Bonesha FM launches 45-day appeal for 500 million Burundian francs
The independent radio station, silenced for nearly six years after the 2015 political crisis, says it faces financial suffocation.
Bonesha FM, an independent radio station in Burundi, has launched a 45-day fundraising campaign aiming to raise 500 million Burundian francs. The campaign was officially launched on Friday, October 30, by station director Léon Masengo, after the station was silenced for nearly six years following the 2015 political crisis.
Masengo has appealed to citizens, organisations, embassies, partners, the diaspora and the station's friends to make a financial contribution or offer other support. He said the station needs the funds to keep its broadcasts and services running, and promised to report publicly on the sums raised and how they are used.
The station was founded on February 19, 1996, as Radio Umwizero, meaning "Hope" in Kirundi, and changed its name to Radio Sans Frontières Bonesha FM on January 29, 2001. Masengo said the station's programmes on public information, citizen debate and community issues are at stake.