Hello, and thank you so much for visiting my fundraising page for Community Media for Kenya 2022/23 (CM4K). If you don't know me, I'm Katy, a final year Media & Environmental Communication student at the University of Brighton. If you do know me, chances are that you've heard me bang on about this trip to Kenya for a while...

When I first came to the University for an open day back in 2019, I sat in a presentation about the CM4K project and trip to Kenya, and filled with inspiration and excitement I remember turning to my Dad and saying "Great, I'm gonna go to Kenya!". I loved the community ethos of the project, and as an avid traveler was keen to partake in the project and trip as part of my course. There was potential for the trip to run as part of one of my first year modules, but alas, Covid ruined the chances of that. Again, it was a possibility with a second year module I'd chosen, but unfortunately that module was cancelled. I thought it may have happened last year, but again it was postponed to this year. FINALLY, in my fourth and FINAL year of University, it seems we're all set to go in January 2023 as part of the Community Project module.

Communication and community are so important, and the reason I'm so passionate about CM4K is that it combines the two to strengthen community bonds and empower local voices. This year we're raising funds to help build a community radio station in Cham gi Wadu, a marginalised rural community in the heart of the Nyanza region of Kenya.

CM4K was approached by a collective of subsistence farmers and community groups from Cham gi Wadu requesting our help: 1) to build a community radio station; and 2) to train local people to operate and sustain the radio station as a community resource.

Radio in this community provides an essential lifeline to people in remote communities. It provides a cost-effective means of communication for rural people and is the technology most commonly found in Kenyan homes, providing access to essential information to marginalised peoples.

Donations will go directly to CM4K, for the purchase of recording equipment needed for the radio station, which we will be helping to set up when we're there in January. Any donation is greatly appreciated, no matter how big or small.

***If you do choose to donate, please select the GIFT AID OPTION, as it add's an extra 25% at no cost to you***

Thank you for supporting CM4K, and my mission to finally get to Kenya!