Radio Benziger was established by Bishop Benziger hospital on Nov. 7, 2010 in kollam, a city lying along the coasts of the Arabian Sea in Kerala. It broadcasts 15 hrs a day in FM 107.8 MHz .The signal reaches up to a radius of 15 Km. in and around the densely populated city catering to a large number of listeners who comprise mostly people belonging to the coastal areas.
Radio addresses challenges associated with climate change, safe drinking water, sanitation, life style diseases and monsoon related communicable diseases. The radio cooperates with many health care projects of the government like pulse polio vaccination, prevention of tuberculosis and filaria. The radio also joins crusades against social evils like alcoholism, dowry, substance abuse, garbage menace, suicides etc.
Marine weather with all its details is broadcast on a daily basis. This information is a boon to the fishermen at sea..
Radio Benziger maintains an open door to all the members of the community. People can call at any time during broadcast hours to a specified number and broadcast whatever they have to say, be it a grievance, or an opinion about a particular issue or a relevant information or a suggestion.
With a broadcasting history of three years, Radio has established 25 radio clubs in Kollam. Functioning mostly in schools and residents’ associations, these clubs engage themselves in many creative activities. The fund of knowledge thus gathered from these activities is used as a valuable resource to empower the socio-cultural life of the community.
Discussions and seminars on current social issues provide platforms for people from all walks of life especially for women, children, labourers and for those belonging to the voiceless groups to participate in the democratic process of decision making and governance.
This is a Radio with a people-friendly face, providing opportunity for people in the lower strata of society to climb up the social ladder, find a voice for themselves, and have a say in public affairs.
Radio Benziger is not an organization which keeps talking to listeners. Rather it is a centre where people gather to talk among themselves.
People are policy makers and producers of programmes. The output and programmes broadcast by a community radio reflect the needs and interests of the community members. This is the reason why people recognize in community radio their own interests in chaste form, unblemished by commercial motives or vested interests.
Campaigns through community radio reach the people at the grass roots level. The success rates of pulse polio in Kollam during the last two years indicate that the campaign had been successful. This was seen in other campaigns like T.B eradication, Filaria detection, preservation of drinking water, road safety, monsoon related diseases, climate change etc.