Capacity building is one of the core elements that lead to project success. You must follow specific strategies and act so that you and your collaborators have all the needed resources. Doing so can be key to taking your project to the next step. This is why training courses are crucial for learning and skills development which enable people to fulfil their tasks efficiently.
Uganda’s Radio Pacis is one project that has received support for such training resulting in improved performance.
Radio Pacis is one of the most recognized Catholic Radio Stations in the Northern Uganda region. Broadcasting from the diocese of Arua, it reaches more than five million listeners in a 200 km margin, its signal reaching neighbouring Congo and Sud Sudan. Radio Pacis is located in an area with a population of some eight million people, a zone that has been ravaged by war for decades. Locals sustain themselves mainly by farming; most do not have high literacy levels. Tus they rely greatly on direct training offered by organizations like SIGNIS.
SIGNIS, with the support of the Pontifical Mission Society for the Propagation of the Faith (POF), launched a training programme aimed at improving the skills of the parish communication secretaries. Through annual sessions, held every four months for one week, attendees have learned to be proclaimers, and not just readers, of the Word of God, a value they have passed on to Radio Pacis’ listeners. In this way, they fulfil the radio station’s mission of evangelization through the radio. With the lessons that the parish communication secretaries learn from this programme, it is possible for them to enhance the capacities of community reporters and pastoral agents, to encourage information-sharing between different communities, to improve the liturgical celebrations and promote the universal Church. Through the training, the local community’s issues and challenges can be reported and so shared for the common good. The citizens feel heard and seen. As the trainees learn how to engage with the people, even more, the mission of Radio Pacis is better understood, has a wider reach and benefits from the participation of the community.
The backing of POF for this project allowed SIGNIS to reach out and train the team of Radio Pacis, improving communications in Northern Uganda, and thus the lives of its citizens. It is a radio station that not only informs, but also transforms its citizens, through accurate reporting, remaining in touch with the struggles and joys of the population, and promoting Catholic values.
Having a capable team has allowed Radio Pacis to win several journalism awards throughout the years, including for Best New African Radio Station from the BBC, with which it has collaborated various times. Radio Pacis is a great example of what can be achieved through aiming high when it comes to your aspirations and building the capacity to achieve them. There many such initiatives in areas that have lots of potential but often go unseen. The people behind them likewise deserve support to develop the possibilities.
Maria Victoria La Terza
This article is available in SIGNIS Media. Is peace on earth possible?