NEW BROADCAST: Oromo Voice Radio

NEW BROADCAST:  OROMO VOICE RADIO

Scheduled to commence operating on January 1, but not heard until today here in Melbourne was Oromo Voice Radio. Noted at Mount Evelyn this morning local time - for the first time. Here's my notes from the logbook:

 17850   FRANCE.  Oromo Voice Radio - Believed to be transmitting from Issoudun.  New station aimed at Horn of Africa states. Some great East African music noted at 1620, then a rattlingly fast ID and talk in the Afaan Oromo language from 1626 until suddenly off mid-sentence at 1629. No English heard on this occasion (although the website indicates that the station will broadcast in both Oromo and English).  A fair and respectable signal on Monday, Jan 6.

 The 16 meter band can be somewhat unpredictable at 1600 UTC here in south eastern Australia - it is often closed to propagation - although we have a somewhat better chance in our summer months. So it was pleasing to grab this one at 3:20 am local time. Apparently, the station is NOT on a daily schedule, with some reports that transmissions are slated for Mon, Wed and Fri, ........ although the website says Mon, Wed and Sat.

 Information from the station website includes the following background:
On January 1, 2014, the Oromo Voice Radio (OVR) will commence broadcasting to Oromia at the frequency of 17850 KHz in the 16 meter band. The new, independent broadcast will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. The broadcast service will be provided in two languages: Afaan Oromo (Oromo language) and English.
The OVR broadcast will include, not limited to, the following major segments: news, news analysis, guest interviews, documentary, and cultural shows. In its English broadcast, OVR will reach out to Oromo neighbors for the purpose of exploring and identifying areas of common interests and common strategies, which are relevant to the survival of the peoples in the Horn of Africa during the 21st Century.
The Oromo Voice media website (www.oromovoice.org) will operate and function as the twin media outlet of this new critical and ambitious outreach to the Oromo nation and its neighbors. The Oromo Voice website, in addition to posting all the contents of the Oromo Voice Radio broadcast, will post other relevant educational materials -in that sense, the website will have more expanded educational services.
OVR and Oromo Voice website are owned and operated by the Madda Walaabuu Media Foundation (MWMF), which was established in October 2013 by a collection of concerned community leaders, human rights activists, feminists, attorneys, journalists and intellectuals.
MWMF is a non-governmental, non-partisan, and non-profit organization, incorporated and registered in Washington, D. C., USA. It is operated by the board of directors and the administrative staff under the direction of the Executive Director. The MWMF media outlets are run by experienced journalists. It is a membership based organization, which solicits the support and participation of all interested and committed Oromo and all persons of good will who have the desire to empower the Oromo and its neighbors so that that they can face the 21st Century in their own terms.
How can you support the new Oromo Voice media outlets? You can support this new, important initiative in three major ways: First, we wish to invite you to listen to the Oromo voice Radio broadcast. You can also visit our website,http://oromovoice.org on a regular basis. Second, you can give us donations for seed money so that we can get this new media program of the ground. Third, you can become a member and support the success of this new media initiative on a sustained basis.
Interestingly, under the Contacts page on the website are three telephone numbers - for Europe, America and AUSTRALIA! I guess this is understandable as there is a large East African refugee and migrant community successfully living and working here now.
I'm also curious to see if we hear English being used in the broadcast, as promised on the website. 
73's,
Rob VK3BVW

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