A colorful World Radio Day celebration in Liberia ended on Tuesday, February 14 in Ganta, Nimba County, with 5 rural journalists walking away with journalism excellence awards.
With funding from the USAID Liberia Media Project implemented by Internews, the Association of Liberia Community Radio (ALICOR) gave out awards in health, environmental, gender, agriculture, and human rights reporting.
The awards committee reported, it received 14 entries from nine journalists in six of the fifteen counties, for all the categories, except for the Land Rights category that received no entry. The entries received were from Margibi, Bong, Gbarpolu, Grand Cape Mount, Lofa and Maryland Counties.
The head of the awards Committee, veteran broadcaster, Torwon Sulonteh Brown announced Henry Gboluma of Voice of Gbarpolu as winner of the Health Journalism award.
According to the committee, his report concentrated on the lack of access to health facilities in a hard-to-reach area in Kungba District and the challenges faced by residents in seeking healthcare in neighboring Sierra Leone. The report was rated as “well researched, reflecting diverse sources that increased good journalistic value.”
Three of the remaining four awards landed in Bong County, where broadcaster Nukanah Kollie of Super Bongese Radio won the gender reporting award, for a story focused on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence involving a male child in Gbarnga. The committee opined that Nukanah’s story was “well researched and covered the justice system, health, stigma, safe home, advocacy, and efforts from the government to fight SGBV.”
Reporter Enouch Dormue also of Super Bongese radio wan announced winner of the Agricultural reporting award. Dormue according to the committee’s report focused on the development at the Kpaai district youth association agriculture site in Bong.
Radio Gbarnga also in Bong County received the Human Rights Reporting Award when Joseph Titus Yekeryan, a reporter at the station submitted an entry in which he reported on the Kpolo kpala massacre and reflected the people’s call for a war crimes court.
The lone female awardee, Jenneh Kemokai, manager of Radio Cape Mount was the award category in Environmental Reporting.
Her report unearthed the chemical pollution of Bea Mountain concession, and its implication on the people of Jenkador Town, Gola Konneh, and 12 other affected communities in Garwula and Tawor Districts, Grand Cape Mount.
This is the first award event organized by ALICOR and was part of the activities that marked the celebration of World Radio Day under the theme “Radio and Peace”.
The celebration in Liberia focused on activities geared toward improving vibrancy and sustainability of the community radio sector, which makes up nearly 40% of the Liberian media community.
The program featured speeches from the relevant government agencies including the Ministry of Information, the Liberia Telecommunication Commission, the Senate Broadcast Committee, and the Law Reform Commission.
International Partners including the United States Embassy, the Swedish Embassy, the ECOWAS Envoy to Liberia, Internews among others graced the celebration.
In anticipation to submit an act on community radio law, ALICOR and partners initiated a validation exercise on the specifics of the draft community radio law. It is expected for a national stakeholder validation effort to subsequently be held in Monrovia.