Last year (2006) I met with local Christian leaders 

from the Western Province of the Solomon Islands (the New Georgia Group of islands). They are asking UCB Pacific Partners to bring Christian radio to their remote area.

There are an estimated 65,000 people in the Western Province and no Christian radio station. Many people live without any radio reception - because there is no electricity and no money to buy batteries for radios. Even where there is electricity, it is unreliable and very expensive (for example: power costs $0.60 cents a unit at one of our South Pacific radio stations).Many people belong to churches in the area, but the isolation and lack of education, coupled with the lack of Bibles in a language local people can understand, has led to some very strange doctrines. For example, one local church movement believes their present leader on earth is the fourth member of the Trinity, and a re-incarnation of the Virgin Mary.

As well as this, HCJB Global has also given us enough money to buy 200 solar powered radios for listeners to the new station. That's wonderful. No electricity or batteries needed - just the local sunshine!

What is needed now? 
Now UCB Pacific Partners needs to raise another USD $15,000 (AUD $18,000; NZD $20,000) 
to cover the cost of - 

• satellite equipment (to bring the radio signal in from Gud Nius Redio in Honiara)
• travel (to find suitable land and for a technician to set up the station)
• alternative power supply (to keep the station on air when electric power fails)
• tower or wooden pole for the FM antenna
• small concrete hut to house the broadcast equipment
• shipping and freight

As this extra money is raised we will travel to the area to locate a suitable site and to negotiate for land use. There are no immediate plans to add a local studio.

The radio program 
that comes from Honiara will include -

• 100% Christian music (about 80% of that is contemporary Pacific Islands Christian music)
• a few carefully chosen international Bible teaching programs (only those that can be clearly understood and applied locally)
• devotional and teaching programs in Pidgin English from within Solomon Islands and Melanesia
• community service programs (like news, weather, medical, etc) that can be applied locally
• Radio Bible School (listeners gather in village homes to study and apply the Bible with a radio teacher in their own language

Will you help us bring the comfort of Christ and His Word 
to the hurting people of the Western Province? 
Please pray that we will soon have the extra money we need, and will soon be broadcasting the love and hope of Jesus Christ. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

"Tagio Tumas long big fella help iu bin givim and God blong iumi long heaven hemi givim big blesing lon iu." (Thank you for your help and may God bless you, in Solomons Islands pidgin.) Graham A Carter  Chief Executive of UCB Pacific Partners

Graham for more information

to help us build the new Christian radio station in the Solomon Islands

to visit HCJB Global (our Partner in this project)