Radio broadcasting is a good way of reaching people in the old colonies. George Rempel has been running a radio station in the new colony of ‘Chihuahua’ since 2015.
The equipment is housed in a wooden container next to his house, which he built specifically for this work. The container has double wooden walls and is clad in sheet metal on the outside. This is where George Rempel prepares the programme, and it is also from here that the broadcasts are controlled and monitored.
There is also a small soundproof room inside this wooden container where recordings can be made.
This radio station has a range of 60 kilometres, provided there are no pirate stations nearby that might cause interference with the signal. With this range, several of the older colonies situated in the vicinity of Chihuahua can be reached. The old colonies that can be reached by the radio programme are Hohenau, Belize, Las Piedras II and Neubergthal. The signal is transmitted from a 60-metre-high transmission mast. The radio programme runs round the clock, seven days a week.
Programmes are broadcast in various languages. One hour a day is broadcast in English, as many of the settlers have contacts in North America and can speak English. The programme is then broadcast in Spanish at lunchtime from 12 noon to 3 pm and at night from 10 pm to 9 am. The remaining time is divided equally between High German and Low German.
The radio programme is varied. Bible readings are broadcast in High German and Low German. There is also a programme called ‘Marriage and Family’. Two educational programmes are broadcast: one on agriculture, which was adopted from Paraguay, and another on health issues. Programmes for children are also broadcast, featuring stories from the Bible or missionary tales.
The children enjoy listening to the stories on the radio; this is evident at school when the children talk about the radio programme.
Adults, too, say that the educational programmes and the ‘Marriage and Family’ programme are popular.
Even the old colonists listen to the station, and so G. Rempel sometimes receives calls from the old colonies from people who are interested in finding out who is behind the radio programme. When I asked whether any of the Old Colony Mennonites had yet been converted as a result of the radio work, G. Rempel told me that the radio programme is more of a preparation for conversion and that it encourages the Old Colony Mennonites to attend events such as evangelistic meetings. The most recent evangelistic meeting with Sergej Klippenstein was also advertised on the radio, and a number of people from the Altkolonie did attend.
However, it does happen time and again that people are converted through the radio message.
Unfortunately, as G. Rempel explained to me, many young people here in the new colony of Chihuahua can no longer be reached via the radio, as young people now use their smartphones more and get their music via the ‘Spotify’ platform.
Radio Chihuahua is part of a radio network called RCB (Radio Campo Boliviano), which was founded by David Töws, who now lives in Paraguay. Almost all Bolivian radio stations broadcasting in Low German are represented within RCB. This means the radio programmes can also be listened to via the internet.
Radio Chihuahua can also be listened to via an app (plautdietschradio). This app is international and features radio stations from several countries.
Setting up a radio station is a costly undertaking. The basic equipment required to begin broadcasting costs around 30,000 US dollars. On top of this, there are monthly running costs of 1,000 US dollars to operate the station.
In the past, it was still possible to generate income through advertising on the radio station, but this is no longer feasible today, as companies prefer to place their adverts online and on social media rather than on the radio. Furthermore, government regulations have been tightened.
As a result, a private radio station such as Radio Chihuahua is always reliant on donations to continue its work.
