Freedom Fone live on air with Farm Radio International

    | January 21, 2013

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    The Farm Radio International (FRI) has deployed Freedom Fone at a number of community radio stations in Malawi, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Ghana.  Freedom Fone is free software that creates interactive, voice-based communication services for organisations seeking to engage with communities across mobile networks. Here’s a round-up of how these radio stations are using the technology:
    Malawi

    Nkhotakota Community Radio Station has been actively using Freedom Fone since Phillip Chinkhokwe returned from the Freedom Fone training workshop in Arusha in May 2012. Amongst other things, they are using Freedom Fone to receive tipoffs from the public and are sharing this information with local police as part of a crime prevention initiative.

    Luciano Milala of Mudziwathu Community Radio Station attended the Freedom Fone workshop in Lilongwe in October 2012. Thanks to a little help from his friends in the Freedom Fone Malawi/Zambia user network that developed out of the training, Mudziwathu is now using Freedom Fone to interact with listeners.

    Ethiopia

    Thanks to Thomas Engida, a deployment at Mekele-based Dimtsi Weyane Tigray community radio station started in October 2012 and a second radio station located in Oromiya came on stream in November 2012. This is great news in a country where the government exercises considerable control over telecommunications.

    Tanzania

    Bomba FM and Baraka FM community radio stations in Mbeya, deployed Freedom Fone in November 2012 with assistance from FRI’s ICT Officer Seta Magabe. Bomba FM are growing the channels through which listeners can engage with the radio station, recently adding Freedom Fone and a Facebook page as options. Abood FM also began their Freedom Fone service in November 2012 in Morogoro.

    Ghana

    Simli Radio in Ghana began their Freedom Fone service soon after the Arusha training with the able assistance of FRI ICT Officer Yaw Nkrumah, going live in July 2012.

    FRI’s work makes community radio Freedom Fone’s most prolific deployment sector – we congratulate them all on their success and thank them for their hard work and perseverance!