segments.

In person, by radio, by CD
During their visit to a Koya village, the team spent time with people creating awareness of the radio programme, helping people to tune their radios. “Thank you for bringing to us a programme in our own language,” says a listener.

Feba India also produced 500 CDs of the Way of Light programme which in partnership with others will be distributed to the Koyas, mostly non-believers. Each CD includes songs and inspirational messages in the Koya language. “We are indeed thankful to the Lord for this unique opportunity to take the Gospel to the unreachable through the radio,” says Kenneth. “We’ve enjoyed encouraging and promoting radio listenership among the Koya.”