Upper Nile State, Sudan — July 15, 2008 — Sudan is the largest country in Africa, one-third the size of the United States, and has only minimal infrastructure after decades of war. It is nearly impossible to reach rural areas with vital information, except via radio broadcasts.

IRD, in partnership with USAID and the National Democratic Institute, is brining sturdy wind-up and solar-powered radios to the residents of Upper Nile state, one of the states on the still-contentious border between northern and southern Sudan. With these radios, residents will hear the latest developments in the peace process, and what their role is, rather than having to rely on rumors.

“This program allows people to have access to information,” says Peter Makuei, IRD field assistant. “There is one radio program called Let’s Talk that discusses peace and governance so people are now becoming aware of how the government is being run and what is taking place.” Let’s Talk is currently broadcast in English and Arabic, and will soon be translated into local languages such as Dinka and Nuer.

IRD will distribute a total of 16,000 radios across the state, allowing local leaders to select who in their community will have custody. A few groups are particularly targeted: returning refugees and IDPs, women, traditional leaders, demobilized soldiers, and teachers.

“We ask people to set up listening groups,” says Maria Nyataba Wur, another IRD field assistant. “Ten to 15 people will listen to Let’s Talk together and then discuss about the constitution, human rights, and so forth.”

Demand for the bright blue radios is high, and people are very excited to receive them. “These are very important things you have given us,” says one woman in Baliet, a county seat in Upper Nile state. “Important for peace.”