You may be asking "where on earth is Tanna?!"...
You may have never heard of the island of Tanna. It may just a speck in the South Pacific ocean to you, but it's home to people with a voice who want to be heard on their very own community radio station, CRST FM104 (not to mention the world's most accessible active volcano and the world's biggest banyan tree! We're into breaking records here on Tanna!).
I'm an Australian journalist currently volunteering at CRST FM on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu (check out a map here if your geography's a little hazy!!) - and together with a small team of dedicated, enthusiastic, and fun-loving volunteers - we are trying to fundraise money to ensure our little radio station can continue to operate and continue to improve.
As a community radio station in a very remote location in a developing country, CRST FM plays a really important role in helping stimulate development through the programs we broadcast (which cover issues such as women's rights, youth, HIV/Aids, family planning and conserving the traditional culture - just to name a few!).
We've got the determination, passion and energy (and know-how!) - we're just short on money! And that's where you come in...
What We Need & What You Get
We're working hard to fundraise money by other means, including holding 'Moonlight Cinemas', selling crank-powered radios (an excellent alternative when you don't have electricty!), T-Shirts and umbrellas (handy as we head into the Cyclone Season!).
But it's still not enough...
At present, we are specifically trying to fundraise enough money to cover equipment that can help us facilitate talk-back radio (ni-Van's love to talk!). But up til now, the people of Tanna have had no medium to do so publicly. Unfortunately, our phone line has been cut (and it won't ever be fixed - such is life in Vanuatu) so we're having to do this the hard, and much more expensive way!
We also need a generator to make sure that if we lose power in a cyclone, we are still able to disseminate important, and potentially, life saving information to thousands of people across the island of Tanna - as well as the very remote islands that make up Tafea Province.
Our perks mostly come in soft-copy formats only as it's close to impossible to send things out of Tanna. But don't let that deter you from giving!! Every donation, whether big or small, will help out :)
And if we don't manage to reach our entire goal (thanks for your efforts though!), the money will still be collected and we will use what we have to go towards whatever we can afford on our list of 'wants/needs'.
The bigger picture...
This project is all about giving people on Tanna (and some even more really remote islands nearby) the chance to have their say - and for them to have access to information and news from within the islands, as well as outside. Tanna is so isolated it's currently hard to even get credible news and information from even the capital, Port Vila, let alone the rest of the world!
If all of the aid money that's poured into countries like Vanuatu is ever going to make a real difference and contribute to REAL development, people of those countries need to be educated. And that's what CRST FM is all about - a community radio station that aims to reach all members of the community, even those who don't have the opportunity to go to school (for whatever reason; it may be there are none closeby - as in, within a 2 hour walk's distance, or a father has chosen to pull his daughters out of school because it costs too much to educate all 7 of his kids etc...)
Other Ways You Can Help
If you are unable to help us financially, please help by spreading the message! Whether it be via the coconut wireless, or facebook, twitter, your blog, youtube, radio interviews - if you believe in the power of radio, and what we are doing here, please do what you can!
Or if you have any technical knowledge you may be able to share to get this stuff set up, email us at crstfm104@gmail.com. Likewise if you have any radio equipment to donate, or you're a tired radio journo in need of a tropical beach holiday in paradise and want to check out the fiery, yet generally friendly volcano or the mutant banyan tree -- as well as share some of your skills, drop us a line!