BANDUNDU

Current status: Radio Maria in DRC will be the second African radio station to have 7 substations, the first being Radio Maria Uganda (Mbarara, Kabale, Hoima, Nebbi, Gulu, Mbale and Moroto).Radio Maria DRC currently has six operational substations: Kananga, Bukavu, Goma, Lubumbashi, Matadi, Kisangani. The seventh will be Mbandundu in the diocese of Kenge. All of them are a response to two needs:to evangelise in depth, using the listeners’ mother tongues: Chiluba, Swahili, Lingala and Gikongo and to bring the Gospel where bishops and priests have difficulty reaching the faithful due to the absence of roads or their poor state. The geographical distances are immense, given that the Democratic Republic of the Congo occupies an area of 2,345,000 km². The radio signal overcomes such obstacles.

Project: The area of the diocese of Kenge, where the city of Mbandundu is located, is 34,385 km². In comparison, it is much bigger than the whole of Belgium which is 30,688 km². The Catholic faithful make up 59.3% of the population. In order to open the Mbandundu substation, it is necessary to renovate the premises and to purchase, ship and install the radio equipment. The total cost is 50,000 Euros. To keep the other six substations operational throughout 2023, a minimum of 250,000 Euros is required.

Creation of a new substation in Bandundu and shipping of AF/RF + uplink equipment

400.000