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December 03, 2008

Djibo Radio Opens its Gates

Several antennas loom vast over the Djibo landscape, including this one:

Yes, Djibo FM is up and running, and not because of us! And as it turns out, no thanks to Walfadjiri either - the station is in fact called 'Radio Lutte Contre La Désertification et Changement Climatique' (Struggle against Desertification and Climate Change), which isn't the snappiest name for a station but espouses worthy goals I suppose.

The station is being funded by SOS Sahel - an active development agency with branches all over the Sahel.

This morning was the opening ceremony, which unfolded as follows:

1. a couple hours sitting around awaiting the arrival of a busload of sixty 'invités illustres' (VIPs)

2. speeches by four of the invités illustres - the mayor of Djibo, the President of SOS Sahel in Burkina Faso, the Secretary General of Soum and the Vice-President of the Superior Committee of Communication. The Secretary General said that loads of lost animals and lost ID cards had already been found thanks to Radio Lutte Contre La Désertification et Changement Climatique. Cheers from the crowd.

3. musical interlude - drums and shuffly dancing. One enthusiastic griot prostrated himself in the dust to play his tamtam - more cheers.

4. Grand Unveiling of the Plaque. Cheers.

5. Opening of the Gates for everyone to go into the station and have a nosey round.

We are hoping to be able to broadcast programmes on the station - more on that next week. In the meantime, here are some pics of the morning's festivities.

. . - . .

Cheers.

Posted by sahelsteve at December 3, 2008 06:29 PM