We have combined projects Radio Meraj and TV Meraj! The Afghan Institute of Learning provides education to Afghans but some people live too far from an AIL Learning Center or do not feel safe to travel. Reaching these people with education through broadcast media is an effective means and a popular solution. Radio Meraj has been going since 2015 providing educational programs and TV Meraj will soon start broadcasting. Both stations are housed in AIL's Herat office building.
The majority of the Afghan population live in rural areas or are urban poor and have limited access to education because of logistics or insecurity. They lack access to even basic information on topics such as health, human rights and current affairs. Rural people have no means to express their opinions to a wider audience or ask questions about issues that affect their lives or the nation.
Dr. Yacoobi founded a radio station and is about to start a TV station both of which address the issue of rural isolation and lack of education. This project provides office space and programming for Radio Meraj and the new TV Meraj. AIL develops educational, health, cultural and human rights programming for the stations. The radio station broadcasts to 8 out 15 districts of Herat an area with a population of 2 million and an estimate of 1 million listeners to Meraj.
The TV and radio stations' broadcasts ensure that tens of thousands more Afghans have information about current affairs, leadership, Afghan culture and poetry, democracy, peace, law, living a healthy life, human rights, music, news and more. Rural Afghans have the opportunity to be heard and engage with a wider community through call-in shows. This education will help open minds, encourage critical thinking and empower people to advocate for themselves acquiring leadership skills.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
