Radios for Grassroots Democracy Project in Kenya
Support Green belt movement
Summary
Professor Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Green Belt Movement, would like wind-up Freeplay Lifeline radios so that Kenyans can access vital information.
How Donors Like You Helped
Thanks to donors like you, a total of $18,156 was raised for this project. Other Projects Run By Freeplay Foundation That You Can Help
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More Information About this Project
Project Needs and Beneficiaries
Over the past three years, Kenya has witnessed a level of free press unknown in its history. Radios are needed, especially for women and children, to ensure that they know their rights and can continue to influence good governance and environmental policies.
Activities
Radio programs are aired on local stations to encourage communities to engage in participatory governance, advocate for and know their community rights, and strengthen local pro-democracy networks. Several thousand radios are needed.
Funding Information
Total Funding Received to Date: $18,156
Funding Information
This project is now in implementation and no longer available for funding. Received funds will be used to accomplish concrete objectives as indicated in the project's "Activities" section. Updates will be posted under the "Progress Report" tab as they become available.
Donors' contributions and pledges to this project totaled $18,156 . The original project funding goal was $358,000.
Additional Documentation
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
Resources
Why this Project is Important
Potential Long Term Impact
By having sustained access to information, Kenyans will be able to follow their government's activities. This knowledge will ensure that they can demand continued good governance, civil rights, and sound policies.
Project Message
Kenyans are keen to learn about our rights and how to safeguard our environment. Lifeline radios afford access to this vital information.
- Wangari Maathai, Winner, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize
Who is Running This Project
Contact
Lisa Burger
Project Manager for Africa
Unit 12, Montague Industrial Park
Montague Drive, Montague Gardens
Cape Town, South Africa 7441
South Africa
011-27-21-551-7791
Email:
Project Sponsor
Organization
Freeplay Foundation
71 Gloucester Place
London,
United Kingdom
W1U 8JW
United Kingdom
+ 44 (0) 207 935 53
http://www.freeplayfoundation.org
Freeplay Foundation's Current Projects on GlobalGiving
 Make an orphaned child the “Light of Your Life” |
 Rwanda Radio Project for Orphans |
Freeplay Foundation's Funded Projects on GlobalGiving
Where this Project is Located
Country
This project is located in 
Kenya
and can also be found under 
Democracy and Governance.
For more information about Kenya, read the Human Development Report on Kenya or the Wikipedia entry for Kenya.
When this Project was Updated
Last Updated
This project was last updated on November 6, 2009.
Date Added to GlobalGiving
This project was added to the GlobalGiving project catalog on July 27, 2004
Latest Update from the Field
News Release - Tom Hanks hosts eBay Charity Auction
By Michelle Riley - Director of External Affairs, January 24, 2008 02:25 PM
Tom Hanks, the Freeplay Foundation’s U.S. Ambassador, will autograph 10 self-powered Freeplay Lifeline radios for the charity auction on eBay Giving Works, eBay’s dedicated program for charity listings. Each high bidder also will receive a personal letter and a signed photo from Mr. Hanks.
“The Lifeline radio can change the world – one person, one house, one village at a time,” said Mr. Hanks. “The beauty of the Freeplay Foundation is the radio itself and the immediacy of its mission: to put radios in the hands of people who need them. Lifeline radios can make a positive impact from the moment they are turned on in one of the villages.”
People can go to www.ebay.com or can click on www.shopvictoriously.com to place their bids and to watch a special video from Tom Hanks.
Lifeline radios are not sold commercially; they are the first radios ever produced specifically for use in humanitarian projects. Radio is the primary means of mass communication in developing countries, but often, transistor radio batteries cost too much for people to buy on an ongoing basis and electricity is non-existent. The Freeplay Foundation provides radio access to the poorest people in the world via the wind-up and solar-powered radios, which do not require batteries or electricity.
Working mainly in Africa, the Freeplay Foundation enables hundreds of thousands of children to learn English, math, science and life skills through radio distance-learning programs. Coffee farmers learn new planting techniques using Lifeline radios, and people throughout Africa learn how to prevent HIV/AIDS while listening to their Lifelines. Nomadic tribes listen to Lifeline radios as they caravan, and orphaned children -- living completely on their own – can grasp a “lifeline” to the outside world when listening.
“The first time I held a Lifeline, I felt like I was carrying all the promise of the modern world in my hand,” remembers Tom Hanks. “Music can come out of the sky without batteries being tossed into landfills. Information can be sent and received, and voices of freedom can be heard. All by winding up this little box.”
The Freeplay Foundation is a fund-seeking organization with 501 (c) (3) tax exempt status in the U.S., is a registered charity in the UK, and has Section 21 non-profit status in South Africa.
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Media contacts:
East Coast: Alexandrea Ravenelle, Global Fluency
(646) 652-5216 aravenelle@globalfluency.com
West Coast: Brielle Schaeffer, Global Fluency
(650) 433-4163 bschaeffer@globalfluency.com
For the Freeplay Foundation: Michelle Riley
(912) 898-2195 riley.freeplayfdn@gmail.com
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