REF-FM Ukerewe

REF FM UKEREWE 107.3FM : ACTION FOR ALBINISM

REF FM UKEREWE is the first community-based radio station on the island of Ukerewe in Tanzania. The station will be run by people with albinism and other inhabitants of the island. It aims to give them a voice and a sense of community, and to encourage the acceptance of people with albinism. The station is part of a network of radio stations for and by refugees. People with albinism in Tanzania can be seen as refugees, fleeing killings for black magic. REF FM UKEREWE aims to foster peace and harmony between the communities and to give a platform to people with albinism to inspire others. 

Training new crew of REF-FM Ukerewe.

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 UKEREWE: A REFUGE FOR PWA

Ukerewe is the fifth largest lake island in the world, with nearly 300,000 inhabitants and an area of 530 square kilometres. Ukerewe island is known for having a large population of people with albinism (PwA), some of them finding refuge on the island. Many of the first of them to live here were taken to and abandoned on the island by their families as children. Despite comprising an exceptionally high percentage of the island's population, they are still, as throughout Tanzania, an oppressed minority on the island, though it appears to have avoided the killings of people with albinism, who are "harvested" for black magic rituals, that regularly occurs in Tanzania.

Your Story, Our Voice

Vedastus Wilfred (with microphone) and Riziki Julius, teaching the students of Mkituntu Secondary School on Ukerewe Island about the challenges PWAs face. (Photo by Rizika Augustine)

Other members of the REF-FM family:

BidibidiFM Uganda. Live from Bidibidi, the biggest refugee settlement of Uganda and once the biggest in the world. Cooperation of DW Akadamie, StraightTalk Foundation and REF FM.

REF FM Kakuma & Kalobeyei Kenya. REF-FMKK in the Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement, within the Kakuma Refugee Camp, Turkana County in the northwestern part of Kenya.

REF FM Kyangwali Uganda. Kyangwali is one of the bigger refugee settlements in Uganda. The station is run by and for refugees and host communities, with the aim to help inspire them to become active and self-reliant members of their communities.