Training of FM radio officials in Guinea Bissau
Guinea Bissau is a country which is part of the 10/40 window, a place where evangelization must be intensified. To this end, Pastor KOCH, the Director responsible for Communication, Public Relations and Religious Freedom in the West-Central Africa Division, led an evangelistic campaign in Guinea Bissau, two years ago.
During the campaign, he sought to know why there was no Adventist Radio in Guinea Bissau. The Mission President said he had to pay the license fees to the government to have a band. Solicited, a pastor from the United States of America provided for financial help for the license fees. Once the license acquired, they looked for support to install the radio equipment. The Brazilians favorably responded to provide equipment. The Adventist World Radio agreed in writing to give its support. Next January 2016, technicians will come from Brazil to install the equipment. In February 2016, the new FM radio will start to emit in the territory of the Division of West-Central Africa and particularly in Guinea Bissau.
For the proper functioning of the new radio, Pastor KOCH conducted from November 13 to 18, 2015, trainings for presenters, program directors, and made suggestions to the directors.
Eighty (80) people regularly participated in the training.
The courses focused on the voice, different types of radio presentation, suggestions on programs, difficulties encounter by the Adventist radio in the use of jargon like "Pathfinders, adra, ..." words that non-members do not understand.
A special module on the correct terms to use for easy understanding of those who are not members was developed.
Suggestions for evangelistic, interactive, public interest, health, and many other programs were covered during the training.
On the last day of training, the trainees produced and presented programs. It was a great success. The trainer assessed their comprehension through a test.
The marks were very good. The two first people who had the best marks, a woman and a man were rewarded. The man received a watch and woman a perfume.
Participants also assessed the training. Their assessments are summarized below.
"The training is very good, the content is good; the training allowed us to learn a lot with regards to the radio; it has been a wonderful experience, thank you very much;”
“The Training is good but the time is short, we needed more time to learn more; I appreciated this training, please let us have these kinds of training whenever possible”
“My assessment is positive because God has given us the resources to preach the gospel; I would like to thank Pastor Koch for the training."
At the end of the training, a prayer was said for the volunteers of the radio, the equipment and the radio. Outside of the training, the trainer and the Directors held a meeting during which the function of the radio volunteers, documents, events and the correct music for the Adventist radio to be played were discussed.
Everyone was happy, the meeting ended with a family picture.