It has been ages since I last posted here

thank God for radio.

Trying out something also

Click here
Something about AMalawi in the diaspora

http://www.gcast.com/podcast/studio.html

Need for more Cars

Some listeners cannot believe their sight of their popular presenters alighting off a pick-up like these in Malawi. But this is the reality for Trans World Radio Malawi.

Radio Presenter profile

I thought of doing something new by putting up some presenter profile. MAY be I will be successfull. I will begin with myself though on a long break on air!

1. Full names
Victor Kaonga

2. Family
Wife: Thembi; Children: Nayumo, Sayiwe and Angana

...............................
3. What do you like most about Lilongwe?
Busy enough to keep me busy

.................................
4. What do you like least about Lilongwe?
Expensive travel routes

..................................
5. Best on air experience
The time during Joy in the Morning when I read out a verse that directly ministered to a lady in Ntcheu as she was listening to my response about her situation

..................................
6. Who did you interview and were the happiest you did?
Rev. Franklin Chunga, the man behind SCOM

Mama C Tamanda Kadzamira

......................................
7. Who do you want interview most?
Hon. Aleke Banda

........................................

8. Who do you want to interview least?
My mum

......................................

9. If you could have any artist, or group play at your birthday party for you and 200 hundred guests, who would it be?

Chimwemwe Mizaya of Lilongwe and Joybells Gospel Choir of Sweden

.....................................
10. Favourite musician(s)
Uh, so many

..................................
11. A quote or motto you live by
God Reigns on high

..................................
12. If you were a cartoon character, who would you be?
Jojo

....................................
13. Favourite Movie
Sound of Music

......................................
14. Favourite Food
Rice with beef (boiled) along with Chinese vegetables done in nsinjiro

.......................................
15. What five words best describe you?
Serious, sinful, critical, crazy and committed

........................................
16. Who is the most famous person you've met?
In Malawi
In Swaziland
In .....
I don't know

.......................................
17. Who are your mentors and role models that have impacted your life most?
Bryr Mlowoka, my boss, Charles Swindoll, Dr Dixie Maluwa Banda, my mum and dad, many more!

.........................................
18. If you could go back in time, where would you go?
Mphompha, Rumphi as it was in the early 1980's

...........................................
19. Favourite scripture
Psalm 145

...........................................
20. One thing about you, not many people know
I wish was in the army.

.............................................
21. Advice to listeners
Life is life only in Christ Jesus. Outside that, it is disaster and we know that well deep within our hearts.

................................................
Adapted from LinkFM.

Testing things

I am seeing if I can upload an audio file to this site. I spoke to the Chirwa family last month. I am interested to see if it can play from here. Click on to listen. Some testing indeed.

MAWAYALESI

In Memory of Fainess Kampheta

Wednesday morning (7th March) was a bad day for me as I recieved news of the death of a colleague at Trans World Radio in Lilongwe. Fainess had fallen ill and in a short period, she left this world.

It was a shock to me as I had chatted with her the week before using yahoo messenger as I was sending files of the radio programme AMalawi Kunja kwa Malawi. Sad situation indeed. I last met her in person during the Christmas holiday not knowing that was to be the last time we would ever meet. Life is really short and I think what really counts most is how ready we are for the day.

Though she was responsble for the reception mostly, once in a while she could joke about being on air and pose for pictures. This one was taken on 31st August 2005. I pray that the God of all comfort will continue ministering to the TWR and her family as well as friends.

Internet Radio for Malawians

It is now amazing to me how though slowly Malawians are utilizing the Internet for radio. It was only last year in August that the first internet radio ran by a Malawian started broadcasting. Radio Yako made news and still is considered the pioneer. Another internet radio Kwacha FM has just started doing a similar thing. I hope no one will raise questions at the names! I am just wondering a bit about the "fm" extension! I would say to both kongilachuleshoni!

I talked in passing about Radio Yako in one of my posts on media situation in Malawi last year. But I never really had thought through.There are some similarities as well as differences between the two internet radio stations. Both are in the US. Radio Yako is the brainchild of Chimwemwe Nchozana in Florida, a Malawian in Florida.

In my view view he deserves praise for taking the initiative to introduce an internet radio featuring programming that is very Malawian and nolstagic-something that most of us in the diaspora appreciate. Your team with the Yado, Mtuwa and Phiri, you do a commendable job.I understand that some Malawians in the US and UK are behind Kwachafm (KFM). I have listened to its introductory broadcasts and sounds great with sounds from near and far from Malawi. Its website has an abundance of items and links, promising lots. However I should confess that Kwachafm being new, there is not much I can say out of the monitoring I have done to form a fair opinion. I am yet to deduce who the target audience is or indeed know why the station is on now.

Radio Yako has been runing daily providing about two hours of a variety of menu which has so far included music (Malawian and international), some regards, news, Gospel, counselling, life stories and much more.I am happy that there is growing Malawi radio presence on the internet now. I am sure the two stations will go a long way to serve the Malawians particularly those in the diaspora. I am certain that with more developed bandwidth in Malawi, there will be more listeners too at home.

I think both stations might be more relevant to Malawians if they tend to feature more Malawian voices, sounds and effects. I am sure that is what will make a difference to the international electronic media that is associated with Malawi. I am hoping also that professionalism will be upheld in broadcasting. I am jealous about my profession and I would be one of the first people to feel offended on account of someone failing to do a proper job at the Internet radio station.

This is the first time Malawians are enjoying Internet radio with Malawian voices and programming. Knowing that Internet radio has its challenges and conventions, I hope that the stations will be for the benefit for the wider community. Being in radio myself, I know how exciting it is at the beginning but the reality of facing feedback and satisfying the audience can be too demanding to give one any more enthusiasm.

How did Trans World Radio begin in Malawi?

It took me many years to know how a real transmitter looks like. A transmitter is the machine

behind what you listen to on your normal radio.

In this blog, I want to write more about radio. I will use most of this space for the radio work. Let us begin this way. Trans World Radio is the place where I work. So no worry let us learn more about it.

This is what they call a transmitter and not this tall thing below which many people think is a transmitter.

So next time, you see this, you know that this tall thing is a 'mast' or 'tower'

OK. Founder of Trans World Radio Dr Paul Freed wrote a book titled "Towers to Eternity" so many years ago. He wrote about how he began the radio ministry of Trans World Radio in 1952 through Voice of Tangiers in Morrocco in 1954.

OK. We talk more later about Malawi. Cheers. Write me to tell your story about Trans World Radio.