It's been ten years since Radio Moto of Butembo-Beni (North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo), sponsored by the Assumptionists, began announcing the Gospel. It began rather modestly in the boarding school of Institute Malkia wa Mbingu (Queen of Heaven Institute) run by the Oblate Sisters of the Assumption. The first studio was located in a small upstairs room, which quickly proved not to be viable. Electricity came from the diocesan power plant, which only operated in the evenings. 

 At first, the station was only able to reach a few of the city's neighborhoods, for three hours each night. Quickly aware of the importance of this tool, the Assumptionists transferred the studio to Kambali Hill next to the provincial headquarters. In 2002 a new building offered Radio Moto two studios, one for radio and one, eventually, for television. It all began with a small FM transmitter of 20 watts, an antenna placed on a 35-foot tower, and a single journalist, Fr. Omer Kaswakulu, trained at the Salesianum in Rome (where he returned in 2007 and is currently finishing his doctoral degree in media communications).

Other young people, both lay and Assumptionist, have picked up the baton, many of them receiving training at the School of Communications at I.S.E.A.B. (Institut Supérieur Emmanuel d'Alzon de Butembo/Emmanuel d'Alzon Institute of Higher Education of Butembo).

Today Radio Moto has become a large station with a second transmitter of 2,500 watts placed on a 120-foot tower erected in the town of Kyondo located at 2200 meters above sea level (almost 7,000 feet). The new transmitter, at this altitude, allows the station to reach the entire surrounding Rift Valley. The new station is no longer saddled by intermittent power thanks to the gift of a hydroelectric project provided by an Italian NGO.

The station begins each day with prayer and a message from the Scriptures and ends at 10:30 PM in the same fashion. The day's programming aims to accomplish a variety of objectives such as working for peace in the region, aiding those displaced by war, informing listeners of human rights and the laws of the country, rallying listeners to projects of common interests, providing local, national, and international news, offering general interest programming (such as simple science info), etc. In a word, its goal is to proclaim a kingdom of peace and justice.

http://www.radiomoto.com

(original article found in Qu'il Règne, the newsletter of the Assumptionist Province of Africa, July-September 2010)

If you are interested in supporting Radio Moto, please send checks to

The Assumptionists
Assumptionist Center
330 Market Street
Brighton, MA 01235

and please indicate that your donation is for this important cause.