{"id":51959,"date":"2023-10-09T22:09:43","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T20:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/?p=51959"},"modified":"2023-10-10T06:37:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T04:37:59","slug":"radio-ndarason-speaks-to-people-in-their-own-languages-its-a-great-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/radio-ndarason-speaks-to-people-in-their-own-languages-its-a-great-strength\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Radio Ndarason speaks to people in their own languages, it\u2019s a great strength\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The day <\/strong>Patricia Danzi, the director-general of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, visited Radio Ndarason will be fondly remembered<\/strong><\/p>\n

By speaking to people in their own languages, going beyond country borders, living between different populations \u2013 breeders, farmers, fishermen \u2013 knowing the sufferings, the fears and the hopes of people, these are how you contribute much to social cohesion.<\/p>\n

So said Patricia Danzi, the director-general of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), who took time out on Friday, October 6, to visit the staff at Radio Ndarason in N\u2019Djamena in Chad. She wanted to meet and talk to journalists at the radio station, which has had, and continues to have, a significant impact on people in the Lake Chad Basin region.<\/p>\n

Immediately, it became obvious that Danzi exudes a certain strength.<\/p>\n

She arrived at Radio Ndarason after a busy tour that took her to Benin, to Adr\u00e9 (the border between Chad and Sudan) and to N\u2019Djamena where she was received by several high-profile authorities.<\/p>\n

Despite her full schedule, she made a point of visiting Radio Ndarason, which counts SDC among its loyal donors. It was clear that Danzi liked being in the field \u2013 seeing, asking questions and understanding. And she has a knack for putting people at ease.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Patricia Danzi in the Radio Ndarason newsroom. She asks questions, wants to understand (Photo AK)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the newsroom, as Mahamat Abakar Kafou, the editor-in-chief, began a presentation of Ndarason\u2019s work, Danzi gently interrupted him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m familiar with the Ndarason project, but I would like to understand\u2026\u201d She asked direct and concrete questions on how the subjects were chosen, how the reports were done, about the translations between the different languages.<\/p>\n

Suddenly the roles were reversed. She asked the questions and it was left to the journalists to respond. Danzi is a technocrat who never forgets the reality on the ground. And this simplicity, this spontaneous closeness, appealed to the journalists. And the meeting, which was very formal on her arrival, quickly became more relaxed.<\/p>\n

From the newsroom she moved on to the programme department. There was a flurry of questions for the producers. She wanted to know the choice of topics covered, the daily challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like your radio because it speaks to people in their own languages and that touches them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ndarason broadcasts in Kanuri, Kanembu and Buduma, the languages \u200b\u200bspoken in the Lake Chad Basin region.<\/p>\n

Danzi said in Switzerland there were a lot of languages, \u201cnot as many as in Chad, but we know the power of languages \u200b\u200bto bring people together around a region, around a project and I am convinced that you do it magnificently well\u201d.<\/p>\n

Danzi said she also liked the regional character of Ndarason.\u00a0\u201cBorders don\u2019t stop.\u00a0For many populations in Africa, the borders are the borders of their people, of their language, but you go beyond the borders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ndarason works in several languages, \u200b\u200bwith two editorial offices, one in N\u2019Djamena in Chad and the other in Maiduguri in Nigeria, where an FM radio station will begin broadcasting this month.\u00a0Ndarason has several correspondents in the Lac province and also in Cameroon and Niger.<\/p>\n

Danzi said the SDC was convinced that a radio station like Ndarason played a significant role in a region that faces many challenges: violence from armed groups, displacement of populations, consequences of climate change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith your radio programmes on living together between different populations, breeders, farmers, fishermen, you help everyone understand one another, you contribute a lot to social cohesion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Very relaxed discussions between the Director of the SDC and the producers of the radio programs (Photo AK)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Danzi urged Ndarason\u2019s female journalists to\u00a0\u201ctake a closer look at women\u2019s issues.\u00a0More than half of the lake\u2019s population is made up of women, which is important.\u00a0I know it\u2019s difficult, but we have to push them to dare.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an expert in development cooperation, Danzi knows very well that changing mentality is not easy work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is long-term work.\u00a0The SDC is aware of the challenges.\u00a0The SDC does not only want to focus on the \u2018emergency\u2019 aspect, the short term for the crisis in Chad. Swiss Cooperation has been providing support to Chadians for 60 years.\u00a0My eye also focuses on long-term projects, development projects.\u00a0Ndarason radio is totally in line with this perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

On behalf of the journalists and all the staff, Hawa Mahamat Adouma, a journalist in the Kanembu language, thanked Danzi for visiting the station,\u00a0\u201cwhich is a strong sign of the SDC\u2019s support for the radio that covers the countries of the Lake Chad Basin\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hawa said Ndarason\u2019s work\u00a0\u201cconsists of deconstructing speeches of violence and hatred using this formidable tool that is radio\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said Ndarason\u2019s journalists had a strength that no other media in the region possessed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are children of this region.\u00a0Most of us were born here, we speak Kanembu, Kanuri and Buduma, the languages \u200b\u200bspoken in the vast Lake Chad Basin.\u201d<\/p>\n

In its latest report on the state of press freedom in the Sahel, the organisation Reporters Without Borders praised the work and courage of Radio Ndarason in a difficult-to-access region.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s true, it\u2019s a difficult region to access, but not for us.\u00a0Because in this Lac province, we are at home.\u00a0We know the sufferings, the fears and the hopes of our people.\u00a0People talk to us easily, warning us of possible dangers because they understand that we are their voices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hawa said: \u201cThe road to peace is still long, but as the proverb says, \u2018before being a baobab, the majestic tree is first a small seed\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said that with the radio station starting to broadcast on FM in Maiduguri, this would increase Ndarason\u2019s impact tenfold.<\/p>\n

\u201cAntennae will be deployed in Cameroon and Niger.\u00a0Ndarason is in full development.\u201d<\/p>\n

She told Danzi that in Africa, when a distinguished guest visited, it was tradition to offer them a small present.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A very funny moment at the end of the visit. \u201cTo listen to Ndarason on short waves in Geneva\u201d, the journalists offer Patricia Danzi a radio carved in wood by a craftsman from the Lake Province. Photo AK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAs we broadcast on short wave, we thought we would offer you a small transistor like the one used by our many listeners in remote regions.\u201d<\/p>\n

She then offered Danzi a small radio carved in wood by a craftsman from the Lac province.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, thanks to this very sophisticated radio, from Geneva you will be able to follow our broadcasts, because Radio Ndarason means \u2018the radio that follows you everywhere\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

A delighted Danzi turned the buttons on the \u201cradio\u201d and everyone was burst out laughing.<\/p>\n

It was a visit that would remain in Ndarason\u2019s memory \u2026 and quite likely in Danzi\u2019s too.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nad\u00e8ge Hountinto<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The day Patricia Danzi, the director-general of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, visited Radio Ndarason will be fondly remembered By speaking to people in their own languages, going […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":51963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cooperation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51959"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51959"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51965,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51959\/revisions\/51965"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}