Appeal from Radio Aldeas, Los Nevados, Venezuela

Like most rural areas, the town supported the peaceful revolution of Hugo Chavez because his government gave attention to city and rural deprived areas, from his first election as president in 1998. Chavez died of cancer in 2013, but the current government continues his policies of favouring the poorest with major housing, health and educational programmes. It has promoted democratic organisations, especially local Community Councils but many other initiatives including the community radios.I asked the people in the 4x4 transport down from the village, and was told that “it is worth having it on. You get to hear about things, meetings, sales, news from round here.” Radio Aldeas (Villages Radio) has reunited people with lost keys and promotes social events in three local valleys covering about six thousand people (the parishes of Los Nevados, Moro and Acequias). When the all-important road needs repairs after heavy rain, it reports where the problem is and calls for people to go with shovels to mend it.

When there is work to extend piped water coverage or electricity, the radio works with the village political leaders to organise community brigades to get the work done. It alerts families to have their children vaccinated when the health post is ready for that. It tells people if the school teacher is ill, and politely requests that rubbish should not be left in front of Maria’s house, please. It saves an awful lot of walking. “We had wondered if mobile telephones would put us out of business, but it seems to just have made it easier for people to get news to us, to ask us to let people know.

Originally the broadcasts were for four hours each Saturday and Sunday, but they have gradually extended until now they are on the air 24 hours a day. A good part of the broadcasts are from pre-recorded shows recorded nationally, regularly interspersed with local news. They use a lot of ‘micros’, short magazine items prepared by an Ecuadorian organisation, Radialistas Apasionadas. There is a transmitter high in the mountains.The staff are entirely voluntary and driven by a sense of pride in their achievements, that has led them to run a workshop in a neighbouring rural community which now has its own fledgling service. Another initiative about to start is roving programmes. Each week one of the seven primary schools will host a programme.

And what would happen if the government wsa defeated? “Well,” says Omar, “We have thought about that. Our role wouldn’t change, we would keep campaigning for the things we haven’t got, and defend what we have got. For instance the electricity company was giving our communities a really hard time so we campaigned publicly until they had to respond, it’s much better now. And we’re campaigning now for the road to get a more permanent surface.” When I came up it rained all day and the jeep slithered on parts of the road that were full of mud.

Of course Radio Aldeas has needs. At the moment imported goods are particularly hard to get hold of at anywhere near an affordable price. From small to large things, help would be appreciated:

Two outside microphone with Bluetooth; Hand-held recorders; Good headphones; An external hard drive; Micropone protectors of the sort that can take a logo and the wavelength; An unlocked intelligent phone to make internet more secure – it is intermittent at the moment; A replacement console; Visitors who can share experience and ideas of community radio.