Internews’ mission is to improve access to information for people around the world. Afghanistan has presented us with a unique opportunity to do just that by building an independent radio sector from the ground up. In most of the 47 countries where Internews operates, we work with existing media outlets and professional journalists. But in Afghanistan, we are actually building stations brick by brick, and training people who, in some cases, have never worked as journalists before.

In this issue of Internews Report, veteran NPR host and correspondent Jacki Lyden provides a first-person account of her experience training Afghans to produce radio diaries. Another article gives an overview of Internews Afghanistan’s work, from building radio stations to producing news programming that reaches the entire population.

Whether teaching people how to treat children’s diarrhea or informing them about their election choices, Afghanistan’s independent radio stations are providing listeners with vital information to make decisions about their lives.

ANNETTE MAKINO
EDITOR (press at internews dot org)